The ICPC Journal A membership periodical published quarterly by the International Conference of Police Chaplains ® December 2007 “Developing Professional Chaplains Through Dynamic Education and Support” OURNAL OURNAL OURNAL J J J PRESIDENT’S PERSPECTIVE…. The ICPC Journal A message from Wes McDuffie, President of the International Vol. 4, Num. 4, December 2007 Conference of Police Chaplains. President Wesley McDuffie Publisher Dr. Charles R. Lorrain ello to all: Executive Director, ICPC H Time is slipping by so quickly that in only a few months we will be in Copyright © by the International Mobile. I attended my first ATS there, and I am looking forward to returning. In the meantime, we will continue furthering our education Conference of Police Chaplains. All rights in Law Enforcement Chaplaincy at our Regional Annual Training reserved. No part of this publication may be Seminar’s. Our participation helps strengthen the regions, increases reproduced without written permission from knowledge, and enlarges ICPC membership. the ICPC headquarters. The ICPC Journal is published 4 times a year. In August, I went to Destin to visit our office so I could speak to others about the organization, and provide accurate information concerning ICPC. I am impressed by the relentless services the Destin The International Conference of Police staff provides our members. They stand prepared to assist the Chaplains is a 501 (C) (3) non-profit membership in every possible way. We owe it to ourselves, and our corporation in the State of New Mexico departments to provide our officers with the resources that are available through ICPC. International Office: If your name wasn’t in the last issue of the Journal under the P.O. Box 5590 “committee lists” in which you are already a member, I apologize. I Destin, Florida 32540-5590 submitted the list to our Executive Director, and he printed what I sent (850) 654-9736 Fax (850) 654-9742 him. Email: [email protected] I appreciate everyone for embracing the philosophy of “Together We Website: icpc4cops.org Can.” Believing we can, and doing it together, will guarantee success. You will be hearing Together We Can, for the remainder of my tenure as President. I want to thank President-Elect Cyndee Thomas for demonstrating Together We Can with the work that she’s doing with the Committee Chairs. The entire team has done a great job and I thank you. I feel confident that you will triumph, and we will all reap the reward. To keep you informed: Keith Jenkins is the Relocation Committee Chairman assigned to researching the feasibility of moving the ICPC office from Destin. If you should have any questions or concerns, please contact Keith Jenkins. The Personnel Sub-Committee met in Dalworthington Gardens, Texas October 19 & 20, 2007 to study our Executive Directors contract that will expire on June 30, 2008. Please keep us in your prayers as we attempt to generate a contract that is best for ICPC, the Executive Director and the Office Staff. We are dedicated to “Developing Professional Chaplains Through Dynamic Education and Support.” Together We Can. “A Ministry of Presence”… President Wesley McDuffie 2 The Journal • December 2007 CHIT-CHAT A Members Forum Thank You……. —Correction— —Reminder— Thank you to the following Our apologies go out to four members Applications for Senior, Master, departments who sent in their patches: of the Disaster Response Committee Diplomate and Fellow credentials are who were left off the DRC list in the due by December 31st to be eligible to • West Carrollton PD last Journal. All committee members receive certificates in 2008. Send in work hard for the ICPC and we wanted your completed application to the • Orange Co. Sheriff’s Office (FL) to correct this oversight. They are: Destin office today! • Estonian National Police James Gunnels Please send any/all patches to: Donna Kleman —Congratulations— Terry Morgan ICPC Joanne Petto Congratulations go out to our newest P.O. Box 5590 —Ed. life members: Destin, FL 32540 William Hetherington —Website— #99 We are very surprised when we hear Rickey Hargrave from members that they didn’t realize #100 we have a website as we mention it quite often. We have worked very hard Way to go gentlemen!! to have information there at our member’s fingertips. Check it out at: www.icpc4cops.org Do you recognize this Chaplain? Greetings from our Executive Director Dr. Chuck Lorrain This is the time of year that many typically reflect on the many blessings in their lives. So often in our busy schedules of helping so many people however, we lose sight of those that are there for us all year long—day in, day out; through thick and thin….that being our families, close friends, colleagues in ministry and supporters. I pray that even though this is a very busy time of year for everyone, that you would take time for yourselves and spend some quality time with those you love. If law enforcement chaplaincy teaches us anything, it is that life is often short, fragile and unpredictable. Let those around you know how much you care for them this holiday season. From those of us in the Destin office, we wish you blessings for this holiday season and a safe and prosperous New Year! Addie Pat Ruby 3 The Journal • December 2007 PROTECT YOURSELF FROM THE DEAD By Harold Elliott A practical look at how There is a social norm among many police officers which says, "Thou shalt have no unexplained reactions to the things which thou dealing with death can hast seen" So, they spend a bulk of their lives trying to convince themselves and others that they are totally unaffected by dealing affect us and strategies with the dead. Lectures on the subject can help, but they don't eliminate the for mitigating its affect impact of direct, prolonged experience that can be a killer. I remember an old man who used to stroll the streets of my hometown with a sad face, bland personality, and a walk that resembled a funeral march. I never knew his name, but my mother always referred to him as "that old man who's dead and doesn't know it." The dead may not physically kill you but they can sap your emotional resourcefulness until you are about as useful as they. How you receive death will make a considerable difference in the effect a corpse will have on you: • Those who equate human and animal death will likely become cynical, and persuade themselves that no scene is too bloody for them to view and remain unaffected. This illusion is generally exposed when the officer loses someone he loves. • Those who view death as the doorway into eternity will normally feel a sense of tender emotion. They may feel stress because of man's inhumanity to man or man's inhumanity to himself. olice officers are constantly being taught street survival, and The job demands that an officer view death scenes. However, it P most of us shudder at the behavior of an unthinking officer does not demand that each officer view them in the same manner. who fails to protect himself. There is the ongoing discussion of how Whenever I see a body, regardless of the circumstances surrounding large a weapon should be carried and how many spare bullets the death, I view it as a wax figure in a museum. Some officers see should be at the officer's immediate the dead as mannequins. Others may disposal. All this is important, but no view them as evidence in the overall less important is that the dead will kill investigation. Still another may see the you too. It just takes the dead a bit How you receive death victim as only an object that once was longer to do the job. The living will alive and is now only a shell. shoot you, knife you, club you, or run will make a considerable Whatever image one may concoct, the over you. The dead will blow your result is the same: dehumanization of mind apart and vandalize your difference in the effect a the victim. This isn't wrong in fact, it is emotions until you become a shell of a corpse will have on you. a natural part of our built-in survival human being. These are the trappings kit. of death. Some officers would rather not Ask any officer to describe the show their real emotions at a death first death scene he worked and he will remember almost every scene. Certain feelings are simply natural to human beings, and detail. He can recall the position of the body, facial expression, open should not be construed as signs of weakness. For example, when or closed eyes, location of wounds, and type of clothing worn. No alone in a room with a body, experiencing an eerie feeling; if the matter how many years ago, he'll still remember. Of all the things victim is child, female, or helpless individual, feeling intense grief; we forget, it never seems to be a death scene. That being the case, it if sexual deviation is involved, feeling repulsion. only stands to reason that an accumulation of such sights eventually Officers also feel angry if death and mutilation are related to takes its toll on an officer, unless he safeguards himself. drugs or alcohol; if the victim was viewed by a family member, (Continued on page 5) 4 The Journal • December 2007 (Continued from page 4) especially children, the officer may be moved to sympathy; and he related how much he loved police work. will feel shock, the same as any other individual, if the victim is Second, the delayed disorders are those which may occur two known to him personally.