Police suicide isn't public business but trust it's being addressed: De Caire
After two high-profile suicides in two years, Hamilton Police Chief Glenn De Caire is adamant that he will not talk about any individual police officers who have killed themselves.
But he maintains the police service is making strides in better protecting its officers and breaking down the barriers and stigma that keep them from seeking help, he said during a one-on-one interview with CBC News Tuesday afternoon.
The number of people we help, the number of people who come forward, I'm never going to talk about.- Police Chief Glenn de Caire
"We will talk about the issue, we will talk about the systems, we will talk about support, we will talk about stigma," De Caire said. "But we are not going to talk about the individual out of privacy and respect for that individual and the decision that they have made."
De Caire was part of a presentation alongside Deputy Chief Ken Weatherill at the Police Services Board Tuesday about the service's wellness working group — a grassroots committee working to intervene and prevent suicide.
The group has been part of implementation of suicide alertness training dubbed "safe talk," and now will work on the service's "Road to Mental Readiness program," which is based on the Canadian Military and soldiers who have seen combat.
The service is considering recommendations that address issues of training, education, a psychological support unit, policy administration, post suicide response and more.
"So when you put all these components of the programs together, we have good support and we have good systems," De Caire said. "What we need to focus on now is stigma reduction."
"Stigma reduction is a societal issue. It's not just about policing."
Privacy of members
De Caire says there has been a broader community conversation about confidentiality, and speaking about specific police suicides. Police veteran Ian Matthews shot himself at central station in 2013 and Const. Daryl Archer killed himself earlier this spring.
De Caire said it isn't his place to speak about those people publicly.
To get help:
Salvation Army Suicide Crisis Line: 905-522-1477
COAST: 905-972-8338
"If you're an employee, do you want your employer going out and speaking publicly about you and what's going on in your world? I don't think so," he said.
"We are an employer, we will respect the privacy of our members, we will respect the confidentiality of them reaching out for help – but we will provide them the support that they need and the programs they need to get help."
After Tuesday's Board meeting, Mayor Fred Eisenberger said an important distinction needs to be that people who want to speak out about their personal issues are given the opportunity to do so.
"Conversation on mental health is the path to destigmatization," he said. "They should ask the second question, which is 'Are you willing to talk?'"
Chief wont share numbers on how many officers ask for help
De Caire told the meeting that people do speak about issues they've had internally, an answer that satisfied the mayor. For months, officers have been meeting in groups of 40 once a week to talk about suicide for four hours straight.
De Caire says privacy issues also keep him from talking about how many officers have availed themselves of the suicide prevention programs the service is offering, he says. The chief won't share those numbers.
"The number of people we help, the number of people who come forward, I'm never going to talk about."
However, at Tuesday's meeting, a motion was passed instructing the police service to come back to the board in three month intervals to provide updates on how mental wellness training is progressing.