Grace Millane detective Scott Beard’s mental health journey - ‘You’ve got to talk about it’

Detective Inspector Scott Beard of NZ Police opens up about how he looks after his mental health. Photo / Michael Craig

Kiwis pride themselves on their resilience, but how do we cope when the going gets tough? In new podcast series The Upside, Scotty Stevenson sits down with well-known New Zealanders across 6 episodes as they share their own personal journeys with their mental health and their tips for getting back on the up.

Detective Inspector Scott Beard has a lot on his mind.

In his role with NZ Police, Beard attends homicides, breaks bad news to Kiwi families, and investigates cases that would rob most of us of the ability to sleep at night. So, how does he cope with the stresses of the job? And how does he protect his own mental health along the way?

Sitting down with The Upside podcast host and broadcaster Scotty Stevenson, Beard admits his 44 years in policing have taken their toll on his mental health. “Particularly when you’re dealing with families, you know, it can be emotional.”

He tells Stevenson it’s important to look after the families of crime victims as well as to find those responsible - citing Grace Millane, whose murder at the hands of Jesse Kempson captured the world’s attention and thrust her family into the global spotlight.

“Grace’s father David flew up to New Zealand and we were his support,” Beard recalls. “We were his family. And yes, we have an investigation, we have to be professional, gotta stay objective, but you still gotta support them.”

When Millane’s body was found, it was imperative that her family heard the news first, he said. “I always said to him, you’ll hear before the media hears.”

Fronting the media, he recalls battling his own emotions when asked how Millane’s family was feeling. Beard, himself the father of a daughter in her 20s, remembers responding, “‘How do you think the family feel?’ ... Yeah, that got the emotion out.”

Beard tells Stevenson he’s had to learn how to care for his own health and mental wellbeing, as well as that of his staff.

“I think it’s really important that we make a conscious effort in terms of our staff to be looking for any signs,” says Beard, who has himself seen a police psychologist and encourages his staff to do the same.

@aia.newzealand

Coming soon! We are proud to share our new and exciting 6 part TV and podcast content series hosted by sports broadcaster and writer Scotty Stevenson, called The Upside. Offering meaningful, revealing, inspiring and hopefully helpful conversations with six well-known New Zealanders who have been through some mentally tough times – and are now back on the up. Launching this Sunday 2pm on TVNZ1 and streaming on TVNZ+ with an extended podcast on iHeart radio. Also available on www.aiavitality.co.nz @Jason Gunn @Valerie K Adams @TVNZ+ @hayleysproullnz @#AIAVitalityTheUpside #AIAVitalityNZ #HealthierLongerBetterLives #AIAOneBillion #StartThriving #MentalHealth #Wellbeing

♬ original sound - AIA New Zealand

“Some of our squads - our adult sexual assault team, child protection team, child exploitation, our crime squad - they all have mandatory visits with the psychologist. That’s just standard, because we have to look after them. When you’re dealing with child abuse, day in and day out, it’s horrendous. And if you’ve got a young family, it’s even tougher.”

In Beard’s view, “a problem shared is a problem halved”.

“You’ve got to talk about it. You’ve got to recognise yourself, hang on, I’m not quite right here, I need to talk to someone.”

In addition, Beard credits a healthy lifestyle and sleeping patterns with helping him cope. He’s faced his fair share of physical health issues over the years, having been diagnosed with three forms of cancer. He first found out he had prostate cancer in early 2019, followed by thyroid and skin cancer diagnoses.

Detective Inspector Scott Beard says he's had to train himself to sleep at night. Photo / Dean Purcell

Now, he’s urging others to “take charge” of their own health and get checked, “because it could save your family a whole lot of grief, could save your life”.

“I still want to make sure, two or three times a week I’m out doing exercise. I do believe it’s good for you mentally, always. And speaking to others, you never feel worse after exercising than you did before.”

He admits he’s had to train himself to sleep well, even in the midst of the most horrendous cases.

“I think with time, age, experience, you know, I never struggle going to sleep. I’m usually asleep within five minutes of hitting the pillow, even during a big investigation.

“What does happen is my mind raises and I wake up earlier. And I start thinking, I say, ‘Just get up. Take some notes, get up, go to work, because you’re not going to go back to sleep ...’ I know some of the younger staff will struggle, you know, it didn’t use to happen to me. I’ve had to train myself.”

All 6 episodes of The Upside are available on iHeart Radio now