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The New Jersey Police Chief Magazine | September 2018
effects experienced by the officer are less severe . According to Dr . Michael V . Genovese , the Chief Medical Officer for Behavioral Health Services at Acadia Healthcare , “ We should focus more on prevention in healthcare generally , and specifically in the law enforcement community . Officers experience more stress in a typical week than many people do in a lifetime . Building resiliency can help mitigate the physical and emotional effects of that stress and lead to longer , healthier , happier lives .” This program takes into account that an officer need not be involved in an adverse or traumatic event to experience emotional trauma . Working as a first responder for 25 years exposes us all to a tremendous amount of vicarious and cumulative trauma . Officers today are expected to switch gears with every changing assignment during a tour of duty . The officer may go from handling an active robbery to performing life-saving measures on a young child . Both events are highly stressful , but in different ways . As a result , officers often baseline at a heightened level of vigilance . This takes a physical and mental toll on that officer . “ Research on police stressors also documents the effects of administrative and bureaucratic sources of stress , as well as the stress from conflicts between professional life and family life . These stressors can sometimes have greater overall effects on police personnel , by their constant presence eroding morale and resilience , than low frequency , high intensity traumatic exposures .” [ 5 ] It is not just the stressor itself that is causing the emotional strain , but also the unstoppable consistency of it . Stressors such as shift work , excessive paperwork , and lack of professional recognition are often cited as examples . Left unchecked , they can lead the officer to become disillusioned with the criminal justice system . The more we can do to lessen the impact of these operational stressors , the healthier the workforce . From a management perspective , this can lead to a decrease in absenteeism and an increase in productivity and efficiency .
How do we make this happen ? It was very exciting to have been part of the first training on resiliency for law enforcement in New Jersey . However , that is only the beginning of the journey . Our class consisted of not only sworn personnel , but police chaplains as well . Officer resiliency is one of those areas in which the partnership between policing agencies and the faith-based communities can really be successful . Those of us in law enforcement know there may be difficulty garnering support from our brothers and sisters in the rank and file . For too long we have developed a culture of silence about our mental health and our spiritual wellness . We feared that disclosing our issues would be seen as a sign of weakness in a profession that traditionally rewards strength and power . There is going to have to be a transformation in our attitudes and belief systems . “ This transformation should also overturn the tradition of silence on psychological problems , encouraging officers to seek help without concern about negative consequences .” [ 4 ] We cannot keep ourselves healthy if we ignore the problem . Policing is an ever-evolving field . Placing importance on officer mental health and wellness is but one evolution . Burlington County Prosecutor Scott A . Coffina describes the Comprehensive Officer Resilience Program as , “ a major step forward in what we envision as a complete transformation in how law enforcement addresses mental health issues within their agencies , and there is no doubt that our officers , their families , and the communities they serve will be better off as a result .” I totally agree . Psychologist and motivational speaker Wayne Dyer said , “ If you change the way you look at things , the things you look at change .” This program helps us develop new ways of looking at officer mental health and wellness so we can change the culture of our profession for the better .
References : [ 1 ] President ’ s Task Force on 21st Century Policing . ( 2015 ) Final Report of the President ’ s Task Force on 21st Century Policing . Washington , DC : Office of Community Oriented Policing Services [ 2 ] FBI National Academy . Comprehensive Officer Resilience Train-the-Trainer Program Student Workbook , Version 1 ( January 2018 ) [ 3 ] Chapin , M ., Brannen , S ., Singer , M ., & Walker , M . “ Training Police Leadership to Recognize and Address Operational Stress ”. Police Quarterly , 11 , no . 3 ( 2008 ): 338-352 [ 4 ] Violanti , John , et . al . “ Suicide in Police Work : Exploring Potential Contributing Influences ”. American Journal of Criminal Justice , 34 ( 2009 ): 41-53 [ 5 ] Violanti , John . “ The Police : Perspectives on Trauma and Resiliency ”. Traumatology , 12 , no . 3 ( 2006 ): 167-169
Resources ( Acadia Healthcare ): http :// www . treatmentplacementspecialists . com / first-responders / our-partnership-with-the-fbinaa / http :// www . treatmentplacementspecialists . com / first-responders / posttraumatic-stress-treatment / http :// www . treatmentplacementspecialists . com / first-responders / resiliency-training /
Contributors ’ opinions and statements are not purported to define official NJSACOP policy or imply NJSACOP endorsement .
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