St. Catherine South police trained to better deal with mentally ill people

By Nakinksie Robinson    

 

Police officers attached to the St. Catherine South Division are better able to deal with and confront situations involving people with mental health challenges.

 

That is according to Senior Superintendent Christopher Phillips, commanding officer for the division.

 

His comment follows the completion of a six-week mental health training session involving some 20 police officers and other first responders. 

 

SSP Phillips said there were challenges getting the course off the ground and some questioned why the police were getting involved in mental health issues, but he insisted these skills are needed now more than ever in policing "where it is extremely dynamic and demanding".  

 

He urged the officers to "carry the torch of compassion and care" into their respective communities. 

 

He was speaking at the recent closing ceremony for the training exercise.

 

Course Coordinator and Programme Director, Detective Inspector Pilmar Powell, reflected on the accomplishments of the training, noting that it would transform mindsets and help officers to not be judgemental.

 

"This training is imperative due to the escalating incidents and the hightened public concerns surrounding interactions between law enforcement and individuals with mental health issues. These encounters have frequently resulted in tragic outcomes such as injuries to even fatalities, sparking a wave of public demand for deeper understanding of these interactions and the need for improvement," she explained. 

 

Participants were selected from the Ministry of National Security, Portmore Municipality, Transport Authority, Jamaica Fire Brigade and the Jamaica Theological Seminary.

 

The course was conducted over the period January 8 to February 16.

 

Twenty-four participants successfully completed the exercise from a cohort of 26.