Last week I received a letter from a high ranking police officer, which I thought to indicate a police breakdown -- I need to think before I reveal anything. But it leads me to this post. Police numbers in South Africa are not too bad, taken simply as a figure. But their well-being, to use a word of our parliamentary Opposition, is "catastrophic". Earlier this year, our Deputy Minister of Police revealed that 89% of police officers are depressed: HIV and Depression Stalk SA's Police Officers. Now consider that depressed persons may work at 20% of capacity: SA is Stressed Out and Suicidal. Given that both of these figures are true, the police are working just above one-quarter capacity -- and they need to do what they need to do to work at that capacity -- to fit their condition. I don't think that too much of what I call police breakdown should be reduced to levels of crime, and I don't think that too much of it should be blamed on levels of corruption. I suspect it is human collapse. But then one needs to ask what brings about such human collapse. OBSERVATION: Being a veteran counsellor myself, I think I see some obvious things. But I don't think it is likely that I shall be appointed as special advisor to the police any time soon.
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