Mentally ill police officers
By Sun News Publishing
Sunday, May 4, 2008

Editorial Index

The recent disclosure by the Inspector General of Police, Mr. Mike Okiro, that 24 top police officers have doubtful mental stability for their job is, to say the least, very worrisome. According to him, two deputy Commissioners, one Assistant Commissioner, one Chief Superintendent, three Superintendents, one Deputy Superintendent and 16 Assistant Superintendents are among those whose mental suitability is suspect.

For this, they are to face the Police Medical Board to determine their continued suitability to remain in the police force. Mr. Okiro said that in referring the affected personnel to the Medical Board, the police authorities wanted to be sure that they are of sound mind because of the nature of the duty they perform. He further explained that the job is one in which one has to be sound in mind to perform effectively and to be able to secure lives and property.

We share the concerns of Okiro in this matter. There is no doubt that the job the police perform is one that, at all times, calls for sound mental capacity, rigorous thought process and clarity of mind. It is one in which the operatives must, at all times, have a clean bill of heath both physically and mentally. Above all, it is one that requires mental alertness and the capacity to weigh contending options and take decisions that may have serious repercussions on lives and property. Such a very vital and sensitive assignment cannot be entrusted to people whose mental stability is doubtful.

Moreover, the matter is not made any easier by the fact that in the day to day execution of their statutory responsibilities, police personnel carry arms and ammunition. The dangers are therefore very high that these arms stand the risk of being deployed to the wrong use. This danger is real and underscores the larger risk our citizens face in having persons of very volatile and questionable temperament preside over the maintenance of law and order in our society.

We commend Okiro for mustering the necessary courage to bring the matter to the court of public opinion and for ensuring that the affected officers’ suitability to continue on their jobs is finally determined by the relevant authorities. That is the way it should be. The job of law maintenance and enforcement is so vital and crucial that we can ill afford to leave it in the hands of people with any shred of doubt about the state of their mental health.

This is more so in a society where the incidence of accidental discharge resulting in the maiming and killing of innocent souls appears to have defied solution. Who knows whether there is a positive linkage between the frequency of these accidental discharges and the mental state of the officers involved in those senseless shootings that have brought misery and woes to many families? These are some of the issues that have been brought to the front burner by the revelation on the mental state of health of the 24 senior police officers.

Though the police authorities did not give details as to how they came about this statistics or the period covered by the audit, this does not in any way whittle down the larger import of having such a number of high ranking officers still in the force even when the state of their mental health is suspect. It may also be interesting to know at what point the affected police officers developed the mental illness for which they are now required to appear before the Medical Board. This is necessary for the police authorities to determine whether there is any thing in the working conditions of its officers and men that accentuates mental malady.

This therefore calls for a comprehensive mental audit of its officers and men. An across the board evaluation of the mental fitness of the police will enable the body come to terms with the mental health of its officers and men and their capacity to perform. It may well be a starting point to unravel the causative factors for the unbecoming conduct of its personnel and the bad image that has characterized its relations with the general public.

With the evaluation, those found to be mentally unfit should be rehabilitated and shown the way out. At no time should the maintenance of law and order in any society be allowed to degenerate to a level in which people of questionable mental health or the semi mad are allowed to be part of it. For, the risks are very high that they could turn against the same society that they are paid to protect. Such an ominous possibility must not be allowed to happen.