When a police officer engages in misconduct or excessive force, the behavior sometimes may stem from unaddressed stress and mental health issues. The Baltimore Police Department is trying to get on top of that dynamic, promoting mental and physical health and wellness. Its program, launched in 2018, connects officers to counseling and treatment, reaches out early with mental and physical health supports, and makes it clear officers won’t be penalized for asking for or receiving help, Governing.com reports. “When I first got to Baltimore, if you came to work and said, hey, you were emotionally drained, they would suspend you,” says Vernon Herron, director of the department’s Officer Safety and Wellness Section. “They would take your badge and your gun, which made things worse. So, we don't do that anymore. If an officer comes to work and he's struggling with something, they refer him to wellness.” The police department now has mandatory training for officers at all levels on how to recognize trauma and stress in the workforce, while assigning wellness and fitness training to new recruits. Health and wellness teams reach out with resources to officers in stressful situations, such as those going through divorce or who were recently involved in a shooting.
The program was partially inspired by realizing that officers who violated policies often had mental wellness struggles going on under the surface. “A great deal of officers that were coming in for interventions had pre-existing emotional issues that had never been resolved,” Herron says. “They were involved in a shooting, or they responded to a bus crash where the victims were a lot of children who were unfortunately killed, and a lot of things that they never got resolved.” Policing is a stressful job. While the average person may witness four to six traumatic events over the course of their lifetime, a police officer sees about 20 a year. By some accounts, about 30 percent of first responders develop a behavioral health condition, compared to 20 percent of the general population. The initiative wasn’t immediately embraced. Trusting the new approach and admitting vulnerability didn’t come easily to cops. The National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund gave Baltimore an award for its wellness work last year. Last year, Minneapolis announced plans to adopt a system to help its police department recognize officers struggling with stress, trauma or burnout. Tucson, Ariz., launched a wellness division featuring a psychiatrist, peer support and proactive outreach to anyone involved in a shooting or other “critical incident.” The initiative started after two officers committed suicide.
Comments