Police officers and police department staff have long suffered emotionally from the horrors of the job and traditionally have kept to themselves, compounding the issue. So police departments are addressing the emotional trauma officers face to try to foster emotional health.
The Frederick, Md., Police Department is taking a more holistic approach to health with the underlying belief that resiliency is a cultural issue for everyone within the department — sworn and not sworn — and that resiliency not only means emotional health, but physical health as well.
That’s the ambition of the Resiliency and Wellness Group (RWG), a group of seven Frederick Police Department employees — half sworn, half professional staff — that works with a professional leadership coach to develop resiliency within the department.
The RGW has implemented a Peer Ambassador Program and is developing a corresponding app for all police personnel to use anonymously for resources