NOTE: This is a free resource, NOT an eLearning course. There is no pretest or posttest, and you will not receive a certificate of completion for reviewing this resource.
Resource Overview: Preparing for the Unimaginable:
How Chiefs Can Safeguard Officer Mental Health Before and After Mass Casualty
Events, an interactive publication, provides expert advice and practical
tips that law enforcement executives can implement to safeguard officer mental
health before and after a mass casualty event.
The guidance, including the personal contributions of four
police chiefs and numerous officers who have lived through such incidents, can
help officers to heal emotionally, manage the public, deal with the media,
build relationships with other first responder agencies, and much more. Though
most agencies have trained and equipped their officers for immediate response
to mass casualties, few have prepared their personnel for the psychological
fallout. Tragic events can have a profound effect on first responders, who may
suffer emotional distress that lingers long afterward.
To help the Newtown (Connecticut) Police Department cope
with the murder of 26 people, including 20 children, at Sandy Hook Elementary
School, the COPS Office reached out to the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI)
in 2013 to provide guidance. Preparing for the Unimaginable is the
result of NAMI’s work with Newtown’s then police chief, Michael Kehoe. With
Chief Kehoe’s leadership, NAMI convened an expert advisory group of police
chiefs who had experienced mass casualty events in their communities, along
with the mental health professionals who advised them, to gather lessons
learned and guidance for other chiefs. NAMI also sought guidance from
numerous police leaders, mental health professionals, and trauma and media
experts. The result is this e-Guide, which educates chiefs and command staff
about officer mental wellness, provides steps to preparing for the mental
health impact of a mass casualty incident, and walks them through the crisis and
the aftermath.
While events like Sandy Hook have raised awareness of the
challenges that officers face, the day-to-day impact of police work is much
greater. Fortunately, there are many steps that law enforcement leaders can
take now to build resilient agencies, whether or not they ever experience a
mass casualty incident. There are also ways to prepare for the
possibility of such an incident. This guide can serve as a resource for
agencies interested in getting started.
Authors: Laura Usher; Stefanie
Friedhoff; Sam Cochran; Anand Pandya
Original Publication: 2016
Target Audience: Community stakeholders
interested in safeguarding the mental health of law enforcement professionals.
Cooperative Partners: This interactive e-Guide is
based on the 2016 written publication of the same name, which was
funded by the U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Community Oriented
Policing Services (COPS). This online version was developed by the Virginia Center for Policing Innovation (VCPI) and
was supported by cooperative agreement 2018-CK-WXK-001 by the U.S. Department
of Justice, Office of Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS).
