One issue I’ve come to notice about the police systems in advanced countries is how much they care about the mental well-being of their officers. Anything at all that would weigh on their minds is frowned upon, and once it looks like it could affect the carrying out of their duties, steps could be taken to either fix the problem or even kick them off the force.
There are so many rules and regulations, things that keep the members of the force in check. There seem to be rules for everything, including how they handle their weapons, procedures for when they fire their weapons, procedures for when they kill someone (criminal or accidental civilian death), and levels they take to protect themselves. Hell, even how they manage their finances.
I just learned that Police organizations take the finances of their officers seriously. And as an active officer, you can’t ever be in debt. At least not to a certain level. There’s an amount of money that you can’t owe. Be it casinos, banks, or even loan sharks. You just can’t be involved in that. Because that could be grounds for demotion or even losing your job.
I guess it’s believed that debtors would make bad police officers because they’ll be more likely to accept bribes and extort money from citizens. This is also the reason they don’t accept gifts from people, especially those with whom they’re working cases. Because no matter the intent behind the gifts, it could always be viewed as a bribe, and that can affect the integrity of the officer’s case.
I think the one that is even more regulated is their weapons. Every bullet is counted and for every one fired, there must be a reason. In Korean Police, the first bullet is always blank. That’s compulsory. And that limits the likelihood of an accidental shooting. But then, this is possible because they have stricter gun laws in Korea than they do in places like the US.
And when it comes to defending yourself as a police officer, the gun will always be the last resort to go for. They have batons, tasers, pepper sprays, and tear gas. These are devices that are designed to protect them and also keep the culprit alive. However, when they find themselves dealing with armed perps, they’ll resort to weapons at once. In the US where guns are easily accessible to the citizens, the police there are not encumbered by the compulsory blank bullet. So, once the safety is off, they can easily start blasting away, and every hit could be deadly.
However, for the Korean Police, it’s different. This is why in most of their movies, the average bad guy doesn’t use guns. The thugs only use bats, sticks, knives, and other crude weapons. You have to be really connected for you (as a criminal) to have access to weapons. And it’s also the same reason officers always shoot a warning shot into the air, before pointing the weapon at the perp. Getting rid of the blanks first.
But then, what happens when a shot is taken and a life is actually lost? It doesn’t matter if it’s a good or bad kill, the officers are mandated to take psychiatric sessions where doctors will poke their brains and determine if they’re fit to return to work. Despite being a police officer, despite knowing that going after criminals and having a loaded weapon in your hand could mean taking a life, it still may end up being a shocking incident that would change everything about them.
Such things could cause lasting trauma that even the officer may not know. That’s the duty of the doctor to find out; no one wants to place a loaded gun in the hands of an officer with PTSD. Because what if they’re in a shootout and the officer has to fire his weapon? They wouldn’t want him to hesitate in protecting his life and that of others just because he’s scared of taking another life. And in the same vein, they wouldn’t want him to pull his weapon and fire simply because an angry but unarmed criminal is shouting at him.
So, the mental health is important. Because it protects both the police officers and the citizens. It shows that steps can be taken to ensure that everyone gets the best service. With the regulations and policies, if followed to the letter, we’ll have better cops on the streets.
But that’s for developed countries. And I could be wrong in certain things, because most of what I know were learned either by movies or the little research I made on my own. But it's all good, because in other countries, the police are nothing to write home about. And I’m going to end this post here because if I go any further, I’ll start getting serious PTSD.
But all in all, have a great week!