Police siege at the Lima César Campos protests
Quite a few theorists consider the profession of police officer to be the most psychologically dangerous profession. They carry weapons, are constantly on the alert and are often confronted with extreme situations. Clinical psychologists assign them to vulnerable or risk groups. Since Dina Boluarte took over the presidency of Peru in December, replacing Pedro Castillo, the Peruvian police have had extra work: to contain nationwide anti-government marches. Continuous marches that have widened except for a few pauses over the past three months. For this they have had the arm of the armed forces, especially in the southern Sierra regions.
The consequences of this confrontation were the deaths of 48 civilians and one policeman. Not counting the 11 civilians who died due to events related to the blockade of the highways and the six soldiers who drowned in the Ilave river in Puno. According to the Ombudsman’s Office, 337 police officers have been injured so far. The Police Health Directorate (Dirsapol) assures there are more than 900 – although they have not provided a detailed list of patients – a crowd very similar to the 972 registered protesters with some type of injury.
Be that as it may, the attrition of the troops was significant. Up to 11,800 soldiers were deployed daily in the capital alone as the protest moved to Lima. What psychological support did you receive? “Unfortunately, they only resisted the attacks and were attacked with hazelnuts (explosives), stones, everything,” says General Nagy Cabrera Contreras, Director of Dirsapol, in his office from the start. He is accompanied by Colonels David Zárate and Juan Gamarra Vidaurrazaga and Captain Lourdes Álvarez Salazar. The last two psychologists by profession.
Altogether there are 90 psychologists and three psychiatrists for every 130,000 soldiers. The commanders explain that the police officers undergo an annual psychological assessment, that they have 81 health care facilities (Ipress) to attend to them personally and that they are appropriately prepared because social conflict is more or less part of their everyday scale.
“Mental health is not a police issue, it is a national one. Now we have resumed it due to the protests. We have formed a team of 12 psychologists to work with the agents who have returned from the conflict zones,” says General Cabrera. This plan, which has no name and has not been made public, began in mid-February and is led by Gamarra Vidaurrazaga and Álvarez Salazar. It mainly consists of conducting two-hour group therapies with 50 members per session.
“It’s a space for them to share their experiences as oral or written catharsis. Our focus is on emotional stabilization to identify symptoms that may be consistent with a possible post-traumatic stress disorder. We carry out a test in the workshop, which we correct on site. Those who deserve it, we let them pass for an interview and if we find that more specific attention is needed, we refer them to the ipress of their jurisdiction,” explains Captain Álvarez.
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According to the institution, they have so far achieved coverage of 40% of the Special Services Unit (400 out of 1,000) and 12% of the Special Operations Directorate (300 out of 2,500). Between the two units, 24 agents were referred to the polyclinics. A number they consider minimal. The next step in the process is complex: not giving up therapy. “They prioritize their work as police officers. If they have therapy that day but get a call from work, they have to do it over the phone,” General Cabrera said.
In regions, as is so often the case, everything moves slower and has less support. Six psychologists from Cusco multiply to help their region and also Puno. You have reached 9% (300) of a universe of 3,300 agents. In the other departments, such as Ayacucho and Apurímac, the project has not yet started.
During the sessions, Captain Lourdes Álvarez Salazar was able to get a general opinion: the police officers believe that the people have treated them like their enemies and they have also complained about the aggressiveness of the demonstrators. “You felt the rejection of the population. They feel sadness and helplessness because they entered the institution to serve their country and protect the citizens. Now they see them as an enemy and it’s not like that,” he claims.
When asked about the police repression, Colonel Gamarra Vidaurrazaga says: “I am surprised at the level of violence in the population. Especially from Puno and Juliaca, which are politically influenced. You get carried away. They tell them that the police went to intimidate them and they believe it.” Dirsapol chief General Nagy Cabrera Contreras responded as follows:
– Do you think that the police control of the demonstrations was appropriate?
I can’t tell you yes or no. My job is to take care of health.
— Why do you think that a large part of the population sees you as an enemy?
“We can’t say it’s a big role. They are groups. We are 33 million Peruvians. Everything is political.
Did the troops who took to the streets have the emotional intelligence to use their weapons?
– I’m staying away. The job of the police is to restore order and provide protection and care to citizens. I can’t answer anymore because we’re getting into politics. If their march were quiet and we only accompanied them to avoid excess… but they attack.
There is no scientific research to know exactly how the mental health of the Peruvian police is doing. There are only external and small studies, theses of psychologists with small samples. “There is no one who is committed to wanting to do that. But it’s true that one of the big problems we had was the renewal of the frames. Recently, many psychologists have participated in recent promotions,” explains General Cabrera, a plastic surgeon by trade.
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