NPS moves to end staff suicides
National Police Service CEO Joseph Onyango addresses journalists at Port Police Station in Mombasa on January 8, 2019. PHOTO | LABAN WALLOGA | NATION MEDIA GROUP
The National Police Service (NPS) is set to study the trends and causes of suicide among police officers to end such deaths.
NPS Chief Executive Officer Joe Onyango Tuesday said that, with the police reforms, the service is keen to identify areas that put pressure on the officers, leading them to commit suicide.
Addressing journalists at the Mombasa Port Police Station where an officer committed suicide last week, Mr Onyango said the study will give the NPS a sound scientific background to help it decide how best to respond to the officers' societal and work-related needs.
“We are going round collecting information on our officers to establish a repository to enable us to study the trends and see the areas we can address,” said Mr Onyango.
He noted that the NPS is also planning to implement some of its existing policies, with measures like disciplinary transfers to be keenly reviewed.
“For instance, we will focus on what should be done before a police officer is transferred to a hotspot and see the interventions we can make before he/she is integrated with his/her colleagues," he said.
