There is no real support for injured Police Mentally or Physically. It's well beyond time something was done. Ex premier O'Farrell took away their Death & Disability and replaced it with a travesty of a system, all to save money?? Ok then he gave himself and his cabinet a payrise.

I have been injured while on duty, I was not supported, not treated. Now the constant pain, discomfort, reoccurring injury has taken its toll. There are many who have paid the ultimate price at the hands of these pathetic excuses for humans that are insurance companies & those who turn their backs on them when they are in need.

Just remember everyone, We are the ones who run towards the danger while you run away. We all took an oath to protect life & property. But who protects our lives?

Justice there is no justice in the system at present which forces you back to your place of injury well before you are ever remotely close to being ready.... they don't even do that to horses !

There is no protection for any injured nsw workers 13 weeks to return or loss of pay 12 months to return to full hours or loss of job, if you do return loss of all medical expenses this how the lieberal party look after their own( big business ) it is now a money making venture for the employer and insurance companies be safe at work cause bairds new 30% threshold means you can lose a limb and not be classed as a serious injury..... Lieberals toxic to the core

No one forces someone to become a police officer, firefighter or ambo. You know what your getting yourself in for.
Remember there are no free lunches in this world. Someone pays for public servants who get massive payouts.
Maybe, just maybe dis-illusioned police officers should take some responsibility for picking the wrong career path. And take the financial pain for doing so instead of getting others to subsidies their living.

StephenR, I found your post incredibly harsh and lacking in compassion.

Police officers fulfill an essential role for our society and they are forced to witness and be involved in some horrific situations.

Is it too much to ask that there be support for their mental and physical health if they are damaged in the line of duty?

In my view, this is the least we can offer them.

Stephen R are you serious? Are you in emergency services? Im pretty sure that most of the cops, ambos and firefighters suffering this condition didn't expect this by choosing this career path. What a completely insensitive, uneducated comment to make. Some of these people see more carnage, trauma and the like in a 12 hour shift than most people see in a lifetime. And by them choosing this career path means they are stepping up to do a job that most of us could never do. I'm pretty sure they don't ask for this to happen. How could they know how they were going react?
And another thing, I'm happy to pay for these people to regain some kind of life back so they can live the rest of their short lives in peace. If each of them saved one life in their career then I consider that worth paying for.

I suppose if you were debilitated as a direct result of your employment you would not be seeking support from your employer be it financial support or otherwise? I suppose you would just take the financial pain? Like hell you would.

Free lunches? What an utterly self righteous comment you make. Society would be a bloody shambles without the young men and women who put up their hands to serve in the police, fire brigades, ambulance service, army, navy, air force, etc. The least we as a society can do is help them when they need it most.

No!, you don't know what you are getting yourself in for. That's the point. The recruitment campaigns highlight the glamour and not the realities of the job. They do not show having to pick up pieces of mutilated bodies, fighting for your life or dealing with children who have been victims of the most vial of crimes. If the truth was told these organisations would not be able to recruit. That's marketing 101. Following your logic, no worker of any occupation should receive workers compensation if injured because they picked the wrong career. Nice but fortunately we live in a society that is more just than that.

"You know what your getting yourself in for" ??? Funny I don't remember reading anywhere in the emergency services application packages that "working for us comes with a free injury, so suck it up" ?? Like any worker, a fortnightly sum of money is exchanged for intellect and labour. Not injury. The bigger picture is that the emergency services have ignored their responsibilities as employers, to provide safe systems of work that minimise injury and that adequately support workers when they do get injured. They just throw people on the scrapheap.

Everyone is entitled to an opinion but yours is made from complete ignorance of the realities of Policing, you cannot expose a human being to daily assaults, horrific death and the rest of human detritus without some effect on the people that endure it day after day year after year, forcing those people into a position where suicide is a viable option is disgusting.

They are not asking for a free ride they are just asking to be looked after when the constant trauma takes its toll and they succumb, at present they are not. PTSD is not like catching a cold, its permanent and when untreated its lethal.

Nobody should be forced to suicide for just doing their job.

There are also 285 names on the Police Wall of Remembrance that attest its daily dangers are real not imagined.

What a load of complete bullshit. You clearly have no understanding of the shite someone with PTSD goes through, and the impact of sustained trauma. If everybody had a clear understanding of the trauma involved in some of these roles, and the physical impacts of shift work before they signed up I doubt we would have police, firies or ambo's, let alone nurses and paramedics...especially if they knew there would be no support to get through it. Like the millitary, there are simply some roles the community needs people to fill, and those people deserve our support, and gratitute, and yes, when the role triggers PTSD they should be financially supported. It's no different to someone in the millitary coming back from war and suffering from physical injuries or PTSD. What you are saying is the equivalent to saying that someone who loses a leg after war should not be compensated or supported to make a new life.

With the new lieberal workers comp laws you better not let that papercut get infected because you not be covered.protect all nsw injured workers!

We are so lucky that everyone is different, Imagine if we were all self centered opinionated trolls. Helping others is it's own reward, arriving at a chaotic scene and setting things right is a challenge I enjoyed. All we are asking is that now when we need help do not refuse us or shun us for being human.
The huge payouts you refer to are mostly Commonwealth public servants who fall off exercise bikes because they are too fat and break them.

Should you ever get hurt, trapped or assaulted I know you will be able to look after yourself, no need to call us right?

You are an idiot & a disgrace. Just pay off your fines you disgruntled fool - and when you need help - call the Taliban.

Beggars the question Stephen, who you gonna call? Not everyone is a self centered judgmental troll. To help others in their time of need is reward enough, to turn up at a chaotic scene and solve the problem is both challenging and rewarding, in our time of need all we are asking for is the right help instead of being shunned. 23 soldiers every day commit suicide as a result of their service trauma, but I suppose they knew what they were getting into right?

This isn't "spying" it is legitimate investigation of compensation claims to ensure they are correct and valid. I find it ironic and also hypocritical that former Police do not like being investigated. If they are legitimate claims and have nothing to hide then these former Police have nothing to fear from their claims being investigated.

Anthea, you are of course right. statistics do show a staggering 1% of these claims are fraudulent. (insurance company stats) The resources and money they throw at this is not about investigating as much as postponing any payout, Insurance companies make hundreds of thousands every year using this method. It's just business to them,They still charge employers the same policies but slowing any payout is a great cash grab. put it like this, you have an accident in your car, make a claim and then wait 10 or so years for payment, seems fair right?

Police get better compensation than others.
It should be a level playing field for all.
I have PTSD from my employment and get even worse support than police.
I support PTSD matters being settled quickly to help injured move on .
But all injured workers should be treated the same.
A fair go for all.
Why do police get so much publicity when injuries occur in other occupations and no publicity.

I wouldn't be a police officer for all the oil in Saudi Arabia. The absolute scum you have to deal with on a daily basis would make me a stay away.
Thats why i and many others don't sign up. Police officers know exactly what they are getting into when they sign up.
Even though some Police officers are legitimately injured at work, I would say the majority are after a quick buck via the insurance companies. Especially those suffering a so-called psychological injuries . Amazing how many after a payout end up in security.
Maybe the Police need to spend less time at Maccas getting half priced coffee and donuts and more time on the beat. My car was stolen a year ago. Still waiting for an arrest?

Yeah mate we do know what we're getting into and yet we still do it every day, just to let you know what an average day is for an operational Police officer:

Start work at 6am on arrival at the station you're handed a list of outstanding work from the previous shift that were too busy dealing with drunken idiots to cater to the people who may have had a car stolen or malicious damage to their property. You try and get on top of it then a 000 call comes through maybe an accident or a domestic, more than likely its a deceased person, adult/child/baby take your pick, then you have to attend deal with the situation console the families involved. All the while the radio never stops and more calls for assistance come in but there isn't anyone to take care of it so it goes on the list and you don't stop, can't stop for a meal so the only alternative is to get takeaway and eat that on the run in the car on the way to the next call.

Then there is the paperwork involved with every incident you encounter, the arrests, the medical forms need to be completed to log the injuries you received when some junkie takes a swing at you or more than likely stabs you with a used syringe. Then you have to deal with the possibility you have just been infected with a serious permanent disease.

Then back to the hospital as you've just been told that life support is just about to be turned of for a newborn that won't survive the day.

That's no exaggeration and doesn't even cover a full 12 hour shift, then do that for 300 days a year for 30 plus years until retirement.

Yeah mate its all an exaggeration......and I knew exactly what I was getting into yet I still got up everyday knowing what the day would bring and did it all over again.

Sorry I didn't find who stole your car but I'm sure the insurance cheque you got no doubt made up for it.

Idiot!

See post below.
Idiot? Once again name calling because someone disagrees with your opinion shows your lack of professionalism. This isnt primary school. Come back to me in an educated manner and the public may start respecting the badge again.

*Snort*....you can't even handle being criticised online and yet you have the gaul to criticise braver and better for enduring something you have no concept of!

You get what you give in this world, you show no respect so you get none in return, welcome to my world of daily abuse and where dealing with self centred idiots is just the norm. Nice aint it?

No!, police officers do not know what they are getting themselves in for. Dealing with the 'scum' is a piece of cake. It's the hidden side of policing, that is unknown prior to joining, that creates the risk. These are the things never advertised in recruitment campaigns. Watching a cop show on television doesn't count for knowing what policing is all about.

Homerjay. Your attitude towards police is typical of someone with a criminal history. Walk a mile in the shoes of police and your attitude would change. But you probably wont as your not cut out to do the heavy lifting the community expects. As for your car being stolen. The majority of car thefts now days are insurance fraud related. How was the payout..

Quite funny stephen because it was a bomb car that had no insurance whatsoever. And because there was no surveillance cameras around the coppers said they could do nothing about it. In his words " too bad, you should have had insurance"
But iam concerned that as a police officer you assumed i was guilty of a fraud related crime. It highlights your lack of professionalism and highlights community concerns in regards to policing.
And knowing plenty of police, you may want to know that many past and present police officers are sceptical about those choosing to resign and get payouts due to stress. They're your worse critics!
While these guys are doing the real policing, iam sure you will be at maccas enjoying your half price coffee and donut.

Homerjay, I think you could also do with a bit of empathy and compassion.

Psychological injuries are no less serious than physical ones and can have a massive impact on people's lives.

With some of the horrific situations our police are involved in, is it any wonder that some officers suffer psychological damage?

We should be thanking these people for putting themselves on the line to serve our society and helping them when they need it.

But maybe it's more important that they drop everthing to find whoever stole your car and arrest them? That would have to be one of the most self-centred comments I've ever read on here.

I'd love to see you back up all these assertions with some statistics.

about time some helped these people, as justice said they run in while we run out, I would like to say "thankyou" for the protection.

Thank you fed up...... if the Government keeps this farce going, when you are hanging off a cliff edge by a branch, no police officer will risk them selves to go near the edge to grab your hand for fear of going over, there is less paperwork and more support if you fell..... sad but true

This is a disgrace, Police along with Ambulance and Firefighters all have high suicide rates compared to "normal society standards" yet are treated like lepers by insurance companies when they need help the most. For 30 years I held my job as a firefighter, it is not a weakness to suffer burnout, It is the strength it took to do those 30 years that has gone.

what is traumatic about fighting a fire once every two years?

So Pete, how many people at your work (you do work?) have committed suicide! I stopped counting at 25.
102 house fires every week in NSW and firefighting makes up only 25% of our workload.
Car accidents daily, industrial accidents (ever seen someone trapped in a metal shredder?)
Hazardous materials spills (including attending clandestine drug labs that are often booby trapped)
Storm and weather damage/rescue, plus a million other things we are called on to do. Assist Police gain entry, assist Ambulance when required. And should our little terrorist friends want to play guess who will be first on scene? All services have had the training which we thankfully have not had to use YET. It is not a matter of if but when this happens.

I guess it depends how many bodies you haul out of the fire and how much your life is in danger at the time?

Pete, I hope you never need our services but as always if you do we will be there. 100 house fires per week in NSW, firefighting is just 25% of our work which also includes Hazardous material incidents, industrial and vehicular rescue natural disasters and a myriad of other calls. Your complete lack of knowledge is not unusual in the community when it comes to understanding exactly want emergency services do on a daily basis. suffice to say while you sleep we are out on the streets cleaning up the mess people make of themselves in accidents etc, so when you drive to work there is no blood or torn flesh for you so see while you listen to the news. Like most people you never think twice about anyone else until you need help, then you scream "what kept you".
Take care Pete I would not want you getting a paper cut at work.

You realise that firies attend more than just fires right?

You're forgetting car accidents and other rescue situations firefighters are involved in. Some of those would be horrible and I'm sure they take their toll on those who are involved.

True very true

I Am the Officer
I have been where you fear to be,
I have seen what you fear to see,
I have done what you fear to do -
All these things I have done for you.
I am the person you lean upon,
The one you cast your scorn upon,
The one you bring your troubles to -
All these people I've been for you.
The one you ask to stand apart,
The one you feel should have no heart,
The one you call The Officer in Blue,
But I'm just a person, just like you.
And through the years I've come to see,
That I am not always what you ask of me;
So, take this badge ... take this gun ...
Will you take it ... will anyone?
And when you watch a person die
And hear a battered baby cry,
Then do you think that you can be
All these things you ask of me?

- Author Unknown

They push you off the wall until you become humpty dumpty....... all the Kings Horses and all the Kings Men..... cannot ever put you back together again

'False claims'. Give me a break! How a claimant (x-police) can falsify a psychological injury when overwhelming evidence exists in the form of numerous psychiatric reports, psychological assessment, history of alcohol and prescription medication abuse and a suicidal ideation is beyond any reasonable justification not to process a claim within 12 months.

Ask yourself the question, 'does an x-cop suffering PTSD who takes their life or even contemplates it truly fulsifes a claim?'

It's not about financial gain for a claimants pursuit for their entitlements.

It is however, all about the insurance companies financial loss! At what cost?

Another former police officers suicide!
What is that cost?

I'm glad the police are realising that surviellance/harassment to innocents causes suicides and ptsd!!