KUCHING: The mental and physical wellbeing of police personnel in the Sarawak Contingent Police Headquarters (IPK) must be well taken care of to maintain the highest quality of service.
Sarawak Police Commissioner Datuk Mancha Ata said that a career in law enforcement is inherently challenging, requiring not only physical strength but also mental and emotional resilience.
To ensure that all personnel continue to lead healthy lifestyles, various programmes and modules have been implemented.
“In addition to sports and recreational activities, religious and spiritual programme should be emphasised as measures to maintain mental health, particularly in mitigating stress from the job.
“Mental health is a broad, subjective issue that affects everyone in different ways,” he said during the Sarawak IPK’s monthly assembly, today (Nov 14).
In light of this, Comm Mancha urged department heads, district police chiefs and supervisors to be more observant and responsive to any behavioural or psychological changes experienced by officers under their charge.
He added that in reality, effective counselling can prevent officers from falling into personal, career or interpersonal difficulties.
“The misconception that only the ‘mentally ill’ need to see a counsellor, should be dispelled.
“Counselling can help officers enhance their personal development to achieve a high level of psychological functionality.
“A healthy mind will produce a healthy body and guarantee a more perfect quality of life.”
He pointed out that counselling services provided by the team, should be fully utilised for the wellbeing of the individual, family and team.
