Mental health, wellbeing, fatigue are taken seriously by police

Darren Hine says safeguards are in place to protect officers from harm and overwork

TASMANIA Police cares strongly about members’ mental health and wellbeing.

Anyone who signs up for a career in policing knows dealing with terrible scenarios could be part of the job. From the outset, we have the welfare of recruits in mind. We assess candidates for suitability to do the job to ensure we have the right people. And feedback from recruits is they feel supported in their journey to graduation and beyond.

Our members are resilient people who routinely have to see and do things that most people will never encounter.

But we have learnt not to take this resilience for granted. There was a time when our collective response to police mental health was to “harden up”. Thankfully that era is gone.

Police attend road crashes, traumatic scenes and deal with victims who have suffered. Like everyone, they’ve also got the stresses of daily life and all of this can take its toll.

Now, we recognise the impact that attending a single traumatic incident, or a series of incidents can have on mental health over time. Posttraumatic stress for police and other emergency services workers is real. Fatigue and the pressure of work and expectations can play a role.

The discussion about police mental health is complex. For all of us, work is an aspect of our lives that affects wellbeing. While the Police Association has raised requirements to perform “non-core duties” and work fatigue as contributing factors, I argue — along with most officers — that a core police duty is to assist anyone in the community who is in distress.

The oath we take on graduation day is to faithfully execute the office of police officer in Tasmania, and that to the best of my power, without favour or affection, malice or ill-will, will cause the peace to be kept and preserved and prevent all offences against persons and properties in Tasmania, and that to the best of my ability, skill and knowledge will discharge all the duties of a police officer according to law.

We must prioritise the incidents we attend, but as an organisation we exist to assist the community where we can.

Fatigue caused by work is something we are addressing through the development of a Fatigue Management Policy and our almost-complete Country Police Station Relief Policy, which provides for backfilling absences in designated country stations.

Supporting the mental health of police is not about categorising or reducing duties, it’s about prevention strategies and recognising the early signs that someone is struggling and intervening in an appropriate way.

The signs might manifest suddenly or there might be a more gradual change in a person’s demeanour over time.

We’re fostering a culture where our members talk freely to each other about mental health and recognise the signs in themselves and others when help might be needed.

We have also invested heavily in initiatives, programs and policy changes that will facilitate this culture and provide the mental health support that is needed.

The Government last week announced it would double the funding for emergency services mental health prevention and support to $3m per year.

The strategies we now have to support mental health include a new Wellbeing Support unit, access to psychologists, four additional Wellbeing Support officers, wellbeing training for managers and supervisors, a proactive wellness program called Ready 4 Response, mental health first aid training and an online intervention and support hub called MyPulse.

As was published in Talking Point last week, we do have a number of officers with workers’ compensation claims relating to mental health, but it’s important to provide some clarity around the figures.

Of the 49 claims, 17 officers are at work with restrictions, four have returned to the workplace and 28 officers are off work.

Of course we have more work to do. To ensure we have the most efficient framework for workers compensation, we have a panel of experts undertaking a review.

We are committed to continual improvement in this space.

I encourage any police personnel who might read this article to talk to their colleagues and seek help if someone is struggling or feeling vulnerable. Wellbeing Support is available to you 24 hours per day, 7 days a week.