MONTEVIDEO, June 26 (NNN-PRENSA LATINA) — The suicide rate among Uruguayan policemen triples that of the general population, which reflects a problem that the uniformed officers denounced.
In the Police, the suicide rate is 63 per 100,000 inhabitants and the general rate in the country is 21 per 100,000, according to the local press.
The sources themselves point out that so far this year eight uniformed officers have committed suicide. Last Thursday it was an officer and on Friday a policewoman, making four so far in June.
In this situation, the police unions assure that the phenomenon is closely related to the harassment of the commanders, threats and pressures to return to work, despite the fact that they are under medical certificate.
The Minister of the Interior, Luis Alberto Heber, considers that the lack of agents on the streets is due to medical certifications.
The “Sindicato de Policías Agremiados del departamento de Canelones” (Sidepac) considered in a statement that Heber’s declarations “were not happy” and that “the people have forgotten that the system continues being a hostage of an administration without direction”.
The union requested the removal of the entire team of the Mental Health Department of Police Health, and also of those responsible for the Auxiliary Health Centers.
“This emergency does not resist any more improvisations, it requires urgent and concrete measures”, the statement, regarding the suicides in the police ranks, concluded. — NNN-PRENSA LATINA
