Police union wants terror cops to undergo counselling

Concerns that psychological effects of attacks may linger spurs calls for mandatory interviews

Copenhagen's police union Københavns Politiforening is calling for mandatory psychological counselling for all officers who worked during the days and nights of the terror attacks in Copenhagen.

May not ask for help
The union has asked police leadership to require that every officer involved participate in a psychological debriefing. Annette Nielsen, the vice president of the union, said that she feared that some officers would not participate if it is not obligatory.

“If it is left up to the officers, some of them will feel that they do not need any psychological debriefing,” Nielsen told Jyllands-Posten. “We have not had a similarly stressful situation for police officers in recent memory, so we asked management to require counselling.”

READ MORE: Terror suspect killed in shootout with police

Exact numbers not known
How many officers would be required to go through the psychological debriefing is not known, since police will not say, for tactical reasons, exactly how many officers were on the job during and after the terrorist attacks in Copenhagen.





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