15 Turkish police officers died by suicide in last 25 days: Union head

Faruk Sezer, the head of the police union Emniyet-Sen, said that 15 police officers have taken their lives in the last 25 days. He said that the police force is not being managed well and is suffering under long and irregular working hours.

Wednesday June 16 2021 11:31 pm

Duvar English

Fifteen police officers have died by suicide within the last 25 days, the police union Emniyet-Sen Faruk Sezer said on June 16.

Long and irregular working hours have an adverse effect on police officers' mental health, Sezer told Halk TV.

“In our country, if you are a police officer, you are worn down physically. It is not a technical work, but instead a physical one. Fifteen police officers are sent to a job that should normally be done by three people. They are sent to unnecessary jobs,” Sezer said.

He said that while a civil servant works 160 hours a month on average, a police officer at least works 240 hours, which goes up to 400 hours sometimes.

Sezer said that 2013 was the year when the police force saw the highest number of suicides with the death of 57 police officers. “In 2018 or 2019, this number fell to 53,” he said.

A total of 40 police officers have committed suicide since the beginning of this year, he said, warning that this number is nearing the figure of 2013.

The main reason behind the increase in the number of suicides is that the police force is not managed well, he said. “It was not managed well in the past as well, so not just now,” he said.