St Catherine South police strengthening mental health approach
Published:Tuesday | January 9, 2024 | 12:10 AMRuddy Mathison/Gleaner Writer
In a pioneering move, the St Catherine South police have shifted their focus towards mental health awareness, launching a collaborative workshop with the Ministry of Health & Wellness at the Hundred-man police headquarters in Portmore on Monday.
The comprehensive workshop, inaugurated by Commander of the St Catherine South Division, Senior Superintendent Christopher Phillips, is designed to equip various stakeholders, including members of the constabulary force, fire brigade, Portmore Municipal Council, municipal police, healthcare providers, and others, with essential skills to address mental health issues in the course of their duties.
Phillips, reflecting on the pressing need for such training, recounted a poignant incident early in his leadership when an entire family succumbed to the impacts of mental illness.
“As commander you have to care about these things and even what happened to the community afterwards,” he shared.
“Increasingly as police officers, we have this mindset that mental health is not our business, but I want to remind you that the Mental Health Act gives us some responsibility as law enforcement officers that we need to understand,” Phillips emphasised.
Acknowledging the evolving dynamics of law enforcement, he stressed the role of police in supporting communities facing a surge in mental health cases.
Dr Kevin Goulbourne, director of mental health and substance abuse in the Ministry of Health & Wellness, emphasised the necessity for a collaborative approach between law enforcement and mental health practitioners to effectively tackle the escalating mental health challenges in Jamaica. He sees this initiative as a pilot project that could set the stage for similar endeavours nationwide.
PILOT PROJECT
“The training programme stands as a pilot project that will be replicated throughout Jamaica. We want to see what didn’t go so well so that we can make improvements in replicating it,” Goulbourne said.
National coordinator for mental health, Coral Baker Burke, extended the call for collaboration beyond the operational level, urging decisions at the health ministry to encompass the entire country. She aspires for Jamaica to achieve a response level akin to North America.
“I hope Jamaica will get to a place where we can have the North American level of response, which involves police, healthcare providers and firefighters all turning up to deal with persons with mental health conditions at the same time,” Baker Burke said.
President of the Jamaica Psychological Society, Dr Margarett Barnett, who is also president of the Jamaica Theological Seminary, endorsed the workshop, pledging “to provide a supporting role throughout the training programme”.
Workshop coordinator Detective Inspector Pilmar Powell highlighted the role law enforcement must play in assisting mentally ill individuals and also endorsed the idea of mental health practitioners collaborating with the police as first responders, alongside firefighters.
The training will span from January 8 to February 2, and will covers an array of crucial topics, including the treatment of mental health disorders, grief and trauma, abused victim support, stress management, psychological first aid, anxiety, and PTSD as well as substance abuse, among other topics relating to mental illness.