“It is okay to say I’m not okay,” said Police Commissioner Bryan Isaacs at a ceremony to emphasize the need to address the mental health of police officers. The ceremony was held to commemorate the police officers who died in the line of duty.
Deep mental wounds were inflicted but very little is known about the actual size of these mental wounds that the police officers are walking around with. The results of a study that was conducted worldwide has raised concerns. One out of seven police officers suffer from
a post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). In some countries this figure is alarmingly higher especially in areas where police forces are caught in a war and other forms of large scale violence. The Caribbean region and Suriname are no exception when it comes to mental health problems within security forces. Although there are no official statistics on the mental health within the Police Force Suriname (KPS), sources from within the force informally revealed that there are serious concerns regarding this issue. This issue usually comes to light when incidents occur such as violent conduct and domestic violence. The Internal Affairs Department has a long list with the names of police officers who were involved in such incidents. Although such incidents raise many red flags, it remains difficult to link the misconduct of these police officers to PTSD or other forms of mental health problems. These cases also are not shared with the public. Commissioner Isaacs assured that solutions are actively being sought within the region. The mental health of police officers is high on the agenda of the Association of Caribbean Commissioners of Police (ACCP) which represents 26 police commissioners from the Caribbean region.
