The renewal of service weapon certifications should be accompanied by a periodic psychological evaluation of officers, president of the police union Isotita, Nikos Loizides said on Friday.

“Psychological tests do not examine the mental health of each person so much, but are mainly a personality test. This test is done for recruitment and not for the rest of the career of each member of the force,” he said.

His remarks come three days after the attempted murder of a 46-year-old woman who was shot by her husband police officer with his service weapon several times on Tuesday, with the police telling the Cyprus Mail on Friday that the woman remains in the hospital in a “critical but stable” condition.

Loizides explained that psychological tests are one of the four stages of the police recruitment process, along with written exams, athletic tests and drug tests.

With regard to the possession of service weapons, he said that police officers renew their certification for the use of service weapons every five years, with the process exclusively concerning the technical knowledge and skills for the handling of weapons. There is no form of psychological evaluation.

“It could be, instead of this renewal taking place every five years, that it take place every three and that there be a kind of interview at the same time, so that the psychologists of the police’s human resources department can discern if there is any psychological overload or problem with the mental clarity of each police officer,” he said.

When asked which procedures are currently implemented if there are indications that officers are experiencing mental health problems, Loizides listed three forms of intervention.

Firstly, a supervisor can refer to the psychologists of the police’s human resources department. Should they need it, officers can also seek out mental health support voluntarily.

In addition to mental health support, service weapons can also be withdrawn if a member of the force presents a medical certificate recommending that they do not possess a weapon, for either medical or mental health issues.

Loizides said that a relevant circular had been sent to all members of police on June 22 to promote the mental health support services provided by the human resources branch, offering psychoeducation on issues including stress management, post-traumatic stress disorder and other traumatic events.

Moreover, the police offer confidential personal meetings upon request by police officers or their superiors which take place outside the police premises and under full confidentiality.