Accra-Ghana, Nov. 10, GNA – From 2020 till date, three Police officers have committed suicide, Mr Ambrose Dery, the Minister of the Interior, has disclosed.
He said the three suicide incidents were recorded in Secondi, Accra, and Tema.
Mr Dery 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 put taken to mitigate it.
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 sensitisation programmes on the need for personnel to open and speak on issues bothering them.
Others are provided with psychological first aid tips for personnel, detecting early signs of mental sickness and the need to report these signs to authorities for help; and suicide and its effect on society.
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 dependents.
He said the Unit was situated outside the premises of the Ghana Police Service to make it accessible to affected persons without being stigmatized.
