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
Dispatch Articles
The Community Policing Dispatch is the award-winning e-newsletter of the COPS Office
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
Effective Focused Deterrence: Systematizing Custom Notifications
FEBRUARY 2016
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
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
First Responder Fitness: Rethinking the Work-Life Balance
October 2021
What’s New in Blue
What’s New in Blue is a series of short videos intended to keep viewers informed about innovative developments and critical issues in law enforcement.
Season 2 | Episode 1: What’s New in Blue: Officer Suicide feat. Sheriff Tim Whitcomb of Cattaraugus County, NY.
We are all familiar with the truism that policing is a hard job. However, for the women and men who walk the thin blue line, that statement is more than just a simple adage. The physiological and emotional toll paid by officers in the United States is an inherent part of the job that only those who have worn the uniform can fully understand. In this episode of What’s New in Blue, Sheriff Whitcomb tells the heartfelt story of a fellow officer’s suicide that became his wake-up call and spurred his crusade to help law enforcement officers minimize and dissipate the effects of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).Note: Video will play in a new window.
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
VALOR for Blue
Officer Safety and Wellness Program eLearning Dashboard
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
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