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Police suffering from mental problems given support

More than 100 police officers nationwide suffer from mental problems and have been transferred to units in which officers don't wear guns, the National Police Bureau (NPB) said yesterday.

Police officer Chen Kuo-en (陳國恩) from the bureau's Public Relations Office told reporters yesterday that police officers are civil servants and therefore fall under the Public Functionaries Protection Act (公務人員保障法), which does not require that civil servants found to have mental problems leave their jobs.

Those police officers have transferred to units that do not require weapons, such as units handling documents or paperwork, he added.

The NPB said that 12 police officers at the Taipei City Police Department were suffering from mental problems.

The officer said the bureau required that all police officers undergo a psychological examination once a year and that directors of police stations or police units monitor the mental condition of their officers and report any problems.

He said that police departments nationwide provided counseling for police officers, including sessions with psychologists. Police are under high pressure because of the long shifts and potential danger they face on a daily basis.

Officers investigating violent crimes and gangsters are under especially high pressure, the officer said.

Prosecutorial authorities had also taken steps to deal with prosecutors with mental problems, he added.

As civil servants, prosecutors are also covered by the Public Functionaries Protection Act.

Taipei Prosecutor Tsai Hung-chan (蔡宏展) was accused of sexual harassment in February 2005 for taking a female plaintiff's hand and reading her palm during an investigation hearing.

Tsai was not indicted, but in December 2005 received psychological treatment, staying in a hospital for a couple of months.

Taipei District Prosecutors' Office spokesman Lin Jinn-tsun (林錦村) said Tsai had returned to his job and had been transferred to a position that does not involve investigating crimes.
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