Police in Canberra are at the forefront of a new mental health program which could soon be expanded across the full Australian Federal Police operational workforce.
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The federal pilot program is designed "to monitor individuals’ cumulative exposure to potentially traumatic events and provide appropriate early intervention and support where required", according to the AFP.
Police working across Canberra and at AFP Forensics at Majura were chosen to take part in the pilot program.
Officers at city station present an ideal operational workplace for the pilot because, aside from the specialist response group, it is considered the most robust community policing environment within the federal police.
City station is the home of the regional targeting team, which patrols Canberra's city hotel and nightclub precinct on night shifts. Those shifts stretch until 6am, and officers deal with drunks, fistfights and violent behaviour on a nearly daily basis.
The same station also houses the city watchhouse, in which those arrested are held until they can be processed for court, or released on watchhouse bail.
The behaviour of those entering the stark cement cells of the watchhouse can range from the morose and drunk to the violent and belligerent.
While AFP Forensics does not have a direct operational focus, its field officers are exposed to confronting and brutal crime scenes, and are required to photograph, capture and record human physical samples, such as hair, blood and semen, in minute detail.
The AFP has been under pressure to overhaul its approach to mental health since four officers committed suicide - two in the AFP's Melbourne offices and another two within the basement gun lockers at AFP headquarters in Barton - in the past two years.
AFP Commissioner Andrew Colvin said that the deaths had left a "deep impact" on the AFP, and had prompted an overhaul of the organisation's strategies for identifying officers under psychological stress, and developing a better understanding of how to manage those issues.
The AFP also recently overhauled its protocol on restricting officers' access to firearms, with police now unable to access their Glock pistols when not on duty.
The ACT Policing welfare network is considered to have the best record in the AFP when it comes to managing officers' mental wellbeing, and that Canberra-centric model has been extended across the federal network.
But after further assessment this system was found to best suit a more close-knit policing environment, such as that within Canberra and its workforce of less than 900 officers.
The AFP has a much larger workforce of 6498 people, of which 51 per cent are sworn officers. That workforce includes officers tasked with combatting transnational and organised crime, terrorism, and diplomatic protection.
A review of the pilot program will begin in February.
If you are experiencing personal difficulties, please contact Lifeline on 131 114 or beyondblue on 1300 224 636.