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Why isn't police mental health a concern? (lemmy.world)

submitted 4 months ago* (last edited 4 months ago) by Rachelhazideas@lemmy.world to c/asklemmy@lemmy.ml

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First of, ACAB. There's no denying that American police are steeped in institutionalized racism and violence.

But secondly, I'd like to point out that conservatives will never view men's mental health as a real issue (cops are disproportionately male), and liberals will never view cops as human enough to have mental health issues.

The United States is the country with highest rates of civilian gun ownership in the world. Every police encounter has an inherently higher risk of gun violence. Now, cops frequently provoke when they should deescalate. But multiple things can be true at the same time. Policing as a profession attracts narcissists and sociopath, policing as an institution enables that behavior, and policing in a country with rampant gun ownership is a highly stressful and traumatic experience.

I say this as a survivor of a mass shooting. Gun violence changes how you look at your environment and the people in it. There is no room and no person that escapes your unease and suspicion. I can only imagine what a work environment that perpetually affirms those suspicions could do to one's mental health.

None of this excuses police brutality. I just think that we need to start looking at cops as legitimately mentally ill people, whether they are sociopathic or traumatized.

Destigmatizing men's mental health means every man's mental health, and the left's inability to address this blind spot is allowing the manosphere to dress its alpha male bullshit in police and paramilitary aesthetics.

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[–] JohnnyEnzyme@piefed.social 8 points 4 months ago (1 children)

conservatives will never view men’s mental health as a real issue (cops are disproportionately male), and liberals will never view cops as human enough to have mental health issues.

I get what you're saying, but IMO you're being overly generalistic, particularly with regards to 'liberal' positions, which AFAIK by their very nature tend to view cops as human, too.

Anyway, far as I know there are indeed mental wellness departments within police depts. Based on a quick search just now, it looks like most departments in the States do indeed have such a service(s), altho it may go under a variety of names and have somewhat different focus from area to area.

I just think that we need to start looking at cops as legitimately mentally ill people, whether they are sociopathic or traumatized.

I'd scale that back to reiterate what you said earlier, which is that being a cop includes plenty of legitimate stressors, which naturally call out to be addressed. One thing I think factors in is that police in the States only receive ~6mos training IIRC, which seems dangerously low to me, and perhaps contributes to various individuals making it through the program that really shouldn't, and I would think cuts down on the amount of nuance and preparedness a cop has at their disposal to deal with future situations.

Anyway, that's my quick dos centavos, there.

[–] Rachelhazideas@lemmy.world 2 points 4 months ago (1 children)

The brevity of police training program is definitely a major contributor.

While there are mental health programs present, the stigma of mental health has rendered many of them unused. Police surveyed in North Dakota found that an overwhelming majority will not disclose their mental health issues to their colleagues or supervisors, most expect to be discriminated if they do, and see mental health issues as a personal failure.

Of the services provided, only debriefings and weight rooms saw significant use. Outside of that, few used therapy, peer support groups, mental health checks, and resilience therapy.

[–] JohnnyEnzyme@piefed.social 2 points 4 months ago

Good point!
And it's not hard to conceive of them having 'their own way' of dealing with stress and mental health issues. Just that it would be pretty amateur and peer-driven by its nature.

Unfortunately, I'm not sure there are any useful levers the public, the mayor and the commissioner have to overcome police unions' typically furious and dogmatic resistance against any such useful progress.