The repeated calls law enforcement officers respond to every day can have a traumatic effect on their wellness. “We continue to hear from agencies that call volume has not increased significantly, but the severity of the calls has,” said Mindbase’s director of pre-sales engineering, Mike Hopkins.¹ These calls can include incidents such as child abuse, car crashes, and homicide, among many others.

Although the exact number is unknown, the nonprofit organization Blue H.E.L.P. estimates that 228 U.S. officers died by suicide in 2019.² In fact, police officers are more likely to die by suicide than in the line of duty.³ In a survey conducted by the Fraternal Order of Police (FOP), out of the 8,000 police officers who responded, 16 percent have had thoughts of suicide, 15 percent have struggled with substance abuse, 52 percent have experienced family and relationship problems, and 61 percent are haunted by recurring or unwanted memories of incidents connected to the job.⁴

Left unaddressed, the stress officers encounter can lead to destructive behaviors, poor decision-making, and heart-wrenching outcomes. In the past, agencies utilized employee assistance programs that were not designed specifically for law enforcement personnel. Historically, these resources have not been widely accepted or used, which was proven in the FOP’s survey, as 80 percent of respondents said they have not used services provided by their department’s employee assistance program for mental health issues related to their job. Of those who did use the services, 59 percent did not find it helpful.⁵ In some cases, agencies have left mental health and wellness up to the employees to cope with themselves, ultimately affecting retention and recruitment rates.

Fortunately, forward-thinking chiefs and organizations who recognize the critical role wellness plays in enhancing agency effectiveness and community safety have transformed the profession’s approach to this issue. “Conferences such as the IACP Officer Safety and Wellness Symposium have helped law enforcement leaders to better understand the unique wellness needs of their personnel, overcome barriers to delivering wellness services, and formalize the connection between wellness and constitutional policing,” said president of wellness solutions at Lexipol, David Black, PhD.⁶ There is now a plethora of resources available to officers, from therapy dogs to on-site early detection physicals to in-person resilience training and much more.

Wellness Platforms

Of the 8,000 respondents to the FOP survey, 90 percent said there is a cultural stigma that creates a barrier to seeking help for emotional or behavioral health issues.⁷ The environment that first responders encounter daily requires a new set of wellness tools to overcome the barriers of more traditional mental health solutions. Companies have recognized this concern and brought new wellness platforms to the law enforcement community in order to break that stigma. “As we continue to watch the negative trends in first responder suicide, we believe there is more that can be done and refuse to stand on the sidelines,” said vice president of growth and partnerships at Mindbase, Caleb Jenson.⁸

Working with law enforcement–vetted clinicians, as well as former officers and first responders, Mindbase has developed a completely integrated mental health and wellness technology platform. Offered in an iOS and Android end-user application, the purpose-built tools are meant to provide a virtual one-stop-shop for wellness resources. There is also a web-based peer support portal that is integrated with an agency’s computer-aided dispatch and records management system.

The platform ingests data from the dispatch and records systems to understand which officers have responded to traumatic calls. The data drive engagement to the individual officers with available resources that may help them maintain their mental health and build resilience against the difficult situations they may be exposed to in the future. The same data are also used to identify individuals whom peer support teams should reach out to.

“The idea for Mindbase stems from the simple concept that people help people, and people empowered by technology can help more people, even to the point of saving a life,” said president and chief executive officer, Corey Roberts.⁹ The company’s goal is to provide a comprehensive platform that empowers peer support teams, promotes a culture of wellness, and build resiliency in the ranks.

Providing officers with confidential, one-touch access to an agency’s peer support team members, as well as therapists and chaplains, is one of the three needs that Lexipol set out to help agency leaders accomplish. The other two are helping officers overcome the stigma surrounding asking for help and offering a clearinghouse of wellness resources. These needs are met through the Cordico wellness application. “Many of our customers have seen peer support usage increase substantially when the app goes live,” said Dr. Black.¹⁰

Of the 8,000 respondents to the FOP survey, 90 percent said there is a cultural stigma that creates a barrier to seeking help for emotional or behavioral health issues.

The first Cordico wellness app was created in partnership with Chief John Carli, who was serving at the Vacaville, California, Police Department. Dr. Black and Chief Carli formed a vision for a mobile app that would put the best wellness tools and resources into the hands of officers. In 2018, the first iteration of the app was fully developed. Today, the Cordico mobile app is part of Lexipol, but it still offers the same confidential access to wellness resources for officers. The app is free-of-charge to family members and retirees through an agency subscription.

With assistance from a team of experts who develop new videos, guides, and assessments monthly, the Cordico app offers a range of wellness resources on more than 60 behavioral health topics that are specifically targeted toward law enforcement. Administrators can also incorporate agency-specific content. Using the anonymous self-assessments, officers can learn about their tendencies toward compassion fatigue, depression, anger, sleep difficulties, and more. Then, they have access to the corresponding guidance to help overcome those challenges before they manifest into more serious problems. There are resources on nutrition, sleep, relationships, finances, and retirement. “All of these resources empower officers to take better care of themselves physically and mentally, which in turn makes them more resilient and better able to cope with the stresses of the job,” said Dr. Black. “All of which support long-term employee retention.”

About a year ago, the RippleWorx team placed a focus on serving law enforcement professionals. Their partnership with the National Command & Staff College has brought about an all-in-one wellness solution to the profession called MAGNUSWorx. By combining RippleWorx’s cutting-edge data analytics technology and the National Command & Staff College’s expert content, MAGNUSWorx equips law enforcement with the means to build resilience, performance, and cohesion in a demanding field. The positive habit-building techniques are sourced from a neurobiological perspective.

While the mobile app is designed to ensure anonymity and confidentiality, users can get a complete picture of their overall wellness through a detailed self-assessment. An officer can, then, access expert-designed programs to improve stress management, resilience, and capacity for growth. MAGNUSWorx’s evidence-based content library, which is resourced from subject matter experts, covers 11 domains of wellness to include mental, emotional, physical, relationship, family, financial, occupational, spiritual, social, leadership, and resilience. A user’s progress can be tracked in order to view improvement over time. Personalized recommendations based on an officer’s unique needs will begin to appear.

To help design a wellness plan, agency leaders are able to post announcements and anonymous officer surveys to better understand what their personnel’s needs are. “We see an immediate return on investment for agencies that are deploying our methodology,” said RippleWorx’s chief strategy officer, Jeff Kingsfield. “Many times, the urgent stressors are quickly identified, and the agency can move quickly to make a positive impact on morale.”¹¹

Conclusion

Law enforcement professionals are in a field that emphasizes helping others during traumatic events. If officers don’t have the resources to properly process those calls, it can potentially leave them suffering from all different types of mental and physical illness. Thanks to companies such as the aforementioned, progressive agencies have the tools available to help their employees feel valued, build resilience for a difficult career, and access the best health and safety options available.

Notes:
¹Mike Hopkins (director of pre-sales engineering, Mindbase) email interview, January 31, 2023.

²The International Association of Chiefs of Police, National Consortium on Preventing Law Enforcement Suicide, Final Report (2020).

³Hanna Shaul Bar Nissim, et al., The Ruderman White Paper Update on Mental Health and Suicide of First Responders (Ruderman Family Foundation, 2022).

⁴David Ushery, David Manney, and Evan Stulberger, “I-Team: Nearly 1 in 5 Cops Has Considered Suicide Amid Stigma Around Mental Health Issues,” WNBC, updated August 15, 2019; Fraternal Order of Police and NBC New York, Report on FOP/NBC Survey of Police Officer Mental and Behavioral Health (2021).

⁵Ushery, Manney, and Stulberger, “I-Team: Nearly 1 in 5 Cops Has Considered Suicide Amid Stigma Around Mental Health Issues.”

⁶David Black, PhD (president of wellness solutions, Lexipol) email interview, January 30, 2023.

⁷Ushery, Manney, and Stulberger, “I-Team: Nearly 1 in 5 Cops Has Considered Suicide Amid Stigma Around Mental Health Issues.”

⁸Caleb Jenson (vice president of growth and partnerships, Mindbase) email interview, January 31, 2023.

⁹Corey Roberts (president and CEO, Mindbase) email interview, January 31, 2023.

¹⁰David Black, PhD (president of wellness solutions, Lexipol) email interview, January 30, 2023.

¹¹Jeff Kingsfield (chief strategy officer, RippleWorx) email interview, February 1, 2023.