As part of a series of reports on the mental health of police officers, The newspaper spoke with dozens of experts and agents in addition to reviewing several dozen documents, including around forty requests for access to information. An observation emerges: it has never been so difficult to be a police officer.
What made a good police officer 40 years ago has changed greatly. The Quebec National Police Academy (ENPQ) is now looking for a “Mini Wheats” profile, a mix between a police officer and a social worker.
“The face of crime has changed a lot,” immediately launches Annie Gendron, researcher at the ENPQ Center for Research and Strategic Development.
Andrée-Ann Deschênes and Annie Gendron
Photo Andréanne Lemire
“We will always need the repressive side, but we must admit that the psychosocial aspect is essential. We are looking for young people who are comfortable moving from one pole to another. A kind of “Mini Wheats” profile!”, she jokes.
To do this, the school based in Nicolet has considerably adapted its training over the years and continues to do so, in particular based on data collected by the Research Chair in Prevention of Psychological Health Problems at Work in Public Safety , including Mme Gendron is a joint owner.
One of the factors that stands out is the fact that young people are often disillusioned with the real job of police officer.
“Many students who arrive say they want to look for serial killers or have the impression that they will be chasing bandits all day long. But they underestimate the extent to which they will be confronted with human misery, explains Rémi Boivin, associate professor of criminology who collaborated on the Chair. They will argue and be insulted most of the time.”
A turning point after 6e year
Moreover, research results reveal a turning point in police careers between the sixth and tenth years of service, a time when police officers are at greater risk of developing mental health disorders.
“The police officer seems to become more vulnerable at that moment,” explains Andrée-Ann Deschênes, co-holder of the Chair. This often coincides with the moment when they want to access higher functions other than patrol, but this is unfortunately not always possible.
In fact, the majority of aspiring police officers enter this field with the hope of one day becoming investigators or managers. But since the police service is mainly made up of patrol officers, the opportunities are limited.
And often, at the same time, police officers become parents and have greater financial responsibilities, adding to the stress.
Avoid improvisation
In order to prevent the risks of post-traumatic shock, the Research Chair is in the process of establishing a three-step action plan. The ultimate goal is to avoid improvisation from one police force to another.
First, we ensure that there is support among colleagues during a traumatic event.
“We want people to normalize their symptoms, for their good deeds to be valued by their peers,” explains M.me Deschenes.
Subsequently, the manager must offer support to the police officer the same day, one week later and one month after the event. Finally, we want to provide access to a psychologist who knows police reality within a reasonable time after the event.
Thanks to pilot projects and hair cortisol tests to measure stress levels, the Chair’s researchers are already able to see that this trajectory, which is relatively simple, gives very promising results in order to avoid shock. Posttraumatic.
