“There is no better teacher than adversity. Every defeat, every heartbreak, every loss, contains its own seed, its own lesson on how to improve your performance the next time.” – Malcom X¹

Perspective is everything as growth and mental wellness have their genesis in perspective. Bias can hijack perspective. Is it possible that writing off the source can lead to a loss of truth that would have been beneficial? For example, those not having an affinity for Malcom X might disregard the preceding quote and, in so doing, miss vital truth.  

Bias is a fascinating challenge to human communication. The span between intended thought transmission and perceived intent can be intercepted by it, hijacking much-needed truth in the process. Police leaders are well aware of this—every leader has had carefully crafted communications totally misunderstood by the intended audience. So it is with an article on chaplaincy. If the term “chaplain” conjures up force-fed spirituality, then readers may be tempted to disregard this article, and, in doing so, miss some vital information that can serve their agencies.  

 The emperor Charlemagne employed chaplains as advisers in “ecclesiastical and secular matters.”² U.S. General George Washington established a Chaplain Corps in 1775.³ It was the United States’ first chaplain to the Continental Congress, Jacob Duchè, who, the day after the news of the cannonade of Boston reached the Continental Congress, was credited having read a timely Psalm and said a prayer that touched the heart of all gathered. Of it, future U.S. President John Adams wrote to his wife Abigail,

I never saw a greater Effect upon an Audience. It seemed as if Heaven had ordained that Psalm to be read on that Morning.  

After this Mr. Duchè, unexpected to every Body struck out into an extemporary Prayer, which filled the Bosom of every Man present. I must confess I never heard a better Prayer or one, so well pronounced.⁴  

The work of a chaplain helped get the fledging government through a dark time in history. That encouragement continues to the dark times faced today.  

 The greatest hurdle in assisting officers and their families is that of trust. Police officers do not trust those whom they do not know. They get there honestly by dealing with mad, bad, and sad people daily, seeing humanity at its worst, often encountering fraud, deception and lies, coupled with the need to doubt all involved until the truth can be ascertained as a part of the investigative process. It’s easy for cynicism to develop. Add to that disposition internal breaches of trust—and the challenge to connect is only deepened. There are no shortcuts—establishing trusting relationships is the only way to move the needle in wellness efforts. Chaplains can make the investment in establishing trusting relationships. 

 Law enforcement chaplains help bridge the divide between the trauma and negative experiences encountered in the profession and real-world solutions that strengthen, inform, and enable officers to thrive in their careers. They help provide perspective and vital support, serving alongside peer support, mental health professionals, and wellness teams. As with any effort, it all begins with understanding the need and the best way to address it. 

 In addition, cultural competence is an absolute given requirement. Police challenges must be fully understood, and solutions need to be communicated in a way that officers can track with, lest they be intercepted by bias and a perspective of them as irrelevant. This is especially true with older officers who view many current efforts as “touchy-feely.” It is in this realm of misperception that many wellness efforts are lost.  

 An additional challenge is found in the nature of the work itself. Officers are dispatched to calls, held over for reports, called in for training, called out for specialty units, and subpoenaed to court. The profession reacts to a never-ending stream of calls and situations. That reactive nature can carry over to home life and leadership, and coupled with parasympathetic nervous system responses to adrenaline filled days, officers’ proactivity can come to a halt, forcing their loved ones to assume the role of dispatcher. It can also carry over into leadership where issues are not addressed until after they become significant problems, at which point the experts are called in. 

 Navigating this all in a world with ever-tightening financial budgets presents a serious challenge, especially to smaller agencies not having the resources to supply competent mental health professionals or the ability to implement large-scale wellness efforts. Chaplains can help. Most will do so at no cost as volunteers. 

 Gaining the necessary trust through ride-alongs and time in getting to know officers and their families, chaplains can become a vital part of a wellness teams as they receive training in critical incident stress mitigation, suicide intervention, crisis response, assisting police families, making death notifications, and navigating church-state relations. Confidentiality is at the heart of chaplains’ work as they gain trust and become a safe place to process the difficulties of the job. Most states have some form of clergy-penitent privilege, and chaplaincy has a well-established track record as to its constitutionality.⁵ 

Chaplaincy Services 

Recognized that addressing the profession’s challenges is a multifaceted effort, chaplaincy services can include support for the agency, the officers and professional staff, and their families.

Establishing a Chaplaincy Committee 

In a chaplaincy committee, chaplains working with departmental representatives from the various divisions within the agency and retiree representatives meet monthly to keep a pulse on the well-being of departmental members and their families. Retirees, having tasted of the bitterness of the cup, fully appreciate wellness efforts and become tremendous advocates for them. Conducting departmental cookouts, holiday parties, marriage and family retreats, and family activities and adventures, as well as bringing in outside speakers, can serve the effort well. 

New Hire Training 

Proactively normalizing wellness practices at the beginning of a career yields great dividends. An eight-hour training module with the chaplain corps and wellness team can address the full gamut of job challenges:

Frustrations with Leadership. Frustrations from the bottom up and the top down are discussed, as well as the overarching principle that each individual officer is responsible for only their sphere of influence (i.e., the things they can control). Trouble begins when officers let the things they can’t control start to affect the things they do. Faithfulness in doing one’s assigned duties well leads to an ever-increasing opportunity to do more and thus gain greater influence to effect change. Good leadership begins with being a good follower, one who endeavors to make their immediate supervisor successful by joyfully doing what is asked of them (provided it’s not illegal, immoral, or unethical). 

 Hypervigilance and the Autonomic Nervous System. The requirement for officers to maintain a state of vigilance is well ingrained in the DNA of police training. What is often not understood is the effects of the parasympathetic nervous system often kicking into high gear at home. Fatigue, disengagement, and a lack of focus can be misunderstood and cause challenges to home life. The roles of adrenaline, cortisol, and glucose are discussed, as well as strategies to mitigate their impact. 

 Cynicism. The very nature of police work requires officers to look for the one bad thing happening on their beat rather than the one hundred good things. Constant exposure to people who refuse to take ownership of their wrongs and who lie, mislead, or cast blame can lead to a cynical attitude. Practicing gratitude, maintaining non-law enforcement relationships, and other helpful strategies are discussed. 

 The Reactive Nature of the Job. Reactivity responds to stimuli. Being dispatched to calls, held over for reports, called in for training, called out for specialty units, subpoenaed to court—an officer’s work is largely reactive in nature. The challenge comes when that mindset is carried home. It’s there an officer’s family needs them to make proactive decisions. Proactive individuals choose to act and exercise that choice of will in addressing the other responsibilities associated with life and their mental well-being. Practical ways to do that are shared. 

 Stress and Unhealthy Coping Mechanisms. Making split-second decisions that will be scrutinized by others for days, living life under the microscope of a body and car camera, individuals on scene baiting officers to get a response, internal affairs investigations, concern about being the next video sensation—there is no shortage of stressors in the profession. The coping substance of choice? Alcohol. What inhibits REM sleep and is involved in a large number of suicides? Alcohol. Healthy coping strategies are addressed. 

 Family Issues: Control, Debt, “Suspects,” Security. Officers are taught to take control of all situations at the academy, but that approach doesn’t seem to work as well on their spouse or significant other for some reason. Similarly, if teenage son or daughter lies to them and the parent goes into cop mode; forgetting who they are speaking to, their reaction will damage their relationship with their child. In addition, there can be a tendency to build a lifestyle around extra income from side jobs. As their family grows, making ends meet may require them to work multiple jobs and thus seldom being home. From processing critical incidents from the day and coming home, off-duty security concerns when out with the family, and balancing the various demands of work and life, the challenges are real and solutions are offered. 

 Fallout from Critical Incidents. Why is it when an officer goes by that house, they always remember the homicide that occurred there? That convenience store where the shootout occurred and they had a brush with death? That smell that vividly brings back a specific crime scene? Critical incidents are a mainstay of the profession. Normalizing abnormal situations is not healthy. Helping officers to understand these events do occur, but they will not walk alone through the crisis or aftermath is vital. In the training block, critical incident stress debriefing strategies, EMDR, an understanding of post-traumatic growth, and other mitigation efforts are shared. 

 Fatigue. Forced overtime because of manpower shortages, working multiple jobs, failure to get adequate sleep, and serving on a shift at odds with the body’s natural circadian rhythm all serve to induce fatigue, which is a high-impact factor in an officer’s psychological wellness. Fatigued officers have a greater difficulty maintaining a positive outlook, can be prone to make mistakes, and have increased difficulty processing critical incidents. This session addresses sleep science and how to work with one’s body to get needed rest. 

 Social Media/News/Political Climate. Officers find themselves keeping the peace in an increasingly polarized world. Political tensions boil over and they are held to a standard of perfection or used to advance political narratives. They face social media scrutiny and the instant posting of edited or incomplete video snippets that call into question their actions. 

 This initial session encompasses the preceding topics and introduces wellness team members—the chaplains committee, peer support officers, social workers—along with a cursory understanding of their work. Also included are veteran officer segments sharing what they have gleaned over the years, lessons learned through their hardships, and useful tips for keeping one’s mind in a good place. A luncheon with command staff and members of the wellness team is provided. 

Spouse/Significant Other Academy 

There is tremendous benefit in a chaplain-hosted spouse/significant other academy conducted yearly. This multi-session, weekly training experience includes a tour of the police station and dispatch centers where family members learn more of police processes and officer safety measures. They also gain an understanding of departmental history, chain of command, reporting requirements, and why their officer may be held over or delayed in coming home due to reports or personnel shortages.  

 Topics covered include the same ones discussed in the new hire training, but the focus is on how they may impact an officer’s home life. Tried and tested mitigation practices are shared. Caring relationships can be forged with the departmental wellness team as they demonstrate their commitment to strengthen and support an officer’s home life. Families truly are the “canaries in the coal mine”— they are the first to notice officers beginning to be negatively affected by their work environment. Strengthened relationships and a commitment to confidentiality can help family members feel free to share challenges when they develop, before they become problematic. 

Peer Support  

Properly trained chaplains can contribute to the peer support efforts of a department. They can participate in regular ride-alongs with officers to get to know them and their families. By maintaining strict confidentiality, they can gain the trust of officers and become a safe place to process the negativity officers encounter. They can assist in making death notifications, responding to critical incidents, and helping to meet the needs of the community in times of crisis. They can undergo CISD training and assist in debriefing and defusing efforts for both groups and individuals. Chaplains can conduct short monthly shift or roll call trainings that reinforce key concepts taught to new hires. They can share interpersonal relationship skills and bring much-needed encouragement—and, of course, they can serve as spiritual advisers for officers within their faith group as well as refer officers and community members to other faith group leaders to meet their needs. 

Aiding the Transition to Retirement 

Having secured the trust of retiring officers over an extended period of service, veteran chaplains can provide a number of services to assist them in the transition to retirement. Chaplains can help pay honor to officers by working with the department, the union, and others to help host a retirement party. They can conduct exit interviews to glean nuggets of truth to see how officers may be better served through wellness efforts. They can write up tributes highlighting the retiring officer’s service along with photos posting them publicly on social media and in a shadow box in the lobby. They can maintain the relationships well into retirement. They can assist families with funeral services when retired officers pass away as well as serve as a liaison to the department in sharing honors that are available to retirees.

In Closing 

Chaplains can play an invaluable role in overall wellness efforts and become valuable members of a wellness team serving alongside clinicians, peer support teams, and others, regardless of an agency’s size. They can meet the challenges of connecting with officers and their families by establishing trusting relationships, gaining a cultural competence through training and service beside officers, and helping to lead proactive resiliency efforts. They can specialize in helping officers and their families “identify the positive growth opportunities afforded through ‘every defeat, every heartbreak, every loss…” with “its own lesson on how to improve your performance the next time.” Chaplains are typically volunteers and the examples herein are but a sampling of the roles they can play.

Notes: 

¹BrainyQuote.com, “Malcolm X Quotes.” 

²Britannica, s.v. “Chaplain.” 

³Paul Stamps, “Army Chaplain Corps Celebrates 248th Anniversary,” U.S. Army, July 29, 2023. 

⁴John Adams to Abigail Adams, September 16, 1774, Founders Online.  

⁵See for example, Trammel v. United States, 445 U.S. 40 (1980); Marsh v. Chambers, 463 U.S. 783 (1983); and Theriault v. Silber, 547 F.2d 1279 (5th Cir. 1977). 

Please cite as

Jim Bontrager, “A Misunderstood Asset: The Law Enforcement Chaplain,” Police Chief Online, November 06, 2024.