The necessity of police service is realized only in times of helplessness. Their duty really fits the adage “When you have eyes, you don’t really care about their value.” These men in uniform should adhere to disciplines and it is no surprise. But for many lower-ranked officials in service, this job is giving sleepless nights. There will be only a few police officers who haven’t got a taste of that stress while acquiescing to their superior officer's orders.

Some lower-ranked police officers at times need to stoke their courage to follow their superior officers' orders, since many of such orders ask them to assist in corruption. The lower-ranked officers will have to get into this ugly world of corruption for their superiors and the guilt will be too much to bear. There may also come such horrendous times when such officers are caught while on duty. All ill-shame and punitive actions will heave upon them while the superiors wriggle out unhurt.

It is under these circumstances that many police personnel are now finding solace in drugs and other banned materials. It is a cruel world for them when they see police officials having good bonhomie with politicians easily gaining promotions and respect, while lower-ranked officials of their likes are put in a real dungeon that promises no success.

The increasing number of suicides among police is a testament to the psychological stress affecting them. Between 2016 and 2019 alone, 51 policemen committed suicide in the state. Figures after that have not been collated by the Home Department. The latest reported is the suicide of Sudheesh, a civil police officer at Kuttyady station in Kozhikode. This month alone, three policemen have committed suicide in the state. The officials in higher ranks should be concerned about this suicide spree that is currently taking over the department. The first change that the department can initiate would be to bring down daily working time to just 8 hours.

There are many postgraduates in the community waiting to become policemen. Recruiting them through PSC can solve the shortage of manpower. Overwork load and illogical work hours are the mainspring of psychological stress among police officials. Curtail it down and the whole stress thing will get reduced by half.

People work for money and these policemen are no different. As per some studies, these officials in Kerala seldom spend time with their families. This has really worsened their psychological state and has opened doors to a real quagmire. Good rest is essential to perform work efficiently.

Similarly, police officers are facing many mental problems due to severe scolding from their superiors and political pressures. Due to this, they will show resentment to the common people and it will again lead to many other complaints. A special training program has been started in the department to prevent policemen from pondering over suicide as the last resort.

However, if counselling is preferred, then it should be first meted out to superior officers. A committee should be formed including experts and psychologists. Similarly, the home department should conduct a scientific study on the suicides of policemen.