3 police personnel commit suicide from 2020 till date
From 2020 till date, three police personnel have committed suicide, in Sekondi, Accra and Tema, Mr Ambrose Dery, the Minister of the Interior, has said.
The minister made the disclosure on the floor of Parliament, when he answered a question from Mr Kwame Dzudzorli Gakpey, the Member of Parliament (MP) for Keta.
The MP wanted to know from the minister the number of suicide cases recorded among Ghana Police Service personnel and measures being taken to mitigate the incident.
Mr Dery said to address the recurrence of the unfortunate situation, the Welfare Directorate of the Ghana Police Service in partnership with the Psychological Counselling Unit (PCU) embarked on a sensitisation programme on the need for personnel to speak on issues bothering them.
Others were being provided with psychological first aid tips, and PCU detecting early signs of mental sickness and personnel were encouraged to report early signs of suicide to authorities for help.
Mr Dery said in addition to these interim mitigating measures, the Police Administration in February, 2021, created the PCU.
He said the Unit was mandated to handle the wellness and general mental health issues of police personnel, their families, and dependants.
Mr Dery said the Unit was situated outside the premises of the Ghana Police Service to make it accessible to affected persons without being stigmatised. —GNA
