Mumbai: In a bid to help police officers addicted to alcohol and cigarettes kick the habits that threaten their health, the Mumbai police has unveiled a new initiative.
In a circular issued to all police stations on Tuesday, the department has sought a list of police personnel who are addicted to alcohol or cigarettes.
Sources said that the circular has asked senior officers and fellow officers to volunteer information about any personnel in their team who might be a victim of alcohol and cigarette addiction.
The details should be submitted to the main office within a month, after which counselling sessions will be held for personnel concerned. Speaking to The Asian Age, Mumbai police commissioner, Dattatray Padsalgikar confirmed the circular and said, “This is an exercise to help personnel in the department who may have addiction issues.”
Mr Padsalgikar said that that the department was concerned for the health of its men and the move was one step to help them lead a healthy lifestyle.
“Once we have the names, we will begin counselling and also employ other methods to help them get over the addiction. We want to improve their health because there have been cases in the past where medical assistance has been required,” he said.
When asked about organisations that will be assisting the police drive, Mr Padsalgikar said, “We are in the process of contacting NGOs and a number of them have come forward for the same. The same will begin soon.”
If necessary, they may also be sent to rehabilitation centres, said sources.
The circular issued on September 20 is part of an internal memo. “Our men work under a lot of stress and sometimes they resort to alcohol and cigarettes. This can turn into an addiction if not controlled and lead to deterioration of the officer’s health,” said a police source.
“We don’t just want our senior officers to give us names, but also the friends of any police personnel to volunteer the names of those who may be addicted to harmful substances. We want to help them get over their addictions and not lose their lives to them,” the source added.
The Pune police commisionerate had started this first of its kind initiative in June this year, in order to help police officials overcome their addiction problems.
Pune police commissioner Rashmi Shukla had ordered all police stations to provide a list of constables or officers who are addicted to alcohol. The de-addiction drive would be conducted with the help of the city-based non-government organisation (NGO) Muktangan Rehabilitation Centre.
Recently, a study carried out by doctors in Maharashtra, titled “Health profile of Mumbai Police personnel” published a report in March that nearly 55 per cent of police personnel are addicted to either nicotine or alcohol.
(This story originally appeared in the Asian Age)
