Debriefing post critical incidents

In the field of law Enforcement, we are no strangers to stress. Day in and day out we encounter calls to service that the common person truly can not understand at times. Officers patrol their beats and typically deal with individuals every single day who are having their WORST day. Anyone can look at that thought and understand that this job is stressful and could potentially be taking a toll on the individual. Individual, I believe that is a word that the public might forget when thinking of police. Behind the uniform and badge is a person who has thoughts, feelings and emotions just like everyone else.

An article from PoliceOne that I have recently reviewed titled, How critical incident stress debriefing teams help cops in crisis, made me think of how we as police officers help individuals day in and day out but seem to forget about some people. Those people our ourselves and our brother and sister officers. Time and time again after these critical incidents we typically never debrief about the situation in regards to emotions. Humor and get togethers like "choir practice" or drinking after work seems to be our release.

This is where the idea of Critical Response Teams come into play. My department for example has one, but it seems that these are only used for major incidents such as an officer involved shooting. Although those types of incidents are extremely critical, the monotonous grind of shift work can also take its toll. As stated by Mcgill, "The officers can take back control over their emotions and flashbacks that may be interfering with their lives, and they are forced to admit that they do not have total control over all situations. In addition, these debriefings can be used to educate family members of the normal reactions that may occur in the officers as their minds recover from a traumatic incident." (Mcgill 2015) We know how important this topic is. We need to begin to take care of ourselves now more than ever in today's society. It is an interesting time for Law enforcement and the men and women who carry out these duties not only need to worry about the public's well-being, but our own as well. 

https://www.policeone.com/health-fitness/articles/8554063-How-critical-incident-stress-debriefing-teams-help-cops-in-crisis/

Preventing vicarious trauma from leading to compassion fatigue in trauma workers.

Patrick Potter

08-14-18

Vicarious traumatization describes the pervasive changes that can occur within a trauma worker over time as a result of their intimate work with a traumatized population.  The changes in the workers can include change in self, spirituality, world views, interpersonal relationships, and overall behavior.  The common term used for suffers of this vicarious trauma experienced in their profession is compassion fatigue.   (Way, 2004) Its crucial to the well-being of the traumatized person that the trauma worker, no matter in what capacity doctor, clinician, police officer, or EMT, recognizes the symptoms of vicarious trauma and begins to resolve the symptoms to ensure that they are effective in handling the traumatized population that they are entrusted with.

Compassion fatigue compromises the trauma workers capabilities to care for persons who are victims of traumatic events.  Avoidance of the traumatized population, intrusive thoughts or dreams of distressing symptoms may affect the trauma worker facing compassion fatigue.  These symptoms may parallel the post traumatic stress symptoms that many of the traumatized clients they are dealing with are facing.    If the symptoms of compassion fatigue in their career field go unchecked and the trauma worker faces additional stress in the home environment burn out may occur.  Burn outs main symptoms are emotional exhaustion, sense of ineffectiveness, work dissatisfaction, detachment, sleep disorders, difficult concentrating, social withdrawal, poor judgment, and interpersonal conflicts.  (Gallagher, 2013) Compassion fatigue therefore revolves around the traumatized person and the trauma worker while burnout results from the stress of the trauma workers interaction with their environment.

When examining vicarious trauma and its effects on trauma workers its important to look at the constructivist self-development theory.   This theory suggests that individuals construct their realities through the development of cognitive structure or schemas.   Schemas include a trauma workers beliefs, assumptions, and expectations about themselves, others and the world.  These preconceived schemas are then used to interpret events and make sense of new experiences.   When new information, such as working with a recent trauma victim, is experienced and the new information gathered from the interaction is incompatible with the trauma workers original schemas they can become invalidated or shattered.   In this case the schemas must be modified to incorporate the new information into the workers belief system by a process of accommodation.   This accommodation to the new information can come in the form of both negative and positive accommodations.  Negative accommodation can lead to distress while positive accommodation to new experiences can lead to post traumatic growth.  If the trauma worker makes positive accommodations to the new experience they are having they may come out of their interaction with a new appreciation for their own good fortune and a strengthened sense of optimism.  The predictors of vicarious post traumatic growth are a higher level of coherence and empathy in the trauma worker as well as social support and organizational support surrounding them. (Cohen, 2012)

Trauma workers need to understand that they must be able to simultaneously monitor their own needs while also dealing with the emotions and needs of the families and subjects they are assisting through a crisis.  There are multiple strategies which may work in order to prevent compassion fatigue and lead to post traumatic growth in a trauma worker.   Some of these strategies for managing stress involved with dealing with emotionally demanding trauma include practicing mindfulness, making personal connections with the traumatized person, rewarding self after completing a task, shedding role when leaving work, utilization of team approach for support, knowing limits, learning from experience, relieving stress through exercise, reflective writing, and developing a special place where you can get away.  (Gallagher, 2013)

Vicarious traumatization is a process that requires continual self-assessment and monitoring by the trauma worker themselves.  Organizational support should also be available to assist in both prevention of vicarious trauma in the first place and intervention when needed.  Education provided to trauma workers should identify that vicarious trauma is a normal response to working with traumatized populations.   By identifying strong self-care strategies and being able to depend on assistance at the organizational level trauma workers will be able to avoid negative accommodations from their interactions with trauma victims and even experience post traumatic growth.

References:

Cohen, Keren. Et. Al. (2012) The Impact of Trauma Work on Trauma Workers: A Metasynthesis on Vicarious Trauma and Vicarious Post Traumatic Growth.  American Phycological Association.

Gallagher, Romayne (2013) Compassion Fatigue. Canadian Family Physician.

Way, Ineke. (2004) Vicarious Trauma: A Comparison of Clinicans who Treat Survivors of Sexual Abuse and Sexual Offenders.  Sage Publications

Prison Dog Training Programs Rehabilitate Canines and Cons

Before I even began my schooling for Criminal Justice my passion was dog training, rescuing dogs and giving them a purpose. I have spent years in training courses to learn how to become a better prepared and well-rounded trainer for all dogs and I have worked side by side with many breeds for different purposes. Throughout this course a great topic we have focused on is self-care, and I realized that training dogs is where I keep myself grounded, it is my stress relief, my passion, and my therapy. And I knew that if this was something that was so therapeutic for me, then it must somehow be incorporated into the criminal justice and/or mental health fields. As we have learned so far, service dogs play a huge part in certain therapy approaches; for people with anxiety, depression, and especially PTSD. Now what about in criminal justice? Animals in general, not just dogs; show us love and compassion endlessly, they do not judge or learn hate-they teach us to put something before ourselves because simply their lives depend on us.

Omaha Correctional Center partnered with a local animal shelter that allows the prisons inmates to foster hundreds of dogs as part of their Canine Compassion Program. Even though each program has its own personal details, the basics remain the same. Dogs with behavioral issues who are not quite ready to be adopted are sent to live in a cell with the caretaker. For anytime up to 16 weeks, the inmates are responsible for walking, feeding and playing with their dogs. The inmates will also take part in formal obedience training classes, where they teach their dogs the basic commands. In order to take part in the program, the inmates have to exhibit good behavior for at least one year prior, as well keep up good behavior during the duration of the program. One inmate shared that he likes the challenge of training the dogs and working through the harder classes. It keeps him occupied and gives him a purpose during the day to work harder with his animal. A lot fo the individuals interviewed shared that they enjoy the challenge because they like the feeling of not giving up, and proving to their dogs that they can succeed. “The dogs have brought humanity into this prison setting.” Liebson, R. (2018, June 13).

Animal programs within prisons have been gaining traction in the past few years, especially from the beginning of this idea which started in 1925. “Across the country, prisons and animal shelters are forming partnerships that put inmates in charge of training unruly dogs, giving both parties a chance at a fresh start.” Liebson, R. (2018, June 13). Carol Byrnes is a professional dog trainer and volunteers with local shelters to lead obedience classes for the inmates and the dogs. She goes on to say that many of the dogs come from high kill shelters, and it ca be a life or death situation for the dogs that are allowed to come to the prisons. And this is where the beauty of the relationship between the inmates and the dogs are formed. They both have the sense of being given one last chance-they work together for a brighter future. The inmates create such a powerful bond with the dogs, they know it is there responsibility to train them in such a way that they will succeed beyond the four walls of the prison. Byrnes was initially hesitant to get involved, but she developed a passion for the program after seeing the transformative effect it had on participants, both human and canine. For inmates and dogs who start off as distant or hard to reach, “as the program progresses, they open up, they blossom, they gain confidence, they gain social skills and the ability to problem solve and negotiate difficulties,” she said.

One of the officers who oversees a different program in New Mexico State Correctional Facility, PAWS which is Prisoners and Animals Working Toward Success Program said, it has helped the inmates correct some of the behaviors that may have landed them in jail in the first place. “The men in our pods have created so much loss, not only in their lives but in their families’ lives and lots of victims’ lives,” she said. “These dogs have really shown them compassion for other living things. Empathy.” Kimberly Collica-Cox, who is an associate professor of criminal justice at Pace University in New York, has studied how the symbiotic relationship between humans and dogs can be useful in prisons. Collica-Cox helped develop a program through Pace that uses animal assisted therapy to teach incarcerated mothers better parenting skills. “What we find is that dogs can trigger feelings of safety in humans, which will allow them to sort of open up and communicate more, which can be very helpful in a correctional setting,” she said, adding that there’s a great deal of research to support these findings. This is such a powerful aspect to research, a big problem in prisons today, especially all women facilities is that some women come into prison pregnant and give birth while serving their sentence. So, they ultimately miss out on either the first months or even years of their children’s lives, which can make them feel inadequate as a parent-especially if someone else has had a helping hand in raising their children while they were away. These programs can tech them motherly skills, compassion, nurturing and so much more.

These dog and prisoner programs can be life changing, not only for the dogs, but the prisoners and the families that adopt these dogs down the line. Paws for Life is a program in Lancaster, California at one of their maximum-security prisons; where these inmates go through extensive interviews to be able to participate in the program-they also have to write an essay on why they believe they should be a candidate. And a few of their messages were extremely powerful and I thought it would be a good way to end this.

“I know some people in society may think that we as prisoners don’t have anything good left in ourselves or have redeemable qualities, or be allowed any goodness in our lives; however contrary to that thinking I know in my heart this to be the opposite. Having someone to even suggest that we as prisoners would be good candidates for the Karma Rescue (Paws for Life program) demonstrates my beliefs that we have much left yet to offer society even if we potentially will never again be a part of that society.”

My reason for wanting to be a part of Paws for Life is simple. For most of my life I lived a very selfish lifestyle which led me to prison. I see Paws for Life as a chance to save a dog’s life. I understand what it’s like to be caged up. Also, I know this could be a lifesaving program for these dogs. Plus, Paws for Life gives me the chance to give back, to do something for someone else, to give back to a society that I cheated ... I do understand that a dog trained is a dog that’s ready to be adopted, and a dog adopted is a life saved, and changed! — Travielle

I have been locked up for over twenty-two years...The biggest reason why I want to help care for, feed, train and love the dogs; I want to be a part of giving someone something that will always love them and be there for them always. A person can give as much money the he or she has to charity or person, but no amount of money can love a person or go fetch a child’s favorite toy or teddy bear. Please allow me to give a person more than words or money. — Oliver

- Fitzgerald, D. P. (2017, December 07)

And a few closing comments after the certification graduation ceremony:

Jon: “Everything has improved in my life. This program has given our hearts a chance to heal, has restored my faith in humanity. It’s made me feel like a human being, given me self worth again, that I had the ability to give back, brought me closer to my bros that I train with. We worked really hard day and night to make this happen. Every bit of this program has been an honor to be a part of.”

 John M.: “This program has saved my life. It’s pretty simple. I have been in prison for twenty plus years...The Paws for Life program came along with Karma and all of a sudden I can love again. I can feel love. I can experience emotions that I have been holding down for twenty plus years...I sleep better at night, I’m more able to speak with people, I’m a little bit more literate. All of this comes from having a dog.”

 References

Fitzgerald, D. P. (2017, December 07). Who Rescued Whom? Shelter Dogs and Prison Inmates Give Each Other a New 'Leash' on Life. Retrieved from https://www.huffingtonpost.com/dr-patricia-fitzgerald/who-rescued-who-shelter-dogs-and-prison-inmates-give-each-other-a-new-leash-on-life_b_5760042.html

Liebson, R. (2018, June 13). Prison Dog Training Programs Rehabilitate Canines and Cons. Retrieved from https://www.cleartheshelters.com/Prison-Pup-Programs-Give-Inmates-and-Shelter-Dogs-a-Second-Chance-437660633.html

Rousseau, D. (2018). Module 4: Pathways to Recovery: Understanding Approaches to Trauma Treatment. [Lecture Notes] Retrieved from https://onlinecampus.bu.edu/webapps/blackboard/execute/displayLearningUnit?course_id=_48015_1&content_id=_5919976_1&framesetWrapped=true

Van der Kolk, B. A. (2015). The body keeps the score: Brain, mind, and body in the healing of trauma. New York, NY: Penguin Books.

Undocumented Children

Trauma exists all over the world from the youngest to the oldest person alive. However, children are more vulnerable to trauma because of their size, age, and dependency. (Rousseau, 2018) My focus is not just on the 25% of United States children who suffer trauma before their 16^th birthday however, but on the more than 2,000 children who were currently separated from their parents, the children known in the United States of America as undocumented children. The more than 2,000 kids who had no choice but to follow their parents seeking a better life and now face lifelong battles of mental health issues, the children who I strongly opposed being separated from their parents.

These children were separated from days to weeks from their parents and kept in a jail like setting surrounded by other children and guards. Working at a jail, I cannot begin to phantom a child being in a place that looks anything like a jail much less many of them together with minimum supervision and absolutely no love and affection. Stories have unfolded that some kids were given medication for mental health problems when many of them could not even speak; others were given shots to calm them down. Such is the story of a 5-year-old Guatemalan born child named Adonis.

Adonis lasted ten weeks in what he now calls “kid jail.” Six days after being released to his father, Adonis was already showing signs of mental health issues. Adonis showed emotional distress when a toy syringe was showed to him and commented that he would get a shot when he misbehaved that would put him to sleep. At five years old, Adonis has a lot of vaccines to go, the trauma he has suffered from this will show every time he receives a shot. Also, Adonis has now found a “newfound fascination for knives and machetes” and constantly displays anger and wants to be isolated from everyone including his family. At only age five, if left untreated, Adonis could end up with lifelong problems or suicide.

The problem with all this, the United States of America is not providing any sort of mental help for these children. Why? Is the question, if we separated them from their parents? I understand their parents came here illegally, but does any child deserve to be separated from their parents and placed in jail for weeks at a time? The answer is no. We need to take care of these children, make sure they get the necessary care for what they have experienced.

Many lawyers are currently fighting for this to happen and a lot of psychologists and doctors are offering their services pro bono. However, the United States of America isn’t doing anything about it even though they didn’t meet the reunification deadline and are the reason these children will now face problems. I am a strong believer that we as a nation need to do more to ensure that these children receive mental health care until they get mentally better. Why? Simply because it is the humanitarian thing to do and I would hate to see one of those children turn around and create mass destruction in the United States in a few years out of anger and range.

References:

Rousseau, D. (2018). Week 2 Lecture. PDF Copy.  Boston University, Boston MA. Online Campus Blackboard.

Wan, W. 20 June 2018. The trauma of separation lingers long after children are reunited with parents. Retrieved 12 Aug 2018 from the Washington Post:  https://www.washingtonpost.com/national/health-science/the-trauma-of-separation-lingers-long-after-children-are-reunited-with-parents/2018/06/20/cf693440-74c6-11e8-b4b7-308400242c2e_story.html?noredirect=on&utm_term=.c42e0a331f75

Miller, M. 9 August 2018. “I want to die”; Was a 5-year-old drugged after being separated from his dad at the border? Retrieved 10 Aug 2018 from the Washington Post: https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/i-want-to-die-was-a-5-year-old-drugged-after-being-separated-from-his-dad-at-the-border/2018/08/08/df4cc2aa-95e1-11e8-a679-b09212fb69c2_story.html?utm_term=.21d8d4f9139f

Gomez, A. 12 July 2018 . ACLU: Trump administration should pay counseling for separated families. Retrieved 12 Aug 2018 from USA Today: https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2018/07/12/aclu-requests-trump-administration-pay-counseling-separated-families/780833002/

Self Care To Release Police Officer Stress

It always seems like a silly question when people ask "Do you take care of yourself". Of course the answer is going to be "yes, I do". But, when people ask you "What do you do to take care of yourself" is where people seem to hit a wall and not know what to say.

Self care can be defined as "any activity that we do deliberately in order to take care of our mental, emotional, and physical health. Although it’s a simple concept in theory, it’s something we very often overlook. Good self-care is key to improved mood and reduced anxiety. It’s also key to a good relationship with oneself and others." (psychcentral.com). One key thing to note is that self care is not something that you need to force yourself to do. It should give you pure enjoyment and should relax you from day to day stresses. 

It is no surprise that there is no shortage of stressful or traumatic situations when it comes to law enforcement. This could be things that they encounter on a daily basis, or things that are exaggerated by the news media outlets and social media. This causes police officers to be tired, stressed out and burned out constantly. This is where self care would come into play. Lexipol, which is a policy management software for public safety, has come up with a list of many ways that we can see police officers getting stressed or burned out. Some of these examples include: "

• Isolation and withdrawal
• Being disengaged or unmotivated
• Physical exhaustion
• Nightmares and flashbacks
• Poor hygiene or apathy about one’s physical appearance
• Loss of empathy or compassion
• Relationship issues, including divorce
• Substance misuse and abuse
• Recurrent sadness or depression
• Resistance to feedback
• Resistance to change
• Reduction in meaningful work product
• Reduced job satisfaction
• Increase in citizen complaints" (lexipol.com)

There are a few self care tools that police officers can put into effect that would help them manage their stress and burn out. One of these self care tools is to have a life outside of law enforcement. This includes making sure that they make time for their friends, family, children and significant others. They should not let work consume their lives by thinking about what happened during the work day when they clock out from their shifts. It could also be something as simple as doing an activity that they enjoy doing such as hiking, biking, running, swimming, working out, etc. Another self care tool they could implement is developing good physical health habits. This includes things like eating a balanced meal, making sure they get enough sleep and not just getting their physical activity during the work hours. A final tool they could use is practicing meditation and mindfulness. I do not work in law enforcement currently and I use meditation and mindfulness to decompress from my long school days at work.

In conclusion, there are many ways that police officers could practice self care to decompress from their stressful and sometimes traumatic work days. Using these tips and tools would be beneficial for them both inside and outside the work place because they will feel more relaxed and not as stressed out, burned out, or tired all the time.

The challenges of Returning Home

Military veterans face a lot of challenges when coming home stateside.  Some of these challenges include adjusting to civilian life and family life.  At the same time the veteran’s family may need to readjust their live to a veteran whose life has greatly changed.  Other challenges may include returning to work or finding a new job.

Military veterans were asked to sacrifice having a normal live and sometimes asked to sacrifice their lives for this country.  Our country has often failed our servicemen and women when coming home and trying to adjust to normal life.

Since 2013, the Center for Innovation and Research on Veterans and Military Families (CIR) at the USC Suzanne Dworak-Peck School of Social Work has conducted studies of military populations in various areas throughout the United States to identify common challenges that veterans face as they transition out of the military.  Although individual populations may fare better with specific challenges, overall trends show that moving into civilian life continues to be difficult regardless of location.  (MSW, USC)

Some common challenges military veterans face include but are certainly not limited to a culture change, the military has a very specific and unique culture, almost always extremely different than that of the civilian culture.  Some veterans speak of having culture shock when returning home and attempting to adjust to civilian life, including home life and work life.  Some veterans report feeling isolated from their civilian friends, family, and co-workers.  They also find it difficult to become friends with civilians or remain friends with non-soldiers, as they lack the same experience and talking points.  Furthermore, civilians often ask inappropriate questions such as “have you ever killed anyone?” which could trigger flashbacks, whereas, a conversation with someone who has been through the same situations can be calming and easing.  For some the military is more than just a job and is seen as a way of life.  They are unable to separate the military and the non-military life.

Briand Ketcham

 https://msw.usc.edu/mswusc-blog/transitioning-out-of-the-military/

Common Challenges During Readjustment to Civilian Life

Trauma Informed Schools

I posted earlier in the course about an elementary school in Nashville, TN called Fall-Hamilton Elementary School that uses trauma informed practices in its school. The treatment and Services Adaptation Center defines a trauma informed school as one that "adults in the community are prepared to recognize and respond to those who have been impacted by traumatic stress." The goal of these schools is to provide tools and techniques to cope with stress and to also create a culture of respect and support. By providing individuals with ways to deal with stressful situations and by instilling an environment where mental health is not perceived as a weakness, these schools are removing the stigma of mental health and instead normalizing it. Trauma informed schools are teaching kids from a young age that everyone experiences stress and that it is good for you to seek help which, on a large scale, is laying the ground work for a positive shift in how our society views mental health.

Trauma informed practices are gaining popularity as Fall-Hamilton Elementary School and others show how these practices improve the students, faculty, and overall school. A study by Vanessa Sacks and David Murphey on adverse childhood experiences found that 45% of children in the United States have experienced at least one ACE and that 10% have experienced three or more ACEs. The rate in Nashville is higher than the national average coming in at 60% of children experiencing at least one adverse childhood experience.

Fall-Hamilton has implemented trauma informed practices that not only benefit the students but also benefit the faculty and staff. One of the first steps the school took was that they hired a full-time trauma-informed practitioner who works with the students and faculty to bring awareness to adverse childhood experiences and what steps to take to help deal with these stressful events. The school has also implemented leadership classes where they teach leadership to children starting in kindergarten and allow students to become leaders in the school by teaching others in various activities and clubs.

Fall-Hamilton has also taken sensory information into account in their trauma informed practices. Many of the classrooms have dimmer lights with calming colors and utilize essential oil diffusers to create a more calming, relaxing, and safer environment.  Classrooms also have what they call "peace corners" which is a place where students can go when they feel emotionally overwhelmed. In these peace corners students are able to utilize self care by gathering their thoughts and composing themselves so they are able to return back to class in a better state of mind that allows them to learn with minimal distractions.

The school also encourages self care for their faculty and staff. They utilize a strategy that they call tap in / tap out where at any time a teacher or staff member can reach out to any other faculty member and get someone to cover their class for them or to simply give them a couple of minutes to step out and recharge. This strategy to me has the most impact on the children because if they faculty and staff are not taken care of then how are they expected to take care of these children.

Fall-Hamilton elementary school has seen many positive outcomes of the trauma informed practices by reducing referrals by 76% and outperforming peer school on English language arts testing. The students have responded well to the new practices as 98% of students report that they feel an adult at school cares about them.

The approaches of Fall-Hamilton are proving that trauma informed practices that are implemented correctly have a dramatic positive impact on children. This school understands that all of these children's issues and problems are not left behind once they walk in the front door. Often children this young know they are experiencing trauma but do not have the ability to properly deal with their trauma, and overtime their untreated trauma can compound and cause a significant amount of long-term damage. Trauma informed schools are not only helping children deal with their current adverse experiences but are also teaching students various techniques that will help them cope with adverse experiences that they may deal with in the future.

I have added the full video of Fall-Hamilton Elementary School below.

References:

https://traumaawareschools.org/traumaInSchools

The prevalence of adverse childhood experiences, nationally, by state, and by race or ethnicity

Implementing ACEs in Schools

The Adverse Childhood Experience (ACE) study should be conducted in schools to prevent future trauma but also as an intervention tool to help children cope and to avoid re-traumatization. It could also prevent children with disruptive behaviors as simply being labeled  ‘problem children’ or change how the school handles such behaviors. Having a better understanding of each individual child can create profound relationships, trust, and help the school become more effective in teaching students. Finkel (2014) explains advantages of ACEs as “primary prevention efforts such as education of parents about how to encourage a child’s brain development, ensuring that health professionals are screening for ACEs at periodic intervals during childhood, and educating school personnel on the signs and symptoms of ACEs, as well as the fact that maladaptive, antisocial behaviors often stem from them”.

Schools taking this initiative would not only affect how children learn, behave and cope but it’s impact will stay long past the school experience. Children with high ACE scores are much more likely to engage in criminal behavior and/or abuse drugs. This intervention could save many lives and decrease crime amongst youth. Most importantly this test would show students that they are cared about. Many children living in trauma prone or negative home lives have no one they can rely on. A child who feels important to another person can make a long-lasting positive impact on their lives and how they behave. If nothing else, the results will give the school a guideline on how to support them and that in itself is more than worth it.

Reference

Finkel, E. (2014). “Florida Study Confirms Link Between Juvenile Offenders, ACEs; Rates Much Than CDC’s ACE Study”. Retrieved from https://acestoohigh.com/2014/08/20/ florida-study-confirms-link-between-juvenile-offenders-aces-rates-much-higher-than-cdcs-ace-study/

Law Enforcement and Mental Health

A quick google search for “law enforcement mental health” returns two different types of results.  The first is training for officers to recognize, understand and respond to people suffering or dealing with mental health issues.  The other results are websites, programs and services available to law enforcement administrators and officers to ensure mental wellness and stability.  In the final report that came from President Obama’s Task Force on 21^st Century Policing, both the training of officers and caring for officers are emphasized in the six main topic areas or "pillars."  For officers to adequately and appropriately provide services to the public, they must first be healthy and adequately trained.

Pillar Five titled "Training & Education" emphasizes proper training of officers suggesting “mandatory Crisis Intervention Training (CIT), which equips officers to deal with individuals in crisis or living with mental disabilities, as part of both basic recruit and in-service officer training.”  Also recommended is leadership development programs that encompass a wide variety of areas to include mental health issues. The report suggests that “line officers are more likely to adopt procedures or change practices if they are advised to do so by managers who also model the behavior they encourage.” (Final Report of the President's Task Force on 21st Century Policing, 2015)

Pillar Six addresses issues related to "Officer Wellness and Safety" and calls out the current law enforcement culture and suggests “the most important factor to consider when discussing wellness and safety is the culture of law enforcement, which needs to be transformed.” (Final Report of the President's Task Force on 21st Century Policing, 2015)  Transformation is needed to overturn the tradition of suffering in silence and encouraging officers to seek help.

For an agency to make the mental wellness of their officers a priority, the focus and discussion has to start with the top leaders and make its way all the way down to the lowest ranking officer.

• Policy:Administrators must implement policy to encourage officer to seek necessary help and assure them there will be no negative consequences.  Leaders cannot be afraid to approach the subject and should do so from the perspective of helping the officers as opposed to punishing the officers.  Additionally, focus should be placed on total wellness not just the officers’ physical and mental wellbeing, but the wellbeing of their family members.  Resources for leaders and administrators can be found on the IACP Mental Wellness website, such as model policies, a vicarious trauma toolkit for leaders, as well as information for family and financial wellness.   (Mental Wellness, n.d.)
• Discuss:To change the culture, the formal and informal leaders of the agency must engage officers in frank, open discussions about the issue of mental wellness.  The more it is discussed, the less taboo it will become.  PoliceOne.com says that " Making the conversation about mental health normal and routine goes a long way toward erasing stigma." (Olson & Wasilewski, n.d.)
• Train:Mandating trauma-informed training for law enforcement, at both recruit and in-service can work twofold.  This type of training will enhance the officer’s interaction with the public, but it can also show officers how trauma could potentially affect them.  Delivered properly and with the appropriate amount of emphasis, interaction and time, this training can start conversations among officers and make the subject less taboo.
• Provide:If an agency has mandatory physical fitness tests or medical evaluations, consideration should be given to implementing access to mental health check-ups for officers.  The Task Force Report stresses that current practice is to provide reactionary counseling, only after an incident occurs.  Preventative counseling is critical “Because officers are exposed to a wide range of stressors on a continuous basis as part of their daily routines, mental and physical health check-ups should be conducted on an ongoing basis.” (Final Report of the President's Task Force on 21st Century Policing, 2015) While some question “mandatory” counseling and its benefits, there is no question that counseling for law enforcement officers has value.  Agencies must provide access to employee assistance programs (EAP), peer counselors and Critical Incident Stress Management (CISM) teams.  These services, coupled with trained and informed supervisors and appropriate agency policy, can encourage and facilitate officers’ access to professional help. 

(2015). Final Report of the President's Task Force on 21st Century Policing. Office of Community Orriented Policing Services. Retrieved from https://cops.usdoj.gov/pdf/taskforce/taskforce_finalreport.pdf

Mental Wellness. (n.d.). Retrieved from IACP.org: http://www.theiacp.org/COSW-Mental-Health

Olson, A., & Wasilewski, M. (n.d.). Suffering in silence: Mental health and stigma in policing. Retrieved from PoliceOne.com: https://www.policeone.com/police-products/human-resources/articles/218917006-Suffering-in-silence-Mental-health-and-stigma-in-policing/

The Correctional Bubble: Inmates, Correction Officers, and the inevitable problems.

We have often discussed in our class topics and discussion about those suffering from PTSD. We know how difficult it is for those who are suffering from PTSD to receive help and the right treatments to help them get through their difficult times. When we think about the countless Americans that suffer from some sort of traumatic experience and even PTSD, we see that the numbers are staggering. According to the Sidran Institute An estimated 70 percent of adults in the United States have experienced a traumatic event at least once in their lives and up to 20 percent of these people go on to develop posttraumatic stress disorder, or PTSD (Sidran, PTSD Fact Sheet. 2017). Some more statistics that can be shown include approximately 8 percent of all adults, 1 of 13 people in this country, will develop PTSD during their lifetime. Lastly, we see that an estimated 1 out of 10 women will get PTSD at some time in their lives. Women are about twice as likely as men to develop PTSD. (Sidran, PTSD Fact Sheet. 2017) After learning about some of the statistics that come with PTSD, we can obviously see the dangers that come with PTSD or even experiencing some aspect of trauma. If it goes untreated, it could lead to some serious problems. PTSD can also lead to extreme trauma, which like the other stated above will have terrible outcomes socially, mentally, emotionally, and psychologically. I bring this up not only because we have discussed and debated PTSD within our class, I also bring it up because I have experienced what PTSD can do to a person first hand.

While growing up, my first cousin was incarcerated for a little over 10 years. One can tell from his current actions that being in jail changed him for the worst. His actions, demeanor, and all his traits have changed. When I asked him, what was wrong with him now, he basically explained to me that he had witnessed and been involved in things that would freak the normal person out. As we spoke, he told recollections of times where inmates had been severely beaten up, inmates stabbed to death in front of him, spending weeks at a time in solitary confinement, and so many other horrendous things. He explained to me that experiencing these things have made him a different person. He claimed 10 years of always looking over your shoulder, getting into fights with guards and inmates, as well of the fact that families tend to lose touch with inmates after a certain period of time has passed. This can have a devastating toll on the inmate both mentally and emotionally. He also had troubles at first readjusting to freedom essentially. He spent 10 years with someone controlling his every move. Telling him what time to wake up, when to eat, when to shower, and all other things that people should have personal control over. One of the points of this post is to show the lack of resources that have been put out to those who need it. When a person has experienced trauma and may have even developed some type of PTSD, they are in desperate need of help. This was evident with my cousin who suffered from flashbacks, would have emotional outbursts and attack his family both physically and with words. He would always react if someone was walking behind him and at times rarely slept because he didn’t want to experience any recollections of his time in prison.

We have seen as a country that in most areas we lack resources to help not only veterans but inmates and former inmates as well. A 2018 poll showed us that within three years of release, about two-thirds (67.8 percent) of released prisoners were rearrested. Within five years of release, about three-quarters (76.6 percent) of released prisoners were rearrested (Recidivism rates. National Institute of Justice. 2018). These staggering number are not just because companies and jobs refuse to hire offenders, it is also due to the fact that inmates who get out end of developing some sort of PTSD or the lingering effects of traumatic experiences. While researching about inmates with PTSD, I stumbled upon some information that was actually shocking to me. Along with inmates like my cousin, prison employees develop signs of PTSD as similar rates as war veterans. According to the American Journal of Industrial Medicine “Prison work is harrowing, researchers said, and employees face some of the “toughest working conditions of U.S. workers,” lead author Lois James said in a statement. Staff surveyed constantly feared for their safety at work, and almost half of them witnessed a co-worker’s beating at an inmate’s hands. Female and black employees were more likely to suffer from PTSD as a result of their work, as were staffers of more than 10 years. Results were consistent for workers in all areas of the prison, including minimum and maximum-security areas (American Journal of Industrial Medicine. 2016). To know that 35% of inmates as well as 10% of correctional officers contemplate suicide. These numbers are very alarming and definitely needs intervention. We see what causes traumatic feelings and PTSD, there is another group that also experiences this, that most people would think of.
With everything being said, one of the  main purposes of this post is to show that the correctional network is responsible for developing traumatic feeling and PTSD for people within their bubble at an alarming rate. People involved in this line of work develop these issues during work, which is ridiculous to me. We also see how inmates are extremely likely to develop instances of PTSD and other traumatic feelings. How can one of the branches of justice be so potent in the development of these things and there is little to no action being taken place to combat it? In my opinion, prison systems should be used for inmates to repay their dues to society after breaking the law. It also should be a place where ideas and help is given to those involved. This help will allow those to know the error of their ways, in order for them not to place themselves in similar situations. To wrap up this blog post, I think immediate action should be taken place with regards to helping people in prisons, and those who help maintain it. It is difficult to think that people who go in with hopes of rehabilitation as well as paying their dues, as well as those seeking good job opportunities, and both groups end up with serious problems. Before researching these problems as well as taking time to spend time with my cousin, I didn’t think this was the case at all. It’s a serious problem that must be dealt with.

References:

National Institute of Justice. Recidivism Rates. Office of Justice Programs. 810 Seventh Street, NW, Washington, DC 20531. 2017

Sidran Institute. Traumatic Stress Education and Advocacy. Post Traumatic Stress Disorder Fact Sheet. 2018

Scottie Andrew. Newsweek. American Journal of Industrial Medicine. PRISON EMPLOYEES FACE SAME RATES OF PTSD AS WAR VETERANS, NEW RESEARCH CLAIMS. 2017