1000 police officers seek help after Bourke St attack

One year on, more than 1,000 police officers have admitted to seeking help in the aftermath the Bourke St tragedy in Melbourne.

Alleged driver Dimitrious Gargasoulas faces six counts of murder and 38 of attempted murder, over the rampage which has seen an unprecedented influx of force officers seeking support.

Victoria’s frontline police, experienced detectives, traffic cops and crime scene investigators are believed to be among the personnel seeking assistance, the Herald Sun reported. 

A thousand police officers have admitted to seeking assistance in the aftermath

A team of 18 psychologists and a wider support network of more than 50 were assigned to help members in the weeks and months to follow, Victoria Police senior psychologist Alexandra West said. 

‘We certainly hadn’t dealt with anything like that before. The scale and intensity was different to anything many members had ever had to deal with.’ 

She believes there has been more than 1,000 contacts from members seeking assistance. 

Often the plea for support is communicated by members saying ‘I was involved with Bourke St. I need to speak to somebody’. 

The rampage has seen an unprecedented influx of Victoria’s police seeking help

Dr West is confident the high amount of callers may be linked to a proactive approach to seeking support encouraged today. 

She says it is very possible to recover from trauma and emphasis is placed on treatment which supports struggles and encourages returning to work. 

There is no way to pinpoint how deeply someone may be hurting with often the anniversary of the event re-triggering negative emotions. 

‘Reactions and impacts are so highly individual, there is no good way to predict who will and who won’t be most impacted. We just want the members to recognise the signs and know support is there.’