Stress, with all its disparate forms and causes, is all too common these days in law enforcement. On-the-job pressures, intense public scrutiny, and ongoing personnel shortages can and do put big strains on agencies large and small.

Effective human resources and personnel management help make an agency resilient and responsive to modern trends and demands, bringing benefits like improved morale; more efficient operations; stronger mental health; and, ultimately, officers who are more prepared in the field.

Several companies and developers have emerged as leaders in the field and could provide the stress relief your agency needs.

Better HR Workflows

Sticking to familiar methodologies for human resources is understandable. It may not be the latest or greatest approach, but it’s a process with a proven track record—and it doesn’t require new training or any financial or technological investment.

This certainly can apply to recruiting and hiring new officers, the importance of which is now at a premium as agencies search harder than ever for the best available talent. But using traditional tools can limit reach and flexibility, which in turn can limit the hiring process itself.

One easy-to-use solution helps agencies recruit and hire faster and better—and at a fraction of the time.

“We still see a lot of paper-based recruitment processes across the country [United States], where an applicant either has to come to the police department and pick up an application, or go to the department’s website and print off the application there,” said Sean Cassidy, president of PoliceApp.com, which is headquartered in Wallingford, Connecticut. “If you compare those kinds of processes to what we offer, our system will reduce by 70 percent of the time it takes to conduct the administrative functions of the search.”¹

The PoliceApp website features law enforcement job openings from around the United States and beyond. According to Cassidy, PoliceApp features 250 to 300 police job postings at any given time.

“Candidates can search the site based on job title or the state in which they’re looking to be hired,” Cassidy explained. “We also have a big reach. For example, folks who are overseas serving can submit applications for an officer position. Whenever the application is complete, it’s submitted directly to the agency.”

But it’s more than just a job board. PoliceApp was designed to respond to each agency’s specific needs, which can vary widely. The site can help users set up meetings, conduct tests, manage test results, communicate with candidates, and gather references, among other functions.

“There are often 10 to 15 different phases each potential hire has to go through,” Cassidy said. “Our system was built to accommodate that process from start to finish. We work with departments on the front end, even before their job is posted.”

Hiring is just one way an agency must manage its personnel. A common part of many department cultures is secondary or off-duty employment. It can often become a challenge in and of itself to keep track of secondary employment opportunities, who is working where, and how everyone is getting paid.

As PoliceApp is to department hiring, so is RollKall to off-duty employment. It’s an all-in-one platform built to manage every aspect of secondary police work.

“In the United States there are about 20,000 agencies, 800,000 sworn officers, about two-thirds of which have secondary employment,” said Steven Power, president of RollKall, which is based in Irving, Texas.² “Sometimes secondary employment can be a distraction, because it takes away from the main game. But our technology makes it really easy for agencies to work in their communities and with officers to run those campaigns.”

The process need no longer be piecemeal, with RollKall handling the entire spectrum of tasks related to secondary employment, from finding the work to filing the invoice.

“This makes it very easy for officers to find this work, select what work they want to do, clock in and clock out, get paid, or get their 1099s,” Power said. “If there are any incidents or anything that happen during the shift, the officers can take a photograph, take notes, and upload information into the portal so the recipient of the service can see it.”

Not only does it make for a more streamlined experience for officers, it can also make things far easier for those seeking to hire off-duty officers. That can be good news for both sides, as these new efficiencies mean not only more time but potentially more work. In one case study, the police department of Kane County, Illinois, rose from handling an estimated 19 detail requests a month to an average of 65 to 70 per month after switching to RollKall.³

Personnel management also means protecting not just personnel but their personal information. One solution helps agencies do this right in plain sight.

HD Code Blue was designed to store and embed officer information within individual bar codes. According to developers, it’s a secure way to safely store and transport sensitive information, while also making it accessible in times of emergency or crisis.

“All the data stays with the first responder,” said Gary Parish, managing director of HD BarCode, which developed HD Code Blue and is based in Indialantic, Florida. “People find it extremely easy to use. It automatically creates a code that’s specific to that user and that department and is only readable by approved devices. This helps keep information private.”⁴

Some possible examples of information HD Code Blue could store include insurance information, emergency contacts, medical conditions, medications taken, allergies, blood type, Do Not Resuscitate (DNR) information, next of kin, and religious information.

Better Stress Management

With pressure on many officers going sky-high, the mental health of police personnel is a top concern for departments everywhere. However, there can still be some hesitancy to seek or provide adequate help or mental health support, for fear it could stigmatize users or lack the context needed for law enforcement.

Both those problems are solved with Mental Armor, a form of “resilience training” designed specifically for “high-stress operational environments” including law enforcement.

“We’re bringing evidence-based skills that we know are effective across the board from clinical psychology and other fields,” said Jill Antonishak, senior vice president of behavioral health for TechWerks, which is based in San Antonio, Texas, and created the Mental Armor curriculum.⁵ “There is a range of skills that have been shown to be effective and that you can put into practice the minute you walk out of one of our trainings.”

Mental Armor is a suite of sessions and workshops designed to help create and hone certain coping skills that have been shown to benefit law enforcement personnel on a day-to-day basis. When TechWerks put the curriculum to the test with service members in the U.S. Air Force, personal resilience improved in a variety of areas.

“When the program was rigorously evaluated in the Air Force, they saw increases in resilience, higher levels of coping strategies … stronger social connections, and being better able to manage their emotions in a way that maintains professionalism and the highest level of public safety,” Antonishak said.

Effectively connecting agency personnel with the mental health services they need, when needed and in a discreet manner, has always been a major challenge for police chiefs and their departments. A phone app called Cordico was designed specifically for police and other “high-stress professions” to do just that.

“Cordico provides a complete wellness solution for law enforcement agencies. It’s a way to develop and strengthen the agency’s wellness culture,” said David Black, founder and president of Cordico, which is based in Frisco, Texas.⁶ “The Cordico Wellness App includes self-assessments on topics such as PTSD, substance abuse, and sleep, as well as videos and guides on more than 60 behavioral health topics—all designed specifically for law enforcement officers.”

According to company officials, Cordico app users were found to be more likely to use support resources. Tools and content on the app also can be tailored by agencies to ensure it is as relevant as possible to its personnel.

“Administrators can incorporate agency-specific content and one-touch access to agency peer support team members, therapists, and chaplains,” Black said. “The app is completely anonymous and accessible at all times from any smart device—greatly increasing the chance officers will use the resources. Cordico also offers customers access to a growing library of online accredited wellness courses.”

While these solutions were tailor made for police and other first responders, there are other potential solutions that are a little more out of the box for law enforcement. Still, that doesn’t mean they’re not grounded in science.

Originally created as a tool for addiction recovery, the Biosound Healing Therapy 5500XLS is part adjustable bed, part audio-visual system, and part day spa. Its developers say it can help with tension, depression, and even PTSD. It also has a training component, by helping officers adopt a less-stressful mindset while on the job.

“A lot of first responders spend a lot of time in a fight-or-flight state, but this helps teach them how to shift out of that,” said Chris Gallant, chief operations officer and president of Biosound Healing Therapies, based in Clearwater, Florida.⁷

Although it does require training to operate, the training can occur through a phone-based session, Gallant said.

Whether it’s improved wellness or an improved workflow, there are plenty of ways a law enforcement agency can work to better align with—and get the most from—its personnel. Better human resources lift all boats, with more efficiency and resilience meaning a better ability to stay focused on the critical tenets of police work.d

Notes:

¹Sean Cassidy (president, PoliceApp.com), phone interview, October 28, 2021.

²Steven Power (president, RollKall), phone interview, October 29, 2021.

³RollKall, “Case Study: Kane County Sheriff’s Office,” press release, October 7, 2021.

⁴Gary Parish (managing director, HD BarCode), phone interview, November 2, 2021.

⁵Jill Antonishak (senior vice president of behavioral health, TechWerks), phone interview, November 4, 2021.

⁶David Black (founder and president of Cordico), email interview, November 1, 2021.

⁷Chris Gallant (chief operations officer and president, Biosound), phone interview, November 5, 2021.