Community Safety
(1) Whether the SA Police Service (SAPS) in the Western Cape provides any psychological counselling to police officers who are on active duty; if not, why not; if so, what form does this psychological assistance take;
(2) whether members of the SAPS have been informed of such assistance; if not, why not; if so, how is this assistance communicated to the officers;
(3) how many officers received psychological counselling in the (i) 2009/10 (ii) 2010/11 (iii) 2011/12 (iv) 2012/13 and (v) 2014 financial years;
(4) whether there is any compulsory psychological counselling for SAPS members who were involved in traumatic incidents; if not, why not; if so, what are the relevant details?
The South African Police Service informed me that:
[1] Yes, Employee Health and Wellness [EHW] was established to provide essential services such as psycho-social and spiritual interventions as well as various organisational and operational support services to members and management. Its operation as a single integrated service reflects the drive towards providing a holistic approach that deals with the causes and not the symptoms of concerns.
[2] Yes, internal communication channels including information in pay sheets. The Service Charter was published in the Internal Publication.
[3][i] 2009/10 - 2080
[ii] 2010/11 - 2622
[iii] 2011/12 - 4244
[iv] 2012/13 - 6646
[v] 2013/14 - 7545
[4] A trauma debriefing/crisis management service is available on a 24 hour basis in the Western Cape SAPS. The National Instruction: Trauma Debriefing 18/1998 pertains to the debriefing of police officials involved in critical incidents. However, the National Instruction does not compel Employees to utilise debriefing services.
Members can thus choose to decline this service in favour of a private practitioner if desired.
