The Mental Health of Police Personnel: What We Know & What We Need to Know and Do (CACP-MHCC Conference 13–15 February 2017)
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RECORDJUSTICE ON OFTURTLE PROCEEDINGS ISLAND, Chrismas Journal of COMMUNITY SAFETY & WELL-BEING The mental health of police personnel: what we know & what we need to know and do (CACP-MHCC Conference 13–15 February 2017) Astrid Ahlgren* ABSTRACT The issue of mental health and wellness has gained greater attention in society as a whole in the past decade. The Canadian Association of Chiefs of Police (CACP) has had this topic on its radar for even longer, and continued this sustained empha- sis at the 13–15 February 2017 conference entitled “The Mental Health of Police Personnel: What We Know & What We Need to Know and Do”. The dynamic and fast-paced conference was organized by the CACP and moderated by Norman E. Taylor. It brought together 222 delegates and speakers representing the broad sectors of policing, mental health and research, with equal numbers of men and women, at the Hilton Lac-Leamy in Gatineau, Quebec. Collaborating in this initiative were the Mental Health Commission of Canada (MHCC), Canadian Police Association (CPA), the Canadian Association of Police Governance (CAPG), the CACP Research Foundation (CACP-RF), the Canadian Institute for Public Safety Research and Treatment (CIPSRT), and Public Safety Canada (PSC). This paper provides a comprehensive report on the proceedings as submitted, and has been approved for publication in this Journal by the board of directors of the CACP. Some speakers provided the CACP with permission to post the visual aids they used for their presentations. These are available on the CACP website at https://www.dropbox.com/sh/pfjkme79redafon/AADGWJPod7K2jOJzlmwnFIsEa?dl=0 Key Words Police mental health; conference; police chiefs. Journal of CSWB. 2017 June;2(2):37-42 www.journalcswb.ca THE BACKSTORY police requires psychological resiliency, the need for training managers in dealing with this issue among employees, police As early as 2002 the Canadian Association of Chiefs of Police agency policy to manage stress-related leave and re-entry into (CACP) held the first of five annual conferences on Police/ the workforce, and the legal implications of police agency Mental Health Systems Liaison, entitled “Psychiatrists duty to accommodate. in Blue” (Montreal 2002, Saskatoon 2003, Hamilton 2004, CACP members Dr. Dorothy Cotton and Dr. Terry Vancouver 2005, and Ottawa 2006). Each year representatives Coleman, M.O.M. (Chief, Ret.) have represented the policing of both sectors convened to promote liaison at policy and community in a continuing relationship with the Mental operational levels, and to discuss specific dimensions of men- Health Commission of Canada (MHCC) throughout this time, tal health and policing. In 2006 the CACP Annual Conference, serving as a link between the two organizations. In March held in St. John’s, was on the theme “To Your Health”, with a 2014 the CACP and MHCC held a national conference in focus on the health of police chiefs and senior executives and Toronto entitled “Balancing Individual Safety, Community the impact of good health on leadership in the profession. Safety and Life Quality: a Conference to Improve Interaction By 2012, the CACP had established itself as a leader in for Persons with Mental Illness”. One tangible result of this increasing police awareness of mental health issues at the collaboration was the MHCC’s development of an e-learning community level. The Association, through conference ses- module called Mental Health First Aid that is available to sions and learning events, profiled effective practices that all police in the country through the Canadian Police include joint police and mental health worker units estab- Knowledge Network. lished to respond to incidents within the community. Focus In the context of national discussions about the costs of widened to include the police profession itself, with recog- policing in 2014–2015, analysis of public calls for police ser- nition that the risk of post-traumatic stress injuries among vice revealed the significant percentage of police time spent Correspondence to: Astrid Ahlgren, 608–1000 Wellington St. West, Ottawa, ON K1Y 2X9. E-mail: [email protected] © 2017 Author. Open Access. This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License. To view a copy of this license, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/. For commercial re-use, please contact [email protected]. 37 REPORT ON PROCEEDINGS, Ahlgren responding to the 20% to 40% of incidents in which mental reinforced the need to implement evidence-based approaches health was a factor. Mental health issues in the community and responses. The three tracks were dissected, analyzed and remain a major driver in police workload and cost, with police elaborated within sessions as follows: time spent not only in responding to incidents, but also in apprehending individuals under mental health legislation ■ Session 1: What we know and what we are learning and waiting for apprehended individuals to be admitted to about mental health of police personnel medical facilities. ■ Session 2: Promising practices along the mental health The policy agenda of the CACP includes mental health as of police personnel continuum of care, with a feature a strategic priority. The CACP has continued its partnership segment on understanding and preparing for the impacts with the MHCC, with the objective of increasing police aware- for first responders from mass victimization incidents ness and competencies in both professional interactions in the ■ Session 3: Operational and human resource manage- community and the police agency workplace environment. A ment strategies in response to mental health of police subsequent joint event held in February 2015 in Mississauga, personnel Ontario, “The Conference on Mental Readiness: Strategies ■ Session 4: What do we need to know and do? for Psychological Health and Safety in Police Organizations” ■ Session 5: Concurrent track discussions reflected this shift in emphasis from police interactions with ■ Session 6: Plenary discussion: highlights of track the public to police mental health in the workplace. deliberations ■ Session 7: Consolidation panel and collective forward THE 2017 CONFERENCE OBJECTIVE, GOALS action AND STRUCTURE SESSION SUMMARIES The overall objective of the February 2017 conference was to focus on strategies that could be put into action—begin- Introductory Session: Taking Action on Mental ning now. Health…Together A number of pre-set questions set out the goals that Presenters opened with their individual perspectives on the guided participants, while giving ample space for discussion objective of the conference. Directeur Mario Harel, O.O.M., and suggestions of additional angles, challenges, and real-life President of the CACP spoke to the priority the Association practices and experiences. The stated goals were as follows: places on this issue. The strong desire of CACP members to propel the current partnership work forward was the impetus 1. Examine the current state of research and available behind this conference. The intention is that the collective evidence in support of proven strategies, practices and work done here will reap constructive results. Louise Bradley, policy frameworks that can assist police organizations to President of the MHCC, underlined the significance of police prevent, respond, treat, and support the accommodation addressing this issue, as it sets an example for workers right of recovery needs of police personnel across a full range across the country and places mental health awareness on of mental health issues. the same footing as protective gear for physical health and 2. Examine a range of promising and/or proven practices safety. She reminded delegates that mental health resources in Canada and elsewhere, across the continuum of care, should be available for all who require them, including those with a view to making such practices more available working in remote, rural, and indigenous communities. to all police organizations, and to identify additional Maureen Shaw, Chair of the Human Resources Committee requirements for evaluation and reliable outcomes of the Victoria and Esquimalt Police Board, called for a culture measurement. that recognizes psychological, as well as physical, health 3. Consider the potential risks and mental health impli- and safety. She outlined the elements of the 2013 National cations of major incidents and mass casualty events, Standard of Canada for Psychological Health and Safety in building on experiences elsewhere, with a view to the Workplace, a voluntary standard issued by the Canadian advancing Canada’s general readiness in this regard. Standards Association, which she encouraged police agencies 4. Identify, examine and/or develop informed strategies to use as a resource for creating safe workplaces. and related policy and practice solutions for addressing the human resource management and operational and Session 1: What We Know and What We Are business challenges associated with mental health issues Learning About Mental Health of Police Personnel in the policing workplace. The first session consisted of three sections, moderated by 5. Develop and consolidate collaborative strategies among Dr. R. Nicholas Carleton, University of Regina, CIPSRT, who the conference partners and participating delegates to also presented with Steve Palmer of CIPSRT in the section 1A communicate and carry forward priority actions deter- entitled “The State of the Nation