AFP tackles deadly toll of cops kind to others, unforgiving of themselves

Australian Federal Police Commissioner Andrew Colvin wants his officers to ‘put their hand up’ and seek help when struggling.

‘We cannot take our eye off the ball’: AFP chief medical officer Katrina Sanders. Picture: Kym Smith

Australian Federal Police Commissioner Andrew Colvin has appealed­ to his officers to “put their hand up” and seek help when they’re struggling, as the agency prepares to train all of its members to build resilience and recognise mental illness.

In an Australian-first partnership with Lifeline, the AFP will roll out the Road to Mental Readiness course for at least two years in a bid to equip officers with coping strategies and tools to encourage­ them to address mental­ health concerns earlier.

Mr Colvin has come under pressure after four of his officers took their own lives within two years, including two federal agents — Sergeant Samantha Baglin­ and Superintendent Richard Roberts — who died by suicide late last year inside the AFP’s Canberra headquarters.

Noting the incredibly difficult job of police officers, who on a daily basis “deal with the worst that society can throw at them”, Mr Colvin said a critical element of addressing mental health in the AFP was cultural change.

“We still have a long way to go but if we keep implementing these positive initiatives with partners who are experts in the field we know we will make ground,” Mr Colvin told The Australian.

“One of the key findings of the BeyondBlue Answering the Call report showed that AFP members did not hold stigmatising attit­udes towards their colleagues but had high rates of self-stigma.

“This makes me hopeful we are on the right track in encouraging members to look out for one another­ but I want members to be able to put their hand up and say: I’m struggling, that I need some time off or that I need some help to deal with some issues.

“Creating a safe, diverse and inclusive workforce is an important part of member wellbeing. I know that there is a shift in this attitud­e but we cannot take our eye off the ball, we must keep working together to provide options­, like the R2MR program to support our members.”

AFP chief medical officer Katrina Sanders expected the course — which originated in Canada — to help officers’ mental, social, physical and organisational health. The AFP’s 6641 members will be asked to use their imagination to prepare for stressful events, taught coping strategies such as how to use breathing to calm down and reduce stress, and given a self-assessment tool to consider their own mental fitness.

“Is it the perfect answer? Is it the 100 per cent solution that we’re looking for? It’s hard to say, we’ll need to do our own evaluation,” Dr Sanders said.

“Will it prevent further suicides? That’s also hard to say, we hope so. But certainly the research and the evidence around it is it does improve resilience and we know that’s critical to health protection.”

Lifeline Canberra CEO Carrie Leeson, whose organisation has partnered with Beacon Group to deliver the training to the AFP, said it brought a mental health literacy to Australia that has not existed.

“At the core is a way of monitoring small changes in behaviour that are warning signs of bigger, oncoming mental problems. People who work in potentially traumatic occupations are taught to think of their mental state in colours from green (healthy) through yellow and orange to red (very ill),” she said.

“Prevention is always better than cure, which is why this course is so relevant.”

If you or anyone you know needs help, call Lifeline on 131 114 or BeyondBlue on 1300 224 636