DRUG SQUAD OFFICERS NEED COUNSELLING DUE TO STRAIN OF JOB

Drug squad officers could need psychological support due to the nature of
their job, which exposes them to all sorts of painful situations, Justice
Minister Doros Theodorou said yesterday.

Theodorou said drug squad officers were people dedicated to their duty who
risked their life on a daily basis, especially when working undercover.

The minister said the officers did not feel tired or burnt out and never
asked for transfers.

He told the House Crime Committee that drug squad officers had also
developed into a kind of support service for users and suggested that
winning their trust would help to win the fight against drugs.

The minister said the officers were exposed to all sorts of pain and
hardship and he would be seeking psychological support for those who felt
they needed it.

"They live through pain in dimensions you cannot conceive," Theodorou said.

He told deputies about a mother who had literally sacrificed herself to
save her son but failed.

The desperate mother visited the minister and begged him with tears in her
eyes to take him away from their house because he would have destroyed the
other children.

"In the end, he will either kill me or I will kill him," the mother said,
according to Theodorou.