Police Service Social and Welfare Association president Insp Michael Seales says there needs to be a better functioning Employee Assistance Programme (EAP) within the T&T Police Service.
Seals said the current programme currently functions inefficiently mainly due to lack of resources and the lack of confidentiality.
Seales’ comments come in the wake of the death of Police Constable Ian Hamilton, whose body was found in the dormitory of the Police Band Room at Riverside, Port-of-Spain compound around 7 am yesterday. Investigators were immediately called in and his family notified of the incident.
Hamilton, an officer of 15 years, was a member of the Police Band and up to Saturday night had played alongside his bandmates at a charity event.
He recently lost his fiancé after she succumbed to cancer.
While some of his colleagues said he was apparently unable to cope with her death and became very depressed, others said, to them, the deceased officer showed no sign of depression.
Seales described the incident as unfortunate, adding that mental health was an issue within the Police Service.
“It is trivialised in the Police Service but we have to see it for what it is. We know there are a number of strategies which we deployed previously, like the use of peer counsellors and social workers but an effective EAP has not been rolled out,” Seales told the T&T Guardian.
“It is in the final stages, so much so that the association is also putting together its own programme because we have experienced that people are also unwilling to access the programme due to the lack of confidentiality.”
He said there is also the problem of stigmatisation, which does further harm to officers.
One of Hamilton’s colleagues described him as a dedicated officer who was also very gifted musically.
“We never know what a person is going through. It’s a real loss especially for someone who was so talented. He was an easy-going person,” the officer said.
Police Commissioner Gary Griffith also expressed condolences to Hamilton’s family. Griffith is also in talks with the family to offer whatever assistance the Police Service can during their time of grief.
Officers of the Port of Spain CID and Besson Street Police Station are investigating.