114 members of the Police have requested psychological support for the management of stress, stress, traumatic events in the last 5 years, while several others have visited a private doctor for support.
Many times police officers are faced with very unpleasant experiences, disgusting scenes and tragedies, as a result of which they cannot manage the human suffering that affects them. On the occasion of the incident of June 30 in Limassol with the suicide of a policeman, where his colleagues rushed to the scene without knowing who the victim was, a relevant question was submitted to the Parliament by the MP of the Famagusta constituency of DISY, Mr. Nikos Georgiou, to the Minister of Justice about the actions taken to provide psychological support to the police officers.
According to the Minister, Costas Fytiris, the Cyprus Police operates the Human Resources Support Branch of the Human Resources Directorate, which is staffed by two qualified members who are registered in the Register of Graduate Psychologists. The mission of the Branch is to promote and restore, where necessary, the mental health of the members of the Police. In the context of the duties of the members of the Support Branch, says the Minister of Justice, is the planning of prevention actions such as the organization of educational programs, seminars and experiential workshops, with the aim of strengthening mental resilience, managing work stress and supporting members of the Police in dealing with demanding or critical incidents.
As mentioned, special emphasis is placed on prevention, which is why the duties of the members of the Support Branch include the psychoeducation of the members of the Police on issues of anxiety, stress, traumatic events, post-traumatic stress disorder, work stress and mental resilience. In the last five years, lectures have been held at the Cyprus Police Academy with a total duration of 491 teaching hours, which have been attended by more than 2,500 members of the Police. In addition, 11 educational activities/experiential workshops have been organized with external collaborators, in which 170 members participated.
As stated in the answer, in addition to psychotraining, confidential personal meetings are arranged with members who wish to do so or after referral by their superiors, but always with the consent of the member. The meetings are held in places outside police facilities, in the relevant provinces, for the convenience of the members. In the last five years, there have been 114 new cases that have voluntarily addressed the Human Resources Support Branch. Also, the members of the Human Resources Support Branch may communicate voluntarily with members after critical events to arrange either personal confidential meetings or a short group psychoeducation. It is noted that the visit to a psychologist is voluntary, as the legislative framework in Cyprus does not provide for a mandatory visit/monitoring by a psychologist. Each case is examined confidentially, individually, and is handled with full respect for the privacy of the member, but also for the confidentiality of the meetings. The arrangement of meetings, meetings and their content are protected by professional secrecy and confidentiality, without any entry or reference to the members' personal file. Members of the Police can communicate voluntarily and directly with the Human Resources Support Branch, while where appropriate, recommendations for communication can also be made by their superiors.
