Category: Plan Your Career

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Blue Trauma Syndrome 2024

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When I wrote the resilience building textbook Armor Your Self: How to Survive a Career in Law Enforcement several years ago I coined the term Blue Trauma Syndrome (BTS) as a means of discussing all the many factors that erode an emergency responders resilience. I used it to go beyond the simple label of “stress” as a catch all, and frankly far too simple, a description of the toxic effects of this career that eat us up from the inside out.

I want to raise that term again in 2024 to renew our on-going quest to make our law enforcement and other emergency service professionals as healthy, effective and resilient as they can be.

If you read my previous article “The High Cost of Unwellness in Policing” then you know about my beliefs regarding the importance of building resilience within our profession and you know that I believe that it’s not as simple as many people think. I suggest that many police agencies are just “Dabbling” in wellness without any clear strategy nor set of metrics by which to measure their effectiveness.

What I would like to do today is to CHALLENGE YOU to pick up this discussion in your agency, team or with a couple of peers and see what YOU THINK.

WHY?

Because, analyzing and discussing the challenges… Continue reading

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Is Our Police Culture Causing Suicides?

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It’s National Suicide Prevention Week again (September 9th – 15th, 2018) in the United States which is a week-long campaign to inform and engage health professionals and the general public about suicide prevention and warning signs of suicide.

I lost one of my law enforcement friends to suicide in 2007 and that’s what prompted me to start CopsAlive.com.

In my opinion, law enforcement suicide is a symptom of what ails our profession, and it should be an priority issue to resolve — but it hasn’t been.

This year, I thought I would follow suit with some other enlightened thinkers on this issue and challenge you to think about how our law enforcement culture contributes to suicide, and how we can fix that… Continue reading

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Police Officers and Firefighters Are More Likely to Die by Suicide than in Line of Duty

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A just-released White Paper on Mental Health and Suicide among First Responders commissioned by the Ruderman Family Foundation examines mental illness among police officers and firefighters, who commit suicide at a higher rate, and have PTSD and depression as much as 5 times higher… Continue reading

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We Need a RE-evolution in Law Enforcement

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I believe that law enforcement is the most noble of all professions.

I believe that the people who take a job or take an oath to protect and to serve their community in law enforcement should be honored and celebrated for that decision.

I believe we should be held to a higher standard.

I believe we should be nurtured, supported, encouraged and esteemed for that higher standard.

I believe that higher standard is a colossal commitment that should not be accepted lightly.

I believe many, many law enforcement professionals are suffering in silence because the burden of service in this profession is substantial and the expectations are monumental.

We are the Guardians of the Peace – we are the thin blue line between a peaceful society and anarchy.

We have promised… Continue reading

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Stop Law Enforcement Suicides Now!

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Man Therapy-Suicide Warning SignsSeptember is National Suicide Prevention Month and this week is Suicide Prevention Week. Let’s stem the tide of law enforcement officer suicides together. Watch for these signs and learn more from our partners at mantherapy.org

Man Therapy is a tongue-in-cheek website to get men and especially first-responders to talk about and deal with the traumas they face.  Follow them on the Man Therapy Social Channels
On Facebook at www.facebook.com/ManTherapy and on Twitter – @DrRichMahogany

Do you have a suicide prevention program in your agency?

Well, you no longer have an excuse for not having a program. With a 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 page. Get all the resources you need for free at www.CopsAlive.com/SuicidePrevention

Here Are Some Other Resources To Help You:… Continue reading

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Law Enforcement Officers and Directed Violence

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Article by Jack A. Digliani, PhD, EdD – Police Psychologist

Law enforcement officers and others around the world mourn the police officers and civilians killed during several recent terrorist events. Some of these events, involving nothing less than the premeditated assassination of police officers, are indicative of the tragic state of affairs confronting modern society.

What kind of person is capable of carrying out such violent acts? What mental states could drive a person to target police officers or to engage in the random killing of persons unknown to them? The answers to these questions are complex… Continue reading

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The Shell We Wear – How Being A Cop Changes Us

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Editor’s Note: Joe is a faculty member of The Law Enforcement Survival Institute and recently published this article on CalibrePress.com. We are honored that he is sharing it with us as well.

Nobody leaves police work the same person as when they entered it. Moreover, being a law enforcement officer can either be the best or worse job you’ve ever had.

Like the rest of you, I’ve watched with interest the latest assaults and criticisms of police officers. After reflecting back on 38 years of police work, it now seems public sentiment is supportive of those who are seeking to restrict the ability of many police officers to protect society. The general public has little or no concept of the experiences or emotions that police officers contend with throughout their careers.

I started in law enforcement in… Continue reading

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New Information on Police Suicide

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breakingthesilencecoverNew IACP Program on Police Officer Suicide

The International Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP) has just 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 their information… Continue reading

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How Leadership Can Reduce the Rate of Burnout Among Law Enforcement Staff

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BurnourtResearchCoverImportant new research into police burnout, leadership and stress is being published by Emerald and you can get a copy this weekend.

The report entitled: “An empirical investigation of high-risk occupations – Leader influence on employee stress and burnout among police” by Lisa M. Russell of the School of Business at Indiana University Southeast in New Albany, Indiana, USA is being published by Emerald Group Publishing Limited of the United Kingdom.

Emerald, a global publisher linking research and practice to the benefit of society, is making a free copy of this important research available for you until May 27, 2014 at this link: www.emeraldinsight.com/tk/policeburnout

A news release from Emerald stated: “US study published by Emerald analyses the relationship between stress and burnout in high-risk occupations and the role of leadership in moderating this relationship.

United Kingdom, 28 April 2014 – It is no surprise that high-risk occupations such as law enforcement have been associated with… Continue reading

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Heroes Behind the Badge: Sacrifice & Survival

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Heroes Behind the Badge Sacrifice and Survival Cover PhotoThis week is scared in the U.S. as we celebrate National Police Week in Washington D.C. During this week every year we honor those who have fallen in the line of duty, and we work to support and assist the survivors that have been left behind.

This is a time to honor the fallen while rededicating ourselves toward improving the way we serve our communities and enhance our ability to protect our citizens and ourselves.

According to the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund (NLEOMF) “This year, we’re adding 286 officers to the walls of the memorial. The names, to be added Tuesday evening in a candlelight vigil, include those of 100 officers killed in the line of duty in 2013 and 186 fallen officers from past years.”

The United By Light campaign gives everyone, everywhere around the world, especially those who can’t make it to Washington, DC, on May 13, to see the activities of the Candlelight Vigil Ceremony by Live Stream on the internet.

Register to watch the CandleLight Vigil live stream at:
http://support.nleomf.org/site/PageNavigator/CandlelightVigilRegistration

Are You a Survivor?

If you are a survivor of a law enforcement death and are not… Continue reading