Officer Mental Health Resources
about this resource
The occupational fatality rate for law enforcement is three to five times greater than the national average for the working population. The officers who protect us must also be protected against incapacitating physical, mental, and emotional health problems, as well as against the hazards of their job.
We have built a library of resources below to help agencies better look after the physical safety and mental wellness of their officers. The materials are for law enforcement to use in addressing officer mental health and wellness challenges, all are free of charge, and provide you with best practice approaches as well as give you access to collective knowledge from the field. Below you can find recent and featured publications, podcasts, forums, after-action reviews, and e-learning courses.
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Online Training Resources
Ethical Decision Making: Policing with Principled Insight
A thought-provoking eLearning course that explores the practice of decision making and the ethical principles that support effective policing.
Procedural Justice: Roll Call Training for Law Enforcement
A video series developed to reinforce internal and external procedural justice concepts.
Hemorrhage Control Overview Slideshow
In this slideshow, Lieutenant and Deputy Medical Director Alex Eastman of Dallas (Texas) Police Department provides an overview of the Dallas Police Hemorrhage Control Program.
Critical Incident Reviews
Some of the best lessons and improvements in policing can come from critical incident or after-action reviews, particularly when such reviews are completed with independent experts in a manner that places emphasis on learning and improvement instead of responsibility or fault. Critical incident reviews have been completed on major, multi-jurisdictional incidents and individual agency incidents and activities. Included in the virtual library below are critical incident and after-action reviews and reports prepared by various organizations and agencies, curated by the COPS Training Portal.
Guides, Publications, and Reports
Podcasts – The Beat
Groups, Crowds, and Mobs
FEBRUARY 2013
Building Personal Resilience
FEBRUARY 2020
Wounded in the Line of Duty: One Park Ranger's Story
JANUARY 2020
Mitigating the Risk of Heart Disease in Officers
JANUARY 2020
Counseling Officers: Perspectives of a Police Psychologist
JANUARY 2020
Officer's Physical and Mental Wellbeing
DECEMBER 2018
Gender Diversity in Policing
NOVEMBER 2018
Gender Diversity in Policing
OCTOBER 2018
Analysis of Line-of-Duty Deaths
AUGUST 2018
Rhabdomyolysis
JULY 2018
Police Well Fit Together Program
JUNE 2018
Performance Recovery and Optimization (PRO) Program
JUNE 2018
Officer Health, Stress, and Suicide
MAY 2018
LEO Near Miss Reporting System
APRIL 2018
Effective Focused Deterrence: Systematizing Custom Notifications
FEBRUARY 2016
Officer Safety & Wellness: Officer Suicides
APRIL 2014
Officer Safety & Wellness: Officer Suicides — Breaking the Silence
APRIL 2014
Officer Safety & Wellness: Officer Suicides — Badge of Life
APRIL 2014
Officer Health
JULY 2013
Officer Fatigue
JULY 2013
Officer Shift Work
JANUARY 2013
Officer Suicides
JANUARY 2013
Officer Suicides
JANUARY 2013
FORUMS
The National Officer Safety and Wellness (OSW)
The National Officer Safety and Wellness (OSW) Group brings together representatives from law enforcement, federal agencies, and the research community to address the significantly high number of officer gunfire fatalities and to improve officer safety and wellness. During quarterly meetings, participants contribute to the creation of officer safety and wellness tools and resources.
The OSW Group hopes to encourage the adoption of cultures of safety and wellness among the nation’s law enforcement agencies. The goals of the group are:
- To create an opportunity and environment for law enforcement organizations and researchers to collaborate on improving officer safety and wellness.
- To bring together law enforcement organizations and researchers to share knowledge and information about officer safety and wellness initiatives.
- To broadly disseminate information and best practices to the field through the government and law enforcement organizational communications mechanisms.
Over the years the OSWG has discussed these critical officer safety and wellness issues and produced a number of resources aimed to encourage the nation’s law enforcement agencies to adopt a culture that embraces the value of safety and wellness. The COPS Office and BJA continue to strive to provide agencies with the tools necessary to develop effective programs that address some of the most persistent and prevalent safety and wellness issues facing law enforcement officers today.
LEO Near Miss
LEO NEAR MISS is a national, voluntary, non-disciplinary reporting system that allows law enforcement personnel to read about and anonymously share “close calls” or “near misses,” which provide lessons learned that can save the lives of other law enforcement officers.
A “near miss” is a situation in which a law enforcement officer could have been seriously injured or killed. Helping a brother or sister in blue make it home at the end of his or her shift and increasing the safety of law enforcement officers are the key parts of the mission of LEO NEAR MISS.
WEBSITES AND RESOURCES
Police Under Attack
A Police Foundation Review of the Christopher Dorner Incident: An Interactive Report
Below 100 Training
Formed to permanently eliminate preventable line of duty deaths and injuries through innovative training and awareness
ResponderSafety.com
Dedicated to the safety of the men and women who respond to emergencies on our nation’s streets, roads and highways
Destination Zero
Destination Zero, an initiative of the National Law Enforcement Memorial and Museum, is designed to help agencies improve the health and safety of law enforcement officers across the country, from agent to correctional officer, from trooper to patrolman, from sheriff to constable.
VALOR for Blue
Officer Safety First
To provide an easy way officers and departments can increase everyone’s safety around traffic scenes
IACP Officer Safety and Wellness
Resources that support the safety, health, and wellness of every officer, and use these resources when developing comprehensive officer safety and wellness strategies