A perfect storm – that has got to be the best description of what policing has been experiencing facing adversaries across all fronts for the last few years. The crisis existed pre-pandemic and remains to threaten the profession at present time. This presentation explores and demonstrates how the profession can mitigate and prevent this multi-dimensional crisis by examining organizational procedures and how they impact the workforce.

Leading the webinar is C. Gabrielle Salfati, a Professor of Psychology and the Director of the Investigative Psychology Research Unit at John Jay College of Criminal Justice. She’s dedicated more than two decades of her career to serving law enforcement and mental health practitioners through research and training.

Specifics of her discussion include:

• Various studies that provide context to the crisis that the law enforcement profession has been experiencing.
  • The severity of the mental health crisis as seen in recent suicide rates vs. line of duty deaths and the need to see mental health as an officer safety issue.
  • The mass exodus of criminal justice professionals particularly post-George Floyd and the general lack of appeal of the profession for new recruits.
  • The defunding movement amidst an increase in crime rates and attacks on officers.
  • The burnout that resulted from the smaller workforce made to accommodate the increased workload, poor morale, and mental health crisis.
• The three types of stressors in the policing profession – what each looks like, how each impacts the individual officer, and the type that law enforcement staff are most concerned about.
• The level of stress people tends to experience in the workplace across industries.
• What burnout is, where it emanates from, and what it is characterized by.
• Contrasting burnout from stress based on how it manifests as symptoms.
• Similarities and differences between burnout and compassion fatigue.
• The level of solutions that may be employed and types of solutions available to prevent and intervene with burnout.
• Factors to consider when implementing training to ensure the training has an impact.
• The concept of resilience – what it is and the areas of resilience to work on.
• Studies conducted to better understand burnout and resilience, and the missing link in the explorative efforts due to the inability to capture intervention approaches to mitigate burnout and foster resilience.
• The Law Enforcement RESilience Training Impact Research’s approach to have a truly evidence-based training guaranteed to deliver results that espouses systemic reviews, diagnostics to measure context, training delivery and boosters, and finally measuring impact.

Points raised by participants during the Q&A are about:

• The role of first-line supervisors in issues of burnout, retention, and turnover.
• How chaplains can be of value in resilience-building.
• Correlations found between police officers who are also armed forces veterans and the likelihood for mental health issues and suicide.
• The still existing stigma with mental health in law enforcement and how this impacts help-seeking.

Other Webinars with this Presenter

• Dec 6:  Burnout and the Law Enforcement Exodus Crisis: Causes, Symptoms and Solutions (this webinar)
• Feb 22, 2023: Crime Scene Analysis Decision Making

Or click here to view and register for other upcoming ASEBP webinars on the JCH Platform.

Resources and Handouts

• Past Webinar: Burnout in Law Enforcement and First Responders
• Handout: Contact info/Resources
• Handout: Training
• Website Referenced: 4 areas of Resilience
• John Jay Research Unit

Audience Comments

• “Understanding the difference between stress and burnout is helpful not only to be able to identify possible solutions but also so it is easier to determine how to help others overcome their own difficulties.” — Connor
• “Tips to move forward as the LEO Wellness Coordinator. Also confirmed that I am on the right track.” — Dawn
• “Fantastic presentation on a topic that is very important to the law enforcement community. I think the presenter keyed in on several great points that are important in retaining employees and limiting burnout.” — Joseph
• “I found the whole webinar valuable.” — Mari
• “Like many Police Departments, we are feeling the exodus as well as those not interested in joining the police force. We are working hard to change that culture back in our favor. Any information we can get will help.” — Michael P
• “My research is confirmed by this webinar. The question is going from information to implementation. Great work.” — Ray
• “Easy to get BURNOUT. Tough to get rid of it.” — Robert
• “Professionals are dealing with burnout at every level and there is support available.” — Rich
• “THANK YOU for sharing a valuable and informative presentation.”👍 — Barbara
• “I feel validated in knowing that I am not alone when it comes to issues in my workplace that have led to burnout and stress.” — Natasha
• “I thought the presentation was done well, with audience participation. I enjoyed learning about the various studies conducted that involve not just law enforcement in the U.S. but worldwide.” — Michael

The American Society of Evidence–Based Policing is a non-profit organization started by working police officers designed to drive the national conversation towards ensuring that the least harmful, most effective, fairest, and safest strategies are employed to prevent crime, reduce harm, and improve community wellness.