By Sumudu Chamara and Savaira Sammoon   The relationship between the Police and the public has been tarnished on a number of occasions in the recent past, largely due to arbitrary arrests and the excessive use of power on civilians. It would not be wrong to state that over the years, public perception about the Police has changed for the worse, even though it is only a handful of police officers who misuse their powers. The incident where a traffic police officer (constable [PC]) attached to the Maharagama Police Station brutally assaulted a lorry driver in the Pannipitiya area on 29 March sparked concerns about the excessive use of police power. Following the incident, the traffic police officer was arrested and remanded and since interdicted over the incident. In addition, it was reported that an investigation was also launched into the assault. Police Media Spokesman, Deputy Inspector General of Police (DIG) Ajith Rohana publicly stated that the Police does not approve of the traffic police officer’s conduct. It was reported yesterday (30) that the Nugegoda Magistrate’s Court had released on bail the lorry driver in question, and had remanded the traffic police officer until 5 April. It was further reported that the lorry driver’s driving license had been suspended. Recently, various forms of incidents amounting to police brutality and police torture came to light. However, it is mostly through media reports that the public gets to know about these incidents, and Sri Lanka has not conducted adequate research to evaluate the situation or the underlying factors pertaining to such incidents. Today’s Spotlight focuses on the status quo of traffic police officers as far as stress and anger management are concerned, and what sociological and psychological factors cause a tendency to use excessive force when there is no immediate need or threat.   Traffic police officers’ plight When it comes to the unfortunate incidents faced by traffic police officers while on duty and their harsh working conditions, it appears that their plight, most of the time, does not attract adequate public and media attention. In recent times, several incidents where traffic police officers faced accidents and other forms of issues while on duty were reported. In July last year, a PC, who was on duty at the Koggala checkpoint on the Matara-Hakmana Road, died after being run over by a tipper truck that did not comply with police orders to stop. In the incident, two police sergeants also sustained injuries. It was also reported this month that a 52-year-old sub-inspector attached to the Police Emergency Response Unit died in an accident in the Rajagiriya area. He had died after a speeding van ran over a group of police officers including the deceased. A civilian also died in the incident. In addition, in August last year, the media reported that two police officers, who were on duty near the Polonnaruwa-Habarana-Hatamuna roadblock, sustained injuries after a tipper truck collided with an iron pipe attached to the roadblock.   Training for police officers When queried as to the training provided to traffic police officers at the Police College, a senior officer attached to the college told The Morning that the training includes emotional management, including anger and stress management, as a subject. He added that all matters pertaining to practical issues are also taught during the training, and said that the training duration varies, the minimum being six months. According to him, Traffic Police Headquarters also provide separate training for traffic police officers regarding the practical aspects of their duties. Meanwhile, speaking to The Morning, Colombo Traffic Division Director Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Manoj Ranagala said that traffic police officers have various shifts – while some are eight-hour shifts, some go into 12 hours. He added that measures are in place in order to ensure that they receive adequate rest while on duty. With regard to stress and anger management skills of traffic police officers, he added that within a training period of one-and-a-half years, stress and anger management are also taught. According to SSP Ranagala, emotional management is also discussed through in-service training as well. He further added that in addition to the abovementioned training, on Saturdays, a class is conducted for traffic police officers where they receive advice about matters pertaining to their duties. When questioned about the support systems in place within the Police Department in order to assist traffic police officers who may be seeking assistance to deal with psychologically stressful situations, he added that if any traffic police officer says that they are in such a situation, they have the opportunity to obtain services from a separate medical services division, managed under the Inspector General of Police (IGP). This includes services to provide assistance with regard to mental health issues as well. Even though The Morning attempted to contact the National Police Commission (NPC) to inquire as to whether any policy-level steps would be taken to address stress among traffic police officers in light of the abovementioned incident, the attempts were not successful. Attempts to contact Minister of Public Security Dr. Sarath Weerasekera regarding the same also proved futile.   Occupational stress among police officers Even though much research has been conducted the world over concerning the relationship between mental health factors and the stress level among police officers, in the Sri Lankan context, only a handful of such research has been conducted. According to a recent study conducted by I.K. Keerthirathne and A. Rathnayake of the Faculty of Allied Health Sciences of the University of Peradeniya, and G. Abeywardena of the Department of Psychiatry of the Kandy Teaching Hospital concerning police officers serving in Kandy, it has been identified that police officers in the Kandy area suffer from a moderate occupational stress level, and also that there is a mildly significant relationship between occupational stress and blood pressure (data was collected from the samples utilised for the study). The 2020 study, titled “Relationship between the level of blood pressure and occupational stress among police officers of the Kandy regional area”, recommends that necessary action should be implemented in order to reduce the stress level and to introduce positive coping mechanisms to improve the mental and physical health of highly stressed police officers, and that assessing the mental and physical health condition of police officers should be done periodically to maintain their quality of health. A total of 228 participants (police officers), both male and female, working in the Kandy regional area had been chosen to collect data, and only 204 of them had responded. Among them were 178 officers from the Kandy Police Station, 26 officers from the Peradeniya Police Station, and 24 officers from the Katugastota Police Station. The study had excluded police officers who are obtaining treatment for stress-related diseases and blood pressure alterations (hypertension and hypotension). Out of the 204 police officers, only 24 were traffic police officers, according to the study report. Among them were 19 (79.16%) male traffic police officers and five (20.83%) female traffic police officers. Out of the 19 male traffic police officers, four (21.05%) officers had shown moderate occupational stress, and 15 (78.94%) officers had shown severe occupational stress. When it came to the female traffic police officers, all five of them (100%) had shown severe occupational stress during the study. Concerning the occupational stress level of police officers, the study had found that six (25%) Inspectors of Police (IPs) had shown mild occupational stress. Also, 12 (50%) police officers had shown moderate occupational stress while five (25%) had shown severe occupational stress. When it comes to the relationship between the work experience of police officers and the level of occupational stress, according to the study, those who possessed less experience showed the highest percentage of occupational stress level. Analysing the level of occupational stress in comparison to their work experience, the study report said that among 33 police officers possessing work experience of less than 10 years, one (3.03%) police officer had shown mild occupational stress, while eight (24.28%) police officers had shown moderate occupational stress. A total of 24 (72.72%) police officers had shown severe occupational stress. Among 77 police officers who have 20-29 years of work experience, 12 (15.58%) police officers had shown mild occupational stress, while 47 (61.03%) police officers had shown moderate occupational stress. The number of police officers who showed severe occupational stress was 12 (32.43%), which was the highest in the group. The study had found that among 37 police officers, who had over 30 years of experience, four (10.81%) police officers had shown mild occupational stress, while 21 (56.75%) police officers had shown moderate occupational stress. A total of 12 (32.43%) police officers had shown severe levels of occupational stress. Discussing the relationship between occupational stress and the blood pressure of police officers, the study had found a mild positive correlation between systolic blood pressure (the force the heart exerts on the walls of the arteries each time it beats) and occupational stress among male police officers; and also a mild positive correlation between diastolic blood pressure (the force the heart exerts on the walls of the arteries in between beats) and occupational stress among male police officers. Furthermore, it had found a medium positive correlation between systolic blood pressure and occupational stress among female police officers. It added that a significant correlation could not be identified between systolic blood pressure and occupational stress among female police officers.   Politicians and violence Speaking of the sociological factors that could contribute to acts of violence, Prof. Subhangi Herath attached to the Sociology Department of the University of Colombo, said that very often, people feel justified in engaging in violence due to politicians justifying and defending it. She told The Morning that the immunity that they are given sets a bad example for and thereby penetrates into society, and that people take the law into their own hands as a result, so that they can release their anger without having to face the consequences of their actions.