It's a dark day for law enforcement.
The National Police of the North and that of the Bas-Rhin announced the suicide of two police officers Tuesday, January 18 in the morning, one based in Lille, and the other in Strasbourg.
These two new deaths bring the number of police suicides to seven since the start of 2022.
Read alsoSuicide prevention in the police: “colleagues” on the front line
The first policeman, Julien, was assigned to the emergency police unit at La Madeleine, in Lille. He was 36 years old and the father of two children. The second policeman, aged 43, was a brigadier-in-chief at the Strasbourg Specialized Field Brigade. “
He chose to leave us this morning leaving us there, in pain and incomprehension. We will miss him terribly
, ”wrote the national police of 59 on Twitter.
In 18 days, seven police officers committed suicide, or one officer every 60 hours. "
It's a difficult subject, it's a lot
," says Jérôme Jiménez, union representative of the UNSA Police, to
Figaro
. When a police officer is doing badly, it is rare for him to share his discomfort: “
Colleagues are often ashamed of going badly. We have this uniform business problem, and no one wants to show their fragility and be disarmed.
»
Jérôme Jiménez wishes to remind the police that one should not be ashamed. "
We have to stop making the profession sacred, we are not supermen, it's hard what we do
", he says, before adding: "
We have a difficult job and we live in a difficult period
. .
Asking for help is not a weakness
,
you have the right to raise your finger just like everyone else
”.
This sad figure unfortunately confirms a scourge known for a long time.
According to a barometer of the Mutuelle des forces de sécurité (MGP) carried out among 6,000 police officers and published last July, 24% of them have considered suicide or have heard colleagues want to do so in the last 12 month.
In total, according to the study, “
40% of police officers are in psychological distress
”.
