Turkish Interior Ministry boasts about ‘decreasing’ police suicide rate

Duvar English 

Turkey's General Directorate of Security (EGM), under the Interior Ministry, has boasted about the “decreasing rate” of suicide among police officers.

In an official statement on Oct. 7, the EGM said that 44 police officers had committed suicide between January – October of this year. It shared the data after police officer Enes Seyhan earlier this week took his life at the Istanbul Police Headquarters on Vatan Avenue, saying that he was constantly subjected to mobbing.

The issue of police deaths came to society’s agenda once again, with the opposition İYİ (Good) Party submitting a parliamentary motion asking for an inquiry into police suicides. But the motion was turned by the votes of the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) and Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) lawmakers.

Mobbing, long working hours, heavy working conditions, relatively low pay and lack of unionization rights are some of the problems that police are facing.

In its statement, the EGM referred to concerns about police suicide rate as “disinformation attempts,” saying that they do not “reflect the truth.” 

“Despite an increase in the number of personnel, the number of suicides, which stood at 69 in the first nine months of 2021 (Jan. 1 – Oct. 7), has decreased to 44 in the same period of this year. When the January-October period of last year is compared with the January-October period of this year, the suicide rate which was 0.02 percent, has decreased to 0.013 percent. The suicide rate in the year of 2016 (January – October) was 0.018 percent” the EGM said.

The EGM also said that “motivation-increasing works” are being conducted to prevent suicides among the police.

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