Five police suicides in one week: Government should think beyond counselling to solve increasing stress of policemen

In the last five years, 88 people in the police force have committed suicide due to various reasons. The Human Rights Commission had filed a case based on the newspaper report that five police officers had committed suicide within a week of June.

In a study conducted by the police department last year, it was stated that suicides of police personnel are more common in southern districts like Thiruvananthapuram, Alappuzha and Ernakulam. However, according to the figures of the National Crime Records Bureau, the increase in suicides is not only evident in the police but also in society as a whole. According to the bureau's figures, 10,162 people committed suicide in Kerala in 2022 and 9,549 in 2021.

Meanwhile, the suicide rate in Kerala is much higher than the national average. The suicide rate in the state is 28.5 while the national average is 12.4. The reality is that a comprehensive study of police suicides is yet to happen. The government should urgently appoint an expert committee headed by a retired high court judge to conduct such a study. It is pointed out that there are various reasons behind police suicides such as excessive workload, family problems, threats from superiors, non-cooperation of colleagues and drug use.

While replying to the emergency motion notice brought by the opposition in the Legislative Assembly regarding this matter, the Chief Minister also admitted that the workload of the police has increased. He said that necessary steps have been taken to avoid this situation. Even if the workload is increased, the policemen will not hesitate to work more if there is no pressure from their superiors. Many people get tired when they work more than they need to and hear only criticisms. One of the main reasons why the policemen are not lenient with the people is the current harsh pattern of behaviour by the superiors. This is the first thing that needs to change. The number of people who leave after being offered a different job, even after being appointed as an SI in the police, is increasing.

To reduce the workload of the policemen, their working hours should be fixed at eight hours. All the DGPs have promised to ensure the eight-hour duty to all stations, but it has not been fully implemented. If the number of policemen is less, the government should be ready to make more appointments through PSC. Police work is full of conflict and complexity. Often they have to go through a lot of stress just to get leave. It is also a fact that external interferences etc. make their work doubly heavy. Counselling alone cannot solve this. Besides providing more benefits to them, the government should devise and implement more practical solutions.