And “cry from the heart to raise awareness among politicians, our institution, our supervisory minister” on the growing and alarming phenomenon of suicides within the police force. This is the meaning of the book “I’m a cop and tonight I’m going to kill myself”, written by Marc La Mola, police officer for more than 20 years, and Laure Garcia, active police officer, both present on our set to share the motivations that inspired her writing. Faced with this epidemic of suicides which is eating away at the institution, there are nevertheless solutions, assure our two guests at the microphone of Laurence Beneux.
Professional exhaustion, loss of meaning at work, degrading politics of numbers, autocratic and abusive management…: in this “Essential interview”, Marc La Mola and Laure Garcia paint the picture of a profession in the grip of desolation. The causes of police malaise are multiple, deep, structural. Its tragic consequences: no less than 24% of police officers are now confronted with suicidal thoughts and 40% of them are in a state of psychological distress, according to a study by the Mutuelle des forces de sécurité (MGP), cited by Laura Garcia. In January 2022 alone, 12 police officers took their own lives. The first of them, Pierre, a young and brilliant recruit, only 24 years old: the tragedy too many for the two authors; it will be at the origin of the writing of their book.
Driven by a strong desire to“awaken sleeping consciences” and to stem the scourge of suicides that rages in the police ranks, Laura Garcia and Marc La Mola do not stop at the diagnosis, also proposing solutions: “They exist”, they say. And to recall the importance for society to benefit from law enforcement “in a good psychological state”.
What about police brutality? If incidents undeniably happen, according to Marc La Mola, it is worth remembering that the police “are ordinary men facing extraordinary situations”. This institution is the guarantee of a society in harmony: the police are not there to kill, they are there to protect, adds Laure Garcia. Still need help: “The time for palaver is over. Now, we have to react, stop measuring spoons like green numbers that are useless, and act on the causes “insists the former peacekeeper, who also recalls that the appalling deterioration in the working conditions of the police is similar to that of the hospital and national education, yet, in his eyes, “the three pillars of our democracy”.