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This Link Opens in a New Tabaccessible PDF of The In the LINE OF DUTY Investigation into how the Ontario Provincial Police and the Ministry of Community Safety and Correctional Services have addressed operational stress injuries affecting police offcers Ombudsman Report • André Marin, Ombudsman of Ontario • October 2012 Director Special Ombudsman Response Team (SORT) Gareth Jones Lead Investigator Adam Orfanakos Investigators Ciaran Buggle Domonie Pierre Rosie Dear Elizabeth Weston Grace Chau Mary Jane Fenton William Cutbush Emily Wong Early Resolution Offcers Ronan O’Leary Maggie DiDomizio Leanne Salel Senior Counsel Laura Pettigrew Find us on Facebook: facebook.com/OntarioOmbudsman Follow us on Twitter: twitter.com/Ont_Ombudsman Watch us on YouTube: youtube.com/OntarioOmbudsman Ombudsman Report Investigation into how the Ontario Provincial Police and the Ministry of Community Safety and Correctional Services have addressed operational stress injuries affecting police officers “In the Line of Duty” André Marin Ombudsman of Ontario October 2012 Table of Contents Executive Summary ...................................................................................... 6 Investigative Process ................................................................................. 10 From Shell Shock to Operational Stress Injury ........................................... 12 The OPP Casualty List: Operational Stress Injury Sufferers ........................ 15 Officer Albert ...................................................................................... 15 Officer Beatrice ................................................................................... 17 Officer Carl ......................................................................................... 18 Officer David ...................................................................................... 19 Beyond the Blue: Impact on Police Families ................................................... 20 Out of the Blue: Retired Officers .................................................................. 20 Retired Detective-Inspector Bruce Kruger ............................................... 21 End of the Blue Line: OPP Deaths by Suicide ............................................... 23 Ser geant Douglas William James Marshall ............................................... 23 Suicide Deaths by the Numbers ................................................................... 26 Statistically Speaking: Effects of Operational Stress in Policing .................. 28 U.S. Police Services ................................................................................... 29 Canadian Police Services ............................................................................. 32 Workers’ Compensation .............................................................................. 34 Spe cialized Treatment ................................................................................ 37 Protecting Those Who Serve: Prevention and Coping Strategies ................. 38 Education and Training ............................................................................... 39 Direct Psychological Intervention ................................................................. 40 Peer Support Programs ............................................................................... 43 Critical Incident Stress Intervention ............................................................. 45 Employee Assistance Programs .................................................................... 46 Operational Stress Reduction Strategies in Practice ................................... 48 U.S. Examples ........................................................................................... 49 Canadian Examples .................................................................................... 50 An Ounce of Prevention: Police Suicide Prevention Programs ..................... 52 In the U.S. ................................................................................................ 54 In Canada ................................................................................................. 56 The Ontario Provincial Police ...................................................................... 57 His tory of OPP Response to Officer Stress ..................................................... 58 Existing OPP Programs ............................................................................... 60 3 “In the Line of Duty” October 2012 Education and Training ........................................................................ 60 New Recruits ...................................................................................... 60 Block Training ..................................................................................... 61 Additional Courses .............................................................................. 62 Supervisor/Management Training .......................................................... 63 Wellness Initiatives ............................................................................. 63 Publications ......................................................................................... 63 Accommodations for Officers with Operational Stress Injuries ............ 64 Benefit Entitlement .............................................................................. 65 External Employee Assistance Program ............................................... 65 Operational Injury Social Support Coordinator (Proposed) .................. 66 Internal Peer Teams ............................................................................ 67 OPP Internal Employee Assistance Program Coordinator ..................... 70 OPP Safeguard Program ....................................................................... 72 Job Rotation ......................................................................................... 74 Stress Test – Pilot Project .................................................................... 74 Workplace Safety and Insurance Claims ........................................................ 76 “Suck It Up, Buttercup”: Stigma and Operational Stress Injuries ...................... 79 Surv ival of the Fittest: The OPP “Eating its Own” ................................. 80 What You Can’t See, You Suspect ......................................................... 81 “Suck It Up and Move On - I Have!” ..................................................... 83 Blue Wall of Silence, Revisited ............................................................. 83 Fear of Career Suicide: Suffering in Silence .......................................... 84 Education and Training Co-ordination ........................................................... 87 Families Need Support, Too .................................................................. 89 Building On Peer Experience ................................................................ 90 Limits to Employee Assistance Program ........................................................ 91 Keeping things on Track: Lack of Statistical Reporting ......................... 91 “You’ve Never Walked in My Shoes”: Limits to Generalist Approach .... 92 Officer Edward .................................................................................... 93 Officer Frank ...................................................................................... 94 Retired Detachment Commander George ................................................ 94 Rachael Marshall ................................................................................. 95 Improving the Assistance Program ...................................................... 95 Therapy Rationing ................................................................................ 96 Lack of Community Referrals ............................................................... 97 Operational Stress Injuries Don’t Retire: Assistance for Retirees ......... 98 Inconsistency in Availability of Psychological Services ..................................... 99 The “Dog on Roller Skates”: The OPP Staff Psychologist ...................... 99 Bending the Rules .............................................................................. 102 4 “In the Line of Duty” October 2012 Psychological Safeguarding for Specialty Areas ................................. 103 Additional Safeguards, Checks and Balances ...................................... 105 Proactive Disclosure: Operational Stress Injury Survey ................................. 107 Kee ping a Record of Crisis and Trauma: WSIB Claims ................................... 108 Leveraging the Peer Support Program ........................................................ 110 Bet ter Use of Positive Peer Pressure .................................................. 110 Family Peers ...................................................................................... 111 Expanding the Circle : Including Retired Peers ................................... 113 Critical and Traumatic Incident Intervention, Revisited ..................... 113 There Are No Quick Fixes: Addressing Cumulative Operational Stress ............. 116 Breaking the Taboo: Suicide Prevention Programs ........................................ 118 Suicide By the Book: The Need for Protocol ................................................. 122 Back to the Blue Line: Returning to Work and Accommodated Placements ....... 124 Looking Forward ...................................................................................... 125 The Ministry
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