As recent shootings overseas have demonstrated, it’s bad news for everyone if police officers immediately respond to the day-to-day circumstances of their job with violence.
Yet, as tonight’s Four Corners demonstrated, Australian police officers who are suffering from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder have effectively been shunned – despite the possibility of their mental illness having real, deadly ramifications.
For Insult To Injury, the ABC programme spoke to a slew of former police officers who had been affected by PTSD in the line of duty. Time and time again, they spoke of an inability of the nation’s police forces to adequately deal with the issue.
#4Corners ‘Insult to Injury: How the system damages cops with PTSD’ on air now. #PTSD pic.twitter.com/ZF4YqrfWVu
— 4corners (@4corners) August 1, 2016
He went on to discuss the brutal culture of shame and silence that working on the force entailed.
“I don’t think the culture of the New South Wales police force allows their members to have the confidence to open up to their superiors and disclose to them that they are feeling the psychological affects of everyday stresses that police go through.”
What followed were more instances of surveillance and delays. Greg said “what they say to people is, ‘well, we don’t believe you. And we’re going to fight you all the way.’”
“And I mean, ultimately, I think what they want to do is drag it out as long as they can, so you can either give up or go and kill yourself.”
Turn on #4Corners now for our investigation into the rotten treatment of cops with #PTSD pic.twitter.com/W9wsxKcuX5
— Sally Neighbour (@neighbour_s) August 1, 2016
That’s a harrowing viewpoint which was mirrored through much of the broadcast, and the issue was brought into even sharper relief when one of the nation’s top researchers on the issue estimated one in five police officers has PTSD, or is at risk of developing the disorder.
It’s absolutely brutal stuff, from the apparently toxic workplace culture to the protracted dealings with insurance agencies, and it’s definitely not the kind of thing you want to happen to those tasked with protecting our communities. Watch the full episode here.