This week is National Suicide Prevention Week in the U.S. and it’s time we in law enforcement take a stand against police officer suicides.
Do you have a suicide prevention program in your agency?
Well, you no longer have an excuse for not having a program. With this new video produced by the International Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP), the Working Minds Program and the Carson J Spencer Foundation, and our CopsAlive.com roll call discussion guide you can create a ready made program the moment you finish reading this article.
Create your own police suicide prevention training program in just 3 Easy Steps.
1. Download the video or show it to your roll call or staff group from your laptop.
2. Pair it with our CopsAlive.com 10 Minute Roll Call Discussion Guide “Law Enforcement Suicide Prevention – Take Charge”
3. Establish your plan for any interventions and post the Safe Call Now crisis hotline for first responders phone number 1–206–459–3020 around your agency.
This video “Breaking the Silence: Suicide Prevention in Law Enforcement” was posted on YouTube by Dr. Sally Spencer-Thomas the Executive Director of the Carson J Spencer Foundation through their work with the Working Minds suicide prevention organization, the Denver PD and Kenosha PD.
You can access the above video on YouTube here: http://youtu.be/u-mDvJIU9RI
Download our 10 minute roll call discussion guide on law enforcement suicide prevention entitled: “Law Enforcement Suicide Prevention – Take Charge” by CLICKING HERE.
All training about suicide prevention should… be discussed while also mentioning your available mental health and treatment resources and a crisis hotline.
I recommend Safe Call Now the crisis hotline specifically for first responders at 1–206–459–3020.
Safe Call Now provides public safety employees, all emergency services personnel and their family members nationwide with a simple and confidential way to ask for help. Staffed by officers, former law enforcement officers and public safety professionals, Safe Call Now is a safe place to turn to get help from individuals who understand the demands of a law enforcement career. These trained call-takers will provide assistance and referrals for any public safety personnel and their families who are experiencing an emotional crisis or desire a need for someone to listen. Legislation was passed in 2009 which maintains confidentiality for public safety professionals nationwide when they call Safe Call Now for help. Safe Call Now is also a registered 501(c)3 non-profit organization and is not funded at the state or federal levels.
You can find out more about Safe Call Now on their website at: www.SafeCallNow.org
CLICK HERE to download a brochure about Safe Call Now which would be suitable to pass along or post on an agency bulletin board.
You can supplement your Suicide Prevention Program with lots of other resources listed below:
Earlier this year the International Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP) released a new resource for law enforcement on police officer suicide, with information and resources on prevention and response to the problem of law enforcement officer suicide. The resources on their website are from their symposium entitled: “Breaking the Silence: A National Symposium on Law Enforcement Officer Suicide and Mental Health” and their website is loaded with lots of downloadable and reproducible materials.
According to the IACP website: “To address the mental health stigma within law enforcement as well as the critical issue of law enforcement suicide, the International Association of Chiefs of Police, in partnership with the Office of Community Oriented Policing Services, U.S. Department of Justice (COPS) hosted Breaking the Silence: A National Symposium on Law Enforcement Officer Suicide and Mental Health in July 2013. The participants at the symposium, which included the National Action Alliance for Suicide Prevention, law enforcement and mental health professionals, worked together to develop a national strategy to address officer mental health wellness and suicide prevention”.
You can find the IACP information here:
IACP Preventing Law Enforcement Officer Suicide
http://www.theiacp.org/Preventing-law-Enforcement-officer-suicide
The IACP site is also loaded with lots of links to free downloads and links to other agencies that support their work in suicide prevention.
IACP suggests that “The information contained within is intended for use by professional law enforcement agencies. These materials were submitted by agencies throughout the country and reflect material designed specifically for their law enforcement population. The specific applicability to other agencies depends upon a multitude of factors”.
Check out these RESOURCES on the IACP site which are available for download:
Breaking the Silence: A National Symposium on Law Enforcement Officer Suicide and Mental Health
Developing a Suicide Prevention Program
Sample Suicide Prevention Materials
Sample Training Materials
Sample Presentations
Sample Funeral Protocols
Here are some resources from the Working Minds suicide prevention organization.
Suicide Prevention in the Workplace: Whose Responsibility is it? WhitePaper from WorkingMinds
http://www.workingminds.org/images/SST_white_paper_responsibility.pdf
How Mentally Healthy is Your Workplace? – Checklist
http://www.workingminds.org/images/Workplace_checklist.pdf
Suicide in the United States: A Fact Sheet
http://www.workingminds.org/images/Suicide_US_fact_sheet.pdf
Here are some other great resources we highly recommend:
Serve & Protect website
http://serveprotect.org/
In Harm’s Way website
http://policesuicide.spcollege.edu/
A Law Enforcement Suicide Prevention Toolkit
http://cop.spcollege.edu/INHARMSWAYResourceOnline/StartHere.pdf
Code 9 Officer Needs Assistance – The Documentary Film
http://www.Vimeo.com/26689571
QPR Institute
Check out the QPR for Law Enforcement website and their online training program at:
http://www.qprinstitute.com/Joomla/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=311:qpr-for-law-enforcement&catid=54:online-courses&Itemid=117
National Police Suicide Foundation
www.psf.org
The Pain Behind the Badge
http://thepainbehindthebadge.com/
CLICK HERE to Download our CopsAlive.com 10 minute Roll Call Discussion Guide “Prescription for Law Enforcement Stress Management” to augment your training sessions.
The IACP site also includes these HELPFUL LINKS:
American Association of Suicidology
http://www.suicidology.org/home
American Foundation for Suicide Prevention
https://www.afsp.org/
Badge of Life
http://www.badgeoflife.com/
Brain Line Military
http://www.brainlinemilitary.org/
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
http://www.cdc.gov/violencePrevention/suicide/
Living Works
https://www.livingworks.net/
National Action Alliance for Suicide Prevention
http://actionallianceforsuicideprevention.org/
National Institute of Mental Health
http://www.nimh.nih.gov/health/topics/suicide-prevention/index.shtml
National Suicide Prevention Lifeline
http://www.suicidepreventionlifeline.org/
SAVE: Suicide Awareness Voices of Education
http://www.save.org/
Suicide.org: Suicide Prevention, Awareness and Support
http://www.suicide.org/suicide-hotlines.html
Suicide Prevention Information
http://www.larasig.com/suicide
Suicidology Online: Open Access Journal
http://www.suicidology-online.com/
Tears of a Cop
http://www.tearsofacop.com/police/police.html
U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs: National Center for PTSD
http://www.ptsd.va.gov/
The IACP page also links to the IACP’s Center for Officer Safety and Wellness where you will find many more useful resources:
http://www.theiacp.org/CenterforOfficerSafetyandWellness
I encourage you to use National Suicide Awareness and Prevention Week to publicize the need for discussions about police suicides and you can also recognize World Suicide Prevention Day (September 10th) with an internal message campaign or training sessions. You might generate discussion by asking if anyone knows of any law enforcement suicides.
These would be great times for you to initiate campaigns within your agency or organization to promote information and prevention strategies to help reduce the problem of police officer suicides.
Remember The phone number for Safe Call Now is: 1-206-459-3020
Do you have police suicide prevention tips to share? Please leave your comments and suggestions in the comment box below.
Stay Safe and Stay Well!
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