Top cop providing a voice for mentally ill and teaching officers how to deal with them

IN the past few years, every frontline police officer in NSW has been trained to best deal with the mentally ill — and all due to St George Local Area Commander David Donohue.

IN the past few years, every frontline police officer in NSW has been trained to best deal with the mentally ill — and all due to St George Local Area Commander David Donohue.

Superintendent Donohue joined the force in 1988 and after a long and distinguished career has been nominated for a Pride of Australia Heroism Medal for his dedicated service to the community in that time.

Now in its 11th year, News Corp’s Pride of Australia Awards have honoured thousands of ordinary Australians doing extraordinary things — men, women and children going above and beyond their professional ­expectations to change people’s lives for the better.

People like Supt Donohue.

“I love just helping people — most cops join because they genuinely and fundamentally want to make a difference,” Supt Donohue said.

“I have enjoyed making a difference with police and mental health because that’s part of the community that doesn’t have a voice. We have been pioneers in this area and I am quietly proud of that, and this nomination.”

The inner-city father of three was promoted to inspector in 2005 and later served as commander of the Mental Health Intervention Team at Campsie, where he performed at the rank of superintendent.

For the past decade, Supt Donohue has focused on protecting some of the most vulnerable people in the community — those suffering mental illness.

The corporate spokesman for mental health co-authored a literature review on policing and mental health, which was released internationally and formed the basis of research into the development of the Mental Health Intervention Team training model.

Now the leading training program in the country helping to arm police for the greatest issue facing them today, it involves specialist mental health training to enable frontline police to deal with the mentally ill, assess suicide indicators and improve negotiation and intervention skills.

All NSW police officers now undergo a mandatory one-day training course on how best to approach people suffering mental health issues.

“That knowledge gives us the skills to deal with it and understand it and best handle those tricky situations,” Supt Donohue said.