A third of Portugal’s police agents sought psychological support in 2015, with GNR police registering a whopping 300% increase in psychological and psychiatric appointments when compared to 2014.
In other words, over 15,000 of Portugal’s 43,000 men and women in uniform requested some sort of psychological help last year, according to a report by national tabloid Correio da Manhã.
The data is considered “worrying”, especially as 15 police agents are registered as having committed suicide in Portugal last year.
One of the main issues, says CM, is the lack of psychologists and psychiatrists in police forces and the difficulty officers face in obtaining the help they need.
According to the paper, there are only 39 psychologists providing support to both the GNR and PSP police forces.
Reacting to the news, Internal Administration Minister Anabela Rodrigues assured the government is set to reinforce psychological teams.
