Reports on Improving Safety and Wellness of the Nation's 800,000 Law Enforcement Officers

• NCJ Number: 252939
• Author(s): Justice Technology Information Center
• Date Published: May 2019
• Length: 1 page
• Agencies: NIJ-Sponsored
• Award: A proposal to operate the National Criminal Justice Technology Resource Center.

Annotation

This article summarizes the purposes and content of two new complementary reports published by the U.S. Justice Department’s Office of Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS Office) for the purpose of improving the mental health and safety of the nation’s federal, state, local, and tribal police officers.

Abstract

The reports stem from the provisions of the federal Law Enforcement Mental Health and Wellness Act of 2017. One publication, the “Law Enforcement Mental Health and Wellness Act: Report to Congress,” includes 22 recommendations to congress that range from supporting programs to embed mental health professionals in law enforcement agencies to supporting the development of model policies and implementation guidance for law enforcement agencies to make substantial efforts to reduce officer suicide. The second publication, “Law Enforcement Mental Health and Wellness Programs: Eleven Case Studies,” summarizes the features of multiple effective and promising law enforcement mental health and wellness strategies. These 11 case studies from a diverse group of sites across the United States are intended to provide an incentive and guidance for other law enforcement agencies to take action that will improve and safeguard the mental health and safety of officers engaged in the stressful and dangerous duties of preventing and responding to threats to public safety. This summary of each of these reports provides online access to the full reports.