Research Paper On Police Mental Health

Christina Willemsen

Professor Jeff Nelson

Criminal Justice Behavioral Science

January 18th

Police Mental Health Mental health in general is so important. People need to talk about mental health in the workplace more because having good mental health in the workplace is so beneficial and so crucial. Being a police officer means mental health taking a toll on everything you do. Being a police officer has tasks and jobs that wear on your mental health and isn't healthy so it's important that as a police officer you take the initial tools and skills to work on your mental health. Did you know that one in five people experience serious mental health issues each year? We need to also think about how mental health can vary. People who suffer

But back then it was not as open minded and accepted. We need to learn to change that because mental health is a huge issue with people in the criminal justice system. Issues with police officers all stem from what they think and how they feel so don't you think that if we had more mental health services implemented it would be better? Like if a police officer had been written up they would have to attend therapy and the therapist would decide where their mental health is or instead of people checking on police officers in the beginning when they start they do annual mental health checks to check there mental health. Just small things like that would make a huge difference on how police officers live their day-to-day lives but also it would help them with their interactions with families and friends because a huge thing that isn't talked about and that needs to be talked about is what happens with friends and family when a police officer has bad mental

According to americanpoliceofficersalliance.com one every five police officers considered committing suicide and more police officers die from suicide then in line of duty. Just reading the statistics is so awful. In order to have officers grow and have better mental health they need to be able to understand it. For my understanding from our criminal justice class it was stated that mental health wasn't huge back in the day and people would say that it was all in our heads or people would not talk about it because they thought it was a bad thing and it shouldn't be discussed about because it was embarrassing. And it can't be that way anymore because people are dying and taking their lives and these are the people that put their lives on the line for other people the selfless people, and brave men and women that are police officers are taking their lives because of the mental health and damage endured on the job. Chuck Canterbury, the National President of the Fraternal Order of Police said that “Our officers wear protective clothing and other equipment to keep themselves safe from physical harm, but these officers also face challenges to their mental health and well-being. Unlike many other professions, sometimes you can't leave the job at the office.” this quote is very true. As a police officer whatever you do and whatever situation you endure you always take it home because you