Police to get expert help to beat stress, anger issues via lifestyle modifications

The National Institute of Mental Health & Neuro Sciences (NIMHANS), Bengaluru, is devising a training module for the Tamil Nadu police to manage stress, anger and other hazards in the workplace.

The ambitious project aims at improving the physical/mental health of the force by way of simple lifestyle modifications.

The move comes against the backdrop of suicides or attempts to commit suicide by police personnel and a few other incidents that caused a dent on the image of the force, police sources said on Tuesday.

Acting on the instructions of the Director General of Police T.K. Rajendran, a high-power committee comprising Inspector General of Police (Welfare) S. Davidson Devasirvatham, renowned Madurai-based psychiatrist C. Ramasubramnian and others had two rounds of discussions with the senior management of NIMHANS this month, the sources said.

To start with, a team of 300 police personnel will be hand-picked to get trained as Master Trainers by NIMHANS. Each of them will train 30 members of the force. The project included a module for the spouse and children of police personnel. The plan is to cover the entire 1 lakh plus police force in the State.

Dr. Ramasubramanian told The Hindu that the project was in a nascent stage and NIMHANS was in the process of devising the salient features of the training module.

“It has been agreed in principle to implement the project. NIMHANS is a centre for excellence in mental health and neuroscience in the country and they have the expertise to deliver the kind of results that we are looking for. The institute is already training police attached to the Indo-Tibetan Border Police, Kerala and Chhattisgarh State Police but in small numbers,” he said.

Skill development

He said the police personnel were exposed to various hazards in their working environment. The training would be customised to suit the lifestyle of the State police. They would be engaged in a series of programmes aimed at building their communication skills and confidence in managing problems arising out of exigencies at work.

“Stress not only takes a toll on the health and personality of police personnel, but also has an impact on their family members. Police are answerable to a variety of people like senior officers, human rights activists, the judiciary, politicians, civil society and the media. The training programme will go a long way in shaping the personality, health and attitude of the police to face situations,” Dr. Ramasubramanian said.

Virtual network

He said suicide was always a cry for help and never a solution to any problem. Due to work pressure, the police hardly spend any time with family members even during festivals and other important occasions. “This leads to fatigue, anxiety and depression, forcing many to take to alcohol or medications…some even take the extreme step. The silent sufferers are the family members. The project includes a scheme to identify and promote talent of the spouses and children.”

As an important component of the project, a virtual network would be established at all Police Commissionerates/District Police Offices to impart the training programme. Every police station would have a Master Trainer and Counsellor. A core team comprising psychiatrists, counsellors and senior police officers would monitor compliance of quality in the programme and its impact on the force in terms of health and productivity.

The mental health programme has been necessitated in the aftermath of suicides, attempted suicides and desertion from work. T.N. tops the list of States in terms of police casualties, sources said.