NAIROBI, Kenya, Apr 14- Police officers are now going to enjoy counseling services, after the National Police Service Commission established a unit, amidst a wave of killings and suicides among officers.
There have been recorded cases of killings or at least suicide in every month in recent years involving police officers according to available police statistics.
The commission announced it had established the counseling unit, which will among others evaluate, design, and lead an outreach program that helps prevents mental health and substance abuse in the police service.
Further, the unit will assist clients or families affected with mental health, substance abuse issues and trauma with ways of overcoming the menace.
The unit and its staff will also participate in the formulation of counseling policies, regulations and strategies in conformity with the National Police Service reform agenda and participate in the implementation, interpretation and review of counseling services, policies, procedures and systems.
The commission is already seeking to recruit a manager for counseling services, five senior counselors, six counselors grade two, four social workers and six others in lower grades.
The timely announcement was made a week after a General Service Unit officer killed his wife, who was a traffic officer based in Kilimani, before committing suicide.
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Over the years, there has been a spike in deaths in the service that were later linked to trauma.
They include deaths caused by guns within the service.
The GSU officer was a bodyguard attached to the Interior Cabinet Secretary Dr Fred Matiangi.
After the incident, CS Matiang’i said it was a rude awakening to psychosocial challenges amongst some of our young officers that “we have no choice but to now pay greater attention to.”
Some officers praised the move by their employer saying their stressed colleagues need the counseling sessions for survival.
Officials say trauma is the main reason police behave that way.
According to a Kenyatta University research, the major factor contributing to suicide and murder among officers in Kenya is work-related trauma.
The study found out that police are generally at the receiving end of all community problems.
They are expected to maintain law and order in very difficult situations, besides putting their lives at risk as soon as they leave home every day.
It further emphasized that police officers are often in touch with extremely painful issues in the community such as murder and rape, which stresses them.
Inspector General of police Hilary Mutyambai had last 2019 launched a new programme-Muamko Mpya-Healing the Uniform Initiative- to give psychological support to officers.
Mutyambai said police officers who are often exposed to trauma that creates deep emotional scars, need healing.
“The ultimate goal of the initiative is to provide officers with knowledge, tools and a framework to assist them to support each other while handling traumatic situations,” Mutyambai said.
“They encounter most of these situations on personal and professional levels.”
He ordered the Kenya Police, Administration Police and Directorate of Criminal Investigations heads to ensure counseling is integrated in the police-training curriculum.
A team of 18 senior officer is set to be recruited to the new counseling unit.
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