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Sick time spikes at Kawartha Lakes Police Service

KAWARTHA LAKES-Sick time at Kawartha Lakes Police Service jumped more than 100 hours in August, making it one of the highest months for sick time over the last three years.

In August staff took 586 hours of sick time versus July when 478 hours were used. “The numbers are higher than normal.” Police Chief Mark Mitchell told Kawartha 411. “We had three officers that were off for the entire month which accounts for the majority of that amount (roughly 160 hours per month per officer).” Mitchell says one was job related and another was physical injury.

There are only four other months with higher numbers in the last three years. January 2017 has the most number of sick time hours used at 802. November 2017 follows with 724, March 2016 had 680 and then December 2016 with 611 hours.

 

Policing can be a very dangerous and stressful job leading to physical injury, death or Post Traumatic Stress Disorder.

Since 1975, a total of 284 police officers have died on the job according to Stats Canada. Of these, 101 were homicide victims, while 88 were killed in accidents in their vehicle.

Aircraft crashes during transportation or surveillance operations in more remote regions account for 29 deaths, and often claimed many lives in a single incident. Officers were killed during training exercises on three occasions.

Stats Canada research indicates there are some situations faced by police officers in which the risk of being murdered is higher than others. For example, since 1961, police officers were most often murdered during a robbery investigation, accounting for nearly one-quarter (23%) of all killings. Another 14% of police officers were murdered while responding to a domestic dispute, although most of these homicides occurred during the 1960s and 1970s. Stopping a suspicious vehicle/person and stopping a vehicle for a traffic violation have resulted in more homicides against police officers than responding to domestic disputes in more recent years.

The Ontario Ombudsman found the following statistics:
Number of OPP officers killed on duty since 1989 – 2011: 21
Number of OPP suicides since 1989: 23* (16 active officers, 7 retired)
Estimated rate of death by violence (e.g., shooting, stabbing): 3 per 100,000
Estimated rate of death by accident (e.g., traffic collision): 20-22 per 100,000
Estimated rate of death by suicide*: 12 per 100,000
*The OPP kept no formal records of suicides; these figures are based on a list kept by the OPP Staff Psychologist at the time.

Results from Canada’s first national survey in 2017 looking at operational stress injuries among first responders such as police, paramedics, firefighters and 911 operators found they are much more likely to develop a mental disorder than the general population.

The research was conducted online between September 2016 and January 2017 by a group of mental health experts from across the country and was published in the Canadian Journal of Psychiatry. Of the 5,813 participants, 44.5 per cent “screened positive for clinically significant symptom clusters consistent with one or more mental disorders.” It’s only 10% for the general population.  The research found symptoms of operational stress injuries also appear to increase with more years of service and more exposure to traumatic events.

“We have a number of supports for officers suffering with stress related injuries or who have experienced critical incidents.” Chief Mitchell told Kawartha 411.  Some of the supports are:

  • A CISM (Critical Incident Stress Management (CISM) team that we formed jointly with ourselves, EMS and Fire. The CISM team offers debriefing sessions after incidents and can meet 1-1 with members who may appear to be struggling and offer support or referrals as warranted
  • In 2016, all members of the Service received R2MR (Road to Mental Readiness) training which is primarily a self and peer assessment of your emotional state and teaches techniques to help deal with any problems early
  • Our benefit package includes coverage for psychological counselling that any member can access as needed
  • Similarly the City’s EAP (Employee Assistance Plan) offers supports for a variety of work related and personal issues

“For physical (and mental) injuries, we utilize a third party service provider who maintains patient confidentiality while managing the condition with the joint goal of getting the worker access to the services they require and to expedite their return to work as soon as possible.” says Mitchell.

 

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Pamela Vanmeer
Pamela Vanmeerhttps://www.kawartha411.ca/
Pamela VanMeer is a two time winner of the prestigious Radio Television Digital News Association (RTDNA) Award. Her investigative reports on abuse in Long Term Care Homes garnered international attention for the issue and won the Ron Laidlaw Award. She is a former reporter and anchor at CHEX News, now Global Peterborough and helped launch the New CHEX Daily, a daily half hour talk show. While at CHCH News in Hamilton she covered some of the biggest news stories of the day.

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