This month, a department of chaplains has started working in the State Police, headed by the well-known former Latvian athlete, bronze medalist of the European Championship in skeleton, Mārtiņš Mužnieks.
This month, a department of chaplains has started working in the State Police, headed by the well-known former Latvian athlete, bronze medalist of the European Championship in skeleton, Mārtiņš Mužnieks.
Until recently, the position of chaplain did not exist in the Latvian State Police, but it seems there was a need for it. In any case, despite limited finances, the police decided to establish their own chaplaincy service, led by Mārtiņš Mužnieks, a former member of the Latvian bobsleigh and skeleton team, and now a Lutheran pastor of the Smiltene congregation.
The chief chaplain sees his main task as providing spiritual support to police officers for their psychological resilience, as they, due to the nature of their work, often face risks, psychological stress, and critical situations, and need an additional point of support, conversation, advice, and emotional support. This leads to the conclusion that, to some extent, chaplains should replace police psychologists.
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