Divorce/ Prevention
Police officers have one of the highest divorce rates when compared with other groups of professionals. Law enforcement officers and other first responders face extraordinary challenges in marriage and family relationships due to factors such as chronic job stress and irregular work schedules.
The development of interventions, specifically marriage education focused on improving the lives of law enforcement professionals, is a critical first step in this process. (Gary Westphal, 2009)
For these reasons, a program was developed in order to provide general marriage education for law enforcement officers and their spouses to enhance marital satisfaction and increase marriage skills. Westphal and Openshaw talk about this project called Law Enforcement Healthy Marriage and Family Project developed by the Mesquite Police Department.
The marriage education program is provided through retreats and weekly seminars. The present program involves four sessions that can be held during a weekend or in a few evenings over a period of four to five weeks. The MPD conducted a pilot program in which 30 officers and their spouses participated on three different occasions over a two-year period. A fourth program was then expanded to include 12 officers from three other law enforcement agencies and their spouses. (Gary Westphal, 2009).

Gary Westphal, Linda Openshaw. (2009, January). Law Enforcement Healthy Marriage
and Family Project. The Police Chief, 76(1), 48. Retrieved April 26, 2009, from Criminal Justice Periodicals database. (Document ID: 1636177811).
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Police Stress Prevention

Police Supervisors are not always trained to recognize the symptoms of stress, or if they are, they do not take appropriate action. Consequently, many of the ills associated with law enforcement such as alcohol abuse and marital conflict, fester until the results include physical illness, depression, domestic violence, and suicide. Although most departments provide officers with communications equipment, weapons, vehicles, and bullet resistant vests, “we have not yet devised training programs that are capable of bullet-proofing the mind." (Judith A. Waters, 2009) Police departments tend to deny the very existence of psychological factors. Due to misreporting, however, the present statistics underestimate the scope of the problem. “What we do know is that the suicide rate for Federal Bureau of Investigation agents is 116 percent above the national rate.”(Judith A. Waters 2009)

Suicide Prevention
In law enforcement, the prevention of suicide and other sequelae to traumatic events requires a strong support system. To the police officers, no one is better equipped to comprehend the pressures of law enforcement than another officer. Police officers normally tend to gravitate towards other officers to help them through traumatic experiences or problems associated with their line of work. Officers understand that the people that will understand them the most are their colleagues. Departments should train peer counselors to help officers cope with the stress associated with the job. According to Judith A. Waters (2009), Peer Counselors should be conducted by mental health professionals with experience in counseling skills, crisis intervention theory and practices, early warning signs of acute or chronic stress, suicide lethality assessment, the facts of alcohol and other drug abuse, and the issues of confidentiality. In addition, according to Lou Michel (2009), Peer counselors should be selected based on several criteria, including, trustworthiness, and sensitivity to the issues of racial diversity and other cultural factors, and the ability to command respect and establish rapport with clients quickly.

Judith A. Waters, York University, Canada, William Ussery, York University,
Canada. (2007). Police stress: history, contributing factors, symptoms, and interventions. Policing, 30(2), 169-188. Retrieved April 26, 2009, from Criminal Justice Periodicals database. (Document ID: 1373520491

PIX:

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Police Stress

Police stress is a well known problem among law enforcement officers. It is the leading cause of suicide, divorce, and domestic violence among law enforcement officers. In this paper I will discuss the issues in detail and also find out what the agencies are doing to prevent these devastating issues. A police officer has a lot of power and authority in our society, and responsibilities. They are responsible for keeping the peace and protecting the public from criminals and they are usually one of the first ones to respond when someone need help. They are the ones that determine if a person goes to jail or not, or who’s at fault during disputes or accidents. Police officers today face many serious problems; they have one of the highest suicide rates in the nation, a high divorce rate, and about second in the nation in alcoholism, about twice as often as the general population.
Suicide is the second-highest cause of death among Buffalo police officers behind fatal diseases, and matches suicide rates in other big-city police departments, according to a University at Buffalo study. “Officers were 8.6 times more likely to die from suicide than at the hands of another person, and they took their lives twice as often as other city workers, the study found” (Lou Michel, 2009) Police Supervisors are not always trained to recognize the symptoms of stress, or if they are, they do not take appropriate action. Consequently, many of the ills associated with law enforcement such as alcohol abuse and marital conflict, fester until the results include physical illness, depression, domestic violence, and suicide. Although most departments provide officers with communications equipment, weapons, vehicles, and bullet resistant vests, “we have not yet devised training programs that are capable of bullet-proofing the mind." (Judith A. Waters, 2009) Police departments tend to deny the very existence of psychological factors. Due to misreporting, however, the present statistics underestimate the scope of the problem.