Nicosia, Cyprus. Police union Isotita president Nikos Loizides said on Friday that the renewal of service weapon certifications should be accompanied by periodic psychological evaluations of officers. He said current procedures assess weapon-handling knowledge and skills but do not include psychological evaluation.
Call for periodic checks
Loizides said psychological tests currently used by the police are mainly personality tests conducted during recruitment rather than throughout an officer’s career.
He said psychological testing is one of four stages in the police recruitment process, alongside written exams, athletic tests and drug tests.
Current weapon certification process
Loizides said police officers renew their certification for the use of service weapons every five years. He said the process concerns only the technical knowledge and skills required for handling weapons and does not involve any form of psychological evaluation.
He proposed that renewals take place every three years instead of every five and include an interview so that psychologists in the police human resources department can identify any psychological overload or issues affecting an officer’s mental clarity.
Context of the remarks
His remarks came three days after the attempted murder of a 46-year-old woman who was shot several times on Tuesday by her husband, a police officer, using his service weapon.
Police told the Cyprus Mail on Friday that the woman remains in hospital in a critical but stable condition.
Mental health intervention procedures
Asked about existing procedures when there are indications that officers may be experiencing mental health problems, Loizides said there are three forms of intervention.
He said a supervisor can refer an officer to psychologists in the police human resources department. He added that officers can also seek mental health support voluntarily if needed.
Loizides said service weapons can also be withdrawn if a member of the force presents a medical certificate recommending that they should not possess a weapon for medical or mental health reasons.
Support services circular
Loizides said a circular was sent to all police members on June 22 to promote the mental health support services provided by the human resources branch.
He said the circular offered psychoeducation on issues including stress management, post-traumatic stress disorder and other traumatic events.
