Saturday, October 31, 2015

What's Your Plan for an Officer in Crisis???

By Sgt. Mark St. Hilaire



As a professional reading this article no matter who you are and at what rank you are in your agency, ask yourself: What is our plan to assist a brother or sister in crisis?

Your agency doesn’t have one? It is now time for you to have that courageous conversation with your union leaders along with your agency leaders to develop the plan.  There are many precious lives at stake.

Here are the important points I need to share with everyone, especially first responder agency leaders and their union leaders: 

YOU NEED TO HAVE A PLAN TO INTERVENE IF THIS HAPPENS TO A FIRST RESPONDER, ESPECIALLY ONE OF YOURS.  

Everyone needs to understand the plan and Pre-incident training is the key for a successful response. Practice and more practice especially for the: What if?

   COMMUNICATION: Very important as this is no time for egos or personality conflicts. Advise all responders what is happening, all vital information and expect the unexpected.  A law enforcement agency supervisor in dispatch along with a supervisor on scene MUST be focused on the task at hand on any suicidal action call.  If you are served by a CISM team focusing on first responders, call them immediately to activate this team to be ready to assist our friend in need and our co-workers who will have their own anxieties to deal with during and following the incident.  Most peer teams have trusted mental health professionals who work with first responders daily and know our culture.

2    RESPONSE: First responders don’t know what the suicide plan, method of action or know if a weapon or dangerous substance or item is being used.  EMS staged near the scene is important along with an assessment of the situation. Can a police patrol team make contact with our friend or has it escalated to bring in a higher trained special response team.  This is why you need the plan: who are our resources if needed and practice, practice and more practice.



    TREATMENT: In your plan, what hospital on the outside of your professional service area is ready to discretely assist your first responder suffering an emotional crisis?  It is obvious if they are critically injured you are taking them to the nearest medical facility.  This is part of the plan which should include an annual training session with all agency, CISM team and hospital personnel attending.  Friendships and future anxiety reduction will occur during these trainings as everyone become familiar with one another.


4      POST INCIDENT CARE: Is your agency or union ready to assist our first responder in need with a vetted and professional program to assist with the emotional needs.  Do you have several referrals ready in state or out of state?  Are they covered by insurance? Will the agency or union cover the other costs involved?  This is part of that plan which needs to be negotiated and agreed to now.  This will reduce our friend’s hesitancy when the service is needed due to a fear of not being able to afford it financially.

5      POST INCIDENT DIFFUSING: Prepare to assist the incident first responders and others with your CISM team.  As part of your agency plan and training, a CISM team should be activated for the on duty personnel responding to an incident. From dispatchers through the ranks, everyone involved should be immediately assisted with this emotionally charged event. 


     SHOW RESPECT: Any working first responder who lives in the real world knows that we all face low points in our careers and our personal lives.  So why do we second guess others when they are in crisis.  A lack of education and training does bring about ignorance which we are trying break in our public safety culture.  Sensitivity is needed for everyone as emotions are raw for everyone involved.  Pre-incident training on suicide prevention and awareness is important.  Consider putting yourself in our friend’s shoes. 

Sgt. Mark St.Hilaire is a 30 year police veteran currently serving in a busy Metro west suburb of Boston, Mass.  He is a volunteer police peer assisting a regional CISM team.  He is passionate about public safety health and wellness education. He is a member of ILEETA.  Mark can be reached by confidential email at: mark@rescueteamwellness.com.  Follow Mark on Linked-In and Twitter @NPD3306.


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