Give more psychosocial support to police officers

What you need to know:

The issue: Mental health.

Our view: Beyond dismissing officers who misbehave, our hope is that there are measures in place for police officers to get psychosocial support immediately they start exhibiting even a hint of this behaviour.

In the last week, there were two widely publicised incidents involving police officers that showed that we need to revive the conversation on mental health in the Uganda Police Force. In one incident, a police officer shot two people, then committed suicide, following an argument. In the second case, a police constable was dismissed from the Force after showing up in such an inebriated state that he trashed his workstation.

These are just the cases which made it to the news. They come at a time when researchers at Makerere University College of Health Sciences are trying to find out why there are high cases of mental health issues among police officers. Alcohol abuse and suicide have been some of the issues cited for the need of comprehensive mental health assessments for police officers.
Indeed, that is why the Force partnered with Makerere to carry out research on the things that affect the mental health of officers. This is a move in the right direction.

However, while the findings of that research are being compiled and analysed, the issue of police officers needing some sort of mental health support remains. The Force has psychiatric clinical officers in some of its clinics. These officers should have an idea of the factors affecting police officers and specifically, their mental health. One of these clinical officers co-published research on the burden of alcohol use in the police force. Among some of the psychosocial factors that had a notable correlation with alcohol use were debt, difficulty in planning, poor health and disciplinary problems.

The underlying problems within the Force are, therefore, known and need to be addressed. From poor pay to wanting housing to poor household feeding, these have been highlighted several times as weaknesses that affect how officers execute their jobs. A police officer who sleeps under harsh conditions, has the makings of a meal is then expected to carry out their duties effectively. These expectations do not add up. That is why some are not surprised when the officers become brutal in their keeping of law and order – one person on Twitter suggested that this is a form of catharsis for disillusioned officers.

Whether there is a grain of truth to that or not, there is no denying that the conditions of police officers need to be looked into. They cannot be expected to maintain law and order when their very lives are in disarray.
Beyond dismissing officers who misbehave, our hope is that there are measures in place for police officers to get psychosocial support immediately they start exhibiting even a hint of this behaviour.