Eye on stabbing fallout

Police who attended horrific scene get mental health support

SUPPORT has been offered to police officers who attended the fatal double stabbing at Alva Beach.

Superintendent Steve Munro said mental health support was in place to assist officers affected by the brutal incident that left two men dead in front of a Topton St home in the early hours of October 1.

“The whole thing that happened up there is a really sad set of circumstances,” he said.

“We’ve got a number of people who have lost their lives, a number of people who will have to live with the knowledge of what happened there.

“Our officers had to go there and deal with really serious circumstances where people were fighting for their lives and unfortunately people lost their lives. And those sort of incidents never leave you.”

Supt Munro’s comments come during Mental Health Week.

Queensland Police Service senior psychologist Pauline Trewin said mental health support workers had visited Ayr on Tuesday to touch base with officers.

“It’s always good to have that face- to- face intimate interaction with the members who obviously attended a horrific and challenging job,” she said.

Queensland Police Union regional representative Senior Sergeant Peter Thomas said the stigma around mental health was being broken down within QPS, although there was still a way to go.

“Policing is an extremely hard and demanding job, some of the things that these guys see in a daily basis most people would never see in their entire lifetime,” he said. “So it’s important that the resources are available for them.”

The report from a threephase research study by beyondblue into the mental health and wellbeing of police and emergency services workers nationwide is expected to be released before the end of the year.

• If you or someone you know is in need of help, call Lifeline on 131 114, visit lifeline. org. au/ gethelp, or call beyondblue on 1300 224 636.

THOSE SORT OF INCIDENTS NEVER LEAVE YOU SUPT STEVE MUNRO