I Saw A Suicide Today

[RB25PWR]

not sure why its not in the media more but the theories here sound about right.

Because this isn't America. Noone wants to hear depressing shit like that after a hard days work.

[Crackfox]

I heard/thought that when a train driver sees someone jump infront of the train, they can press a button that quickly pulls down some shutters, put on the emergency brakes and then they just wait and do nothing. It minimizes the trauma they suffer, bdecause if you are a train driver there is a very very good possibility that at some point someone will try to kill themselves by jumping infront of you

[rukus]

one guy who laid down in between the tracks and let the train go right over the top of him. got up, shook his head like he was disappointed he was still alive and wandered off.

haha

[hamiltonau]

"press a button that quickly pulls down some shutters,"

Bwa haha we wish, only shutters we have are flimsy little blinds that only come down half way, pretty useless when driving into the sun let alone trying to avoid the sight of bits of depressed emo teen all over the front of the train.

Earlier story here about a body going through the window and into the compartment wall behind the driver is true by the way, driver got a few weeks off on full pay but avoided injury my millimeters.

as for not hearing depressing stuff when u get home..have u ever watched the news? its full of depressing shit whether its floods, typhoons or kids messed with before we get to light relief like another ibrahim being shot at or kittens rescued from trees.

[RB25PWR]

as for not hearing depressing stuff when u get home..have u ever watched the news? its full of depressing shit whether its floods, typhoons or kids messed with before we get to light relief like another ibrahim being shot at or kittens rescued from trees.

Floods aren't a common occurrence, suicides unfortunately are. Did you really just compare floods to suicide?

P.S: Someone getting shot at raises an eyebrow and is interesting to the average person, not depressing.

Most of the news in this country is an embarrassment, I can't believe some of the garbage that is broadcasted.

[Deano 1]

thats some syco shit....

[hamiltonau]

yes i did in the context of depressing compare floods to suicides.

very different things per se but in the end the effect is the same whether its an act of god or man, lives are destroyed and communities shattered.

the story that got to me most was the little boy telling the rescuers to take his younger brother instead, or just as awful, the father who could only save his little boy while the rest of his family got washed away before his very eyes.

Granted this is rare but still very sobering stuff, im not saying some old duffa flinging himself in front of the 8.15 to Newcastle deserves as much coverage but its still painful for the people he left behind.

not sure what the rebuttals point is really just dont think the comparison is that outrageous in every respect.

personally i dont have a lot of sympathy for jumpers and the few i have taken leave over were due to the fact at full rostered pay for a week..who wouldnt? do cops get as much time on full pay after an incident that they want or is it considered 'part of the job'?

[RB25PWR]

personally i dont have a lot of sympathy for jumpers and the few i have taken leave over were due to the fact at full rostered pay for a week..who wouldnt?

Huh, I don't get it? Are you an ambo or something?

do cops get as much time on full pay after an incident that they want or is it considered 'part of the job'?

The over-time has to be approved but if you attend a job and no one else can relieve you, you will get over-time. Not sure what the rate is, but I'd say it would be pretty good. (it would be higher than our normal rate).

It also depends on the person, just like any other job. Sometimes we get asked to do something when it's almost clock off time and the reply is "ok but pay me over-time" and I've seen some people say "k cya"

This obviously doesn't apply when you've just rocked up at a scene where you need to immediately investigate and help victims and or catch a crook. The above statement more relates to "can you do this?" when you're in the office.

With all of that said, the command will avoid over-time at all costs. You definitely don't choose to do it just because you want to. As with most things, it's all about the money, on both sides of the fence.

Edited February 10, 2011 by RB25PWR

[hamiltonau]

im a train guard and i my question was more if you get leave paid at rostered rates for a week or two after an incident where someone is injured or killed.

we get up to 2 weeks at the rates we would have got if doing rostered working which attracts more penalties than just plain old sick pay, hence no one usually takes more than a fortnight off after a jumper has gone under their train.

not an ambo but sometimes i have to give first aid and assist in emergencies but as soon as you guys turn up you take over...thank god.

[RB25PWR]

im a train guard and i my question was more if you get leave paid at rostered rates for a week or two after an incident where someone is injured or killed.

Ahhh. Right OK.

Yeah we would get paid at our normal rostered rate. For 1 or 2 weeks, things can be organised in extenuating circumstances I also believe.

But to be honest I don't see much people doing this as the Cops is a very macho type of job. If you took leave every time you saw something traumatic you'd never come to work.

You would certainly get a bit of shit for being a pussy (circumstances depending); Also you would be letting the team down, if you're off, someone else has to pick up the slack and that's not fair because everyones busy enough and it's a bit of a team sport etc.

edit: So when someone jumps in front of the train you do a mini fist pump because you know you're having a two week holiday?

Edited February 10, 2011 by RB25PWR

[GTR-N1]

^ ^ ^ Are there counselling staff at the ready, from Railcorp and NSW Police???

What have debriefing procedures been like??? Personal experiences???

A lot must depend on who's leading/co-ordinating the debrief sessions I assume???

[RB25PWR]

^ ^ ^ Are there counselling staff at the ready, from Railcorp and NSW Police???

What have debriefing procedures been like??? Personal experiences???

A lot must depend on who's leading/co-ordinating the debrief sessions I assume???

What NSWP have are chaplans. Some of them are of various religious beliefs however that's not always relevant. If there's a major incident they usually turn up for support. They're not sworn officers and are pretty good guys/girls.

We also have particular psychologists that look after regions. When I say regions I mean like, North West Metro, South West Metro, etc.

As for debriefing it just all depends. If something major happens the supervisor will turn up, if it's an absolutely huge incident then the duty officer will also show up. There might not be a need for a debrief, just a quick sitrep at the scene... but as I said, all depends.

[RB25PWR]

dbl post

Edited February 11, 2011 by RB25PWR

[GTR-N1]

What NSWP have are chaplans. Some of them are of various religious beliefs however that's not always relevant. If there's a major incident they usually turn up for support. They're not sworn officers and are pretty good guys/girls.

We also have particular psychologists that look after regions. When I say regions I mean like, North West Metro, South West Metro, etc.

As for debriefing it just all depends. If something major happens the supervisor will turn up, if it's an absolutely huge incident then the duty officer will also show up. There might not be a need for a debrief, just a quick sitrep at the scene... but as I said, all depends.

* I used to be assigned as part of a 'B' Team of psychologists in Western Sydney for the NAB should there be more than one simultaneous hold-up.

The most experienced and qualified counsellors were incorporated in the 'A' Team.

* The tragedy was that when a staff member had had to endure a succession of holdups, it was difficult to help the client believe "What will I do if it happens again?".

Moreover, the client was inclined to believe, "When will it happen again?" Then the staff member would need to be reassigned (away from the 'coal face').

* It was tough enough to help a client (over time) to become a "survivor" - rather than a "less traumatised victim".

After PTSD, the client could never feel like a "master" ever again.

[hamiltonau]

hmm interesting stuff RB thanks for the info.

figured the police culture would be a little more robust re post trauma recovery, sounds a lot like the army. Did reserves for a while and the chaplain thing sounds familiar, always freaked me out how friendly and open they were compared to any of the corporals/officers etc.

from what i have seen of that show 'recruits' goulburn looks a bit like boot camp 'lite' too, im guessing everyone comes out of it changed somewhat?

anyway on the railways our post incident stuff is of course outsourced like everything else in Railcorp, a psychologist gives us a ring and tries to schedule an interview where we can 'vent' etc, and usually its a badge of honour to see how many days/weeks we can finangle out of them before we have to go back to work. The new longest time off sets a benchmark and then everyone aims to get the same the next chance we get.

thats about as team spirity as we get

oh and re the clenched fist of triumph everytime we take someone out?

off the record? um probably but you didnt hear that from me :*

ps

i wasnt sure where i came up with the word finangle so googled it with surprising results. I stand by my use of the term nevertheless..

http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=Finangle

[GTR-N1]

Chaplains do a lot of good work.

They even pray they can say the right things and take care to listen/pay attention before they arrive.

They're willing to do the hard stuff too, like go to the victim's parent's place (after or with police) to say..... well.... you can imagine...

When Mums see the police on the front porch, they always seem to sense....

[SNOQPY]

Over 93% just want to end the emotional or physical pain - rather than to end life per se

I'd agree with that!

exactly, if i was ever to GO so to speak id go for a drive, right the car off and make sure id go with it. and yes ive thought about it many a time after splitting with the wife but we wont go there

[GTR-N1]

We can trust that there's a lovely lady out there still; just waiting for SNOQPY.

You may be out of circulation just now; but when you get back onto the escalator of life... well...

nuffsaid atm.

[hamiltonau]

wise words terry,

going through some terrible stuff right now and its the first time in 32 yrs of cruising through life relatively happy and without major drama that something has occured which let me glimpse the depths people can get to and actually understand why someone would do 'IT'.

Ok. not enough to consider it an option but enough not to dismiss people out of hand when they do.

doesnt mitigate the selfishness of the act you hit the nail on the head with it being about ending pain rather than existence per se, had some times in bootcamp which came close too but that was more the shock of being institutionalised for the first time and the stress that caused.

can someone call me a Waaahmbulance as they say in the forces?

is this getting a bit too deep for a car forum?

Edited February 12, 2011 by hamiltonau

[hamiltonau]

Edited February 12, 2011 by hamiltonau