- The spokesman for the body stresses the importance of prevention and self-protection of the agents.
The Barcelona Urban Guard has detected 3,700 cases of attempted suicide among citizens in 2022, 23% more than in the previous year.
This was explained by the spokesman for the Urban Guard, Inspector Jordi Oliveras, in statements to journalists during the conference this Monday on ‘Approaching suicide and mental illness from the police perspective’, the conference on this subject brings together more than 50 local police officers.
He has detailed that, at the moment in which the agents receive a call for attempted suicide, they go to the scene of the events together with the health personnel and the firefighters, with whom “they have very well studied guidelines for action.”
“In these cases, prevention and knowing how to act is very important, as the self-protection of the agents, too. All the agents have been trained in suicide prevention and detection since 2019, and they are always aware of any person within the police force and outside to be able to detect a case”, added Oliveras.
In addition, he explained that after receiving a suicide attempt call and having acted, “this person is monitored through the neighborhood police and social services.”
Oliveras has stated that they have improved the action protocols and have implemented training on this subject in the force, so that “a more specialized police intervention and more exhaustive and specialized knowledge is guaranteed.”
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It has detailed that, from the moment the 092 telephones were integrated into the 112 telephones in 2021, the agents of the Urban Guard assume all calls and incidents related to suicide attempts.
“We are trying to make it stop being a taboo. Society has evolved, it is changing, we want to be able to talk more openly about this issue, since if suicide is talked about, we will be able to detect cases earlier and act,” he assured. the spokesperson.
Self Protection
He also explained that the self-protection of the agents is very important, to detect any indication inside the body and to protect themselves, since “they work every day with sensitive material.”
Thus, he has stated that all agents can go to the Resource Management Unit of the police force, which is made up of agents trained as psychologists.