Work Pressure Takes Toll: 30 Kerala Police Suicides Annually

In a troubling revelation, the Intelligence Department of the state has uncovered a distressing pattern where approximately 30 police personnel in Kerala succumb to the burden of work-related stress and mental strain by taking their own lives each year. Furthermore, an additional 100 police officers opt for early retirement due to these persistent challenges during the same timeframe.

The gravity of this issue prompted high-ranking officials within the police force to issue directives to District Police Chiefs. They are tasked with gathering precise statistics to comprehensively understand this disconcerting trend. This call for action followed the tragic loss of two police officers, including M P Sudhish, a senior civil police officer at Kuttiady station, who tragically ended their own lives within a span of just one month.

The Intelligence Department’s inquiry unearthed some shocking details:
– The majority of police stations in Kerala are understaffed, with more than 7,000 positions left unfilled throughout the state.
– Police officers are routinely subjected to grueling shifts that can extend for 12 to 18 hours, often without access to resting facilities in their stations.
– Despite a clear division of labor between investigation and law enforcement duties, a shortage of officers frequently necessitates that many stations have to shoulder the burden of both responsibilities.
– Numerous lower-ranking officers are assigned ‘attachment’ duties with higher-ranking officials and VIPs in each station.
– Officers are under significant pressure from superiors to generate revenue by filing minor cases. Nevertheless, they encounter resistance from the public on this front. Failure to meet these revenue targets often results in reprimands from senior officers.
– When dealing with legal matters, police stations are ill-equipped to produce the required five copies of the First Information Report (FIR).
– Station house officers are compelled to procure their own breathalyzers for detecting drunk driving cases.
– Night patrolling requires the deployment of at least four police officers, contributing to a shortage of officers available for daytime duties. This predicament further exacerbates the challenges faced by the police force.