LEADERSHIP
PRESIDENT ' S MESSAGE
Chief Bruce Hedley GACP President & Chief of Lilburn Police Department
6 SPRING . 2021
Support our Resiliency Program
Some researchers have suggested that being a law enforcement officer today is one of the most stressful occupations in the world . The chronic and sustained stress law enforcement officers continuously endure has a harmful effect on their body and mind . Gone unchecked , these conditions sadly lead to some officers committing suicide . Research of law enforcement suicides has revealed this to be an alarming trend . For years , suicide has been a leading cause of law enforcement officer deaths . In fact , in 2019 , 228 officers died by suicide . That ’ s more than twice the number of deaths from gunfire , vehicle accidents , and other deaths combined . Experts suggest the actual number of police suicides are much higher , with estimates of 500-600 deaths per year . Suicide prevention should be a top priority for every law enforcement administrator . As an agency leader , are you doing everything you can to provide officers with every resource available to prevent suicide ?
I strongly encourage every chief to furnish officers annual training regarding police suicide that will provide them with valuable education , resources , techniques and strategies to prevent police suicide . I also suggest chiefs consider utilizing another valuable resource , COPLINE . COPLINE has earned the trust of the law enforcement community by providing officers with a peer-to-peer resource to help them through difficult times . Their vision is : “ to remove the stigma associated with an officer ’ s decision to keep his / her emotions inside for fear of retribution and / or retaliatory action if his / her personal information , feelings and state of mind is revealed to his / her agency .” COPLINE ’ s webpage is
www . copline . org .
Now let ’ s talk about a new GACP-supported training initiative called ‘ The Police Resiliency Program ’. This program utilizes a proven twelve-step process to provide attendees with the strategies and skills to manage stress , overcome challenges ,