Practical Considerations for Preventing Police Suicide: Stop Officer Suicide 

Chapter 11: Prevention: Resilience Building, Training, Education Programs, & Crisis Lines

Dr. Renee Thornton, Dr. Heath Grant, Cathryn Lavery, Kimberly Spanjol, & Jorey Krawczyn

Chapter 13: Police Culture: A Call for Authentic, Courageous Leadership,

Dr. Paul O'Connell & Dr. Renee Thornton

This book takes an in-depth look at the phenomenon of police officer suicide. Centered on statistical information collected from cases of officer suicide from 2017 to 2019, this volume helps readers understand the circumstances surrounding death by suicide amongst law enforcement personnel and makes recommendations for identification and prevention.

Through interview and case presentations, this volume examines the lives and last days and weeks of several officers, using findings from social media, departmental surveys, medical examiner reports, toxicology reports and interviews with loved ones and colleagues to create a psychological autopsy. With 14 chapters contributed by former law enforcement, researchers, and mental health professionals, it addresses national, state, and local policy implications and strategies, presenting a theory for better understanding and preventing the phenomenon of officer suicide. This volume will be of interest to researchers in policing, to law enforcement and first responder leadership and administrative professionals, and to mental health practitioners and clinicians working with this unique population

POWER: Police Officer Wellness, Ethics, & Resilience

Chapter 2: Police Officer Wellness

Chapter 10: Creating a Culture of Wellness

Power: Police Officer Wellness, Ethics, and Resilience collectively presents the numerous psychic wounds experienced by peace officers in the line of duty, including compassion fatigue, moral injury, PTSD, operational stress injury, organizational and operational stress, and loss. Authors describe the negative repercussions of these psychic wounds in law enforcement decision-making, job performance, job satisfaction, and families. The book encompasses evidence-based strategies to assist law enforcement agencies in developing policy programs to promote wellness for their personnel. The evidence-based techniques presented allow officers to get a more tangible and better understanding of the techniques so that they apply those techniques when on and off-duty.

With forewords authored by Dr. John Violanti (Distinguished Police Research Professor) and Dr. Tracie Keesee, Vice President of the Center of Policing Equity, this book is an excellent resource for police professionals, police wellness coordinators, early career researchers, mental health professionals who provide services to law enforcement officers and their families, and graduate students in psychology, forensic psychology, and criminal justice.

Mental Health Intervention and Treatment of First Responders and Emergency Workers

Chapter 9: The HEROES Project: Building Mental Resilience in First Responders

The chapter introduces the HEROES Project, an online traINing resource that develops mental resilience. The goal is to provide the reader with the insight into a resource that can be used as an adjunct to employee assistance programs, critical incident stress debriefing, and counseling. The HEROES Project is the first virtual training course that combines the therapeutic tools of clinical and organizational psychology and provides first responders with access to a self-driven wellness program. This respects many first responders' preference for anonymous and private self-care, while the autonomous nature of the training reinforces for all first responders that they are ultimately responsible for maintaining their own wellness.

In Partnership with the Naval Postgraduate School & the Department of Homeland Security Library: Law Enforcement & Public Safety Leadership

by Dr. Renee Thornton
Courageous Leadership CS1
Dynamic Leadership CS2