I've just watched a TV program on police
officers being badly affected by PTSD (Post
Traumatic Stress Disorder) as a result of
the horrific things they have had to deal
with in their jobs, what they've experienced
and witnessed. This included both male and
female officers. And it was officers from
all of our states .

The program went on to show
the number of officers who committed suicide
as a result of simply being unable to cope.
And to make matters even worse - The National
Police Memorial, which is located in Canberra
lists the names of fallen officers, including
their rank, and the date of their deaths - but
it excludes those who died as a result of suicide.

I thought this should be worth discussing and
bringing to everyone's attention. Surely the officers
who as a result of their jobs were suffering from
PTSD (caused by their jobs) and could no longer
cope as a result of their jobs - and committed
suicide - should also be treated as "fallen officers."
And given the recognition and respect they have earned.

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2014-03-03/verity-our-shameful-silence-on-police-suicide/5294142

Your thoughts please?

Perhaps those police officers have died from shame because deaths in custody are on the increase. Or could it be because no officer has ever been held accountable for aboriginal deaths? The farce on Palm Island ten years ago remains a typical festering sore, in which the memory of corrupt procedures, political and Union interference saw a killer go free with thousands of dollars compensation, while the misery, deaths and suicides of those affected by the brutality have never been addressed. Do you think there might be a police officer who is compassionate enough to top himself in solidarity with the oppressed?
It must be galling to work with officers who let a girl who owed a thousand dollars die in her cell. The officers laughing as young men are bashed, disfigured, beaten senseless and thrown like rags around the watchhouse, perhaps feel nothing, but some of their co workers will, and this will affect their joy in life. I am utterly ashamed, yet I've had nothing to do with it. How much worse must decent police officers feel at belonging to such a group?

Dear ybgirp,

PTSD apparently affects many police officers due to the
stressful nature of their jobs and I'm sure
that "deaths-in-custody," would also have a
huge impact on officers who have to deal with
these difficult situations. Situations that
most of us know very little about.

I have precisely zero sympathy for people who join the Police in the first place much less the ones who stay in for long enough to develop mental problems.
Intelligent people will always suffer from having to spend all their working life dealing with cretins and criminals and the depressing or gory results of their stupidity and incompetence so maybe recruiting from the pool of good, smart people who might otherwise make valuable contributions in other areas is a bad idea.
We all know the types of kids we went to school with who went on to join the Police, prison service or the army, the bullies and idiots who couldn't get any other work and who were too dumb for uni or the trades,maybe they need to go back to recruiting from the amateur footy clubs and run cadet programs for the less gifted students.

'afternoon FOXY...

Yes, it's been a problem for many years, and to be fair, Command are (very) slowly coming to recognise there exists such a serious predicament and as such, are providing counselling for those who wish it. As far as adding the names of those police who died by their own hand, on the National Police Memorial...? I really don't know ?

I suspect there would be many serving members, as well as some surviving spouses and family members, of police slain in the execution of their duty, who might strongly object to having their loved one's name positioned, side by side with a member who had committed suicide ? I may well be very very wrong, if so I apologise ?

I note Foxy, another individual has added a comment herein ? My response is relatively simple ? One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, ten, ad infinitum.

while I hold many police in very high regards, making heroes of people who do themselves is sending the totally wrong message. Many movie/rock stars do themselves in and hence many young many vulnerable people follow their 'heroes'. By all means deal with issues leading to this tradegy but by no means make heroes of them.