How BPD Convinced

How Baltimore Convinced Officers to Seek Help for Alcoholism and Depression

The city’s police department has put a focus on officer mental health and well-being. That’s a big cultural change because officers often feel they need to hide their struggles.

By Jule Pattison-Gordon, governing.com

An officer in Baltimore stands outside a high school following a shooting there last year.Barbara Haddock Taylor/TNS

In Brief:

• Baltimore’s health and wellness program has convinced 250 officers to sign themselves in for alcohol addiction treatment.

• Thanks to early interventions like that, the number of officers needing treatment has dropped dramatically, while citizen complaints have also come down.

• Other cities are pursuing similar programs. Studies suggest that when officers are better able to cope with the stress of their jobs, use of excessive force goes down on the streets, while episodes of domestic abuse at home also decrease.

One night, a Baltimore police officer was clearly intoxicated and possibly suicidal. Thanks to the department’s wellness and mental health program, the officer got into treatment that night. The incident remained confidential, and the officer didn’t lose his job.

“When he came back to the department on the road to recovery, he became an ambassador for what we were doing,” FINISH READING HERE

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