• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer
  • Home
  • About
  • The Magazine
  • Events
  • Partners
  • Products
  • Contact
  • Jobs and Careers
  • Advertise
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Twitter
  • Subscribe
American Police Beat

American Police Beat Magazine

Law Enforcement Publication

  • Home
  • Leadership
    • Are performance evaluations worth the effort?
      Leaders — the good, the bad and the horrible
      How not to fail as an outside chief
      Setting ethical expectations early in an officer’s career
      Go that extra mile with a smile
  • Topics
    • Leadership
      • Are performance evaluations worth the effort?
        Leaders — the good, the bad and the horrible
        How not to fail as an outside chief
        Setting ethical expectations early in an officer’s career
        Go that extra mile with a smile
    • Editor’s Picks
      • “Hold my beer”
        Are performance evaluations worth the effort?
        Code enforcement officers: The community’s frontline property...
        Cartel intelligence operations streamline cross-border drug smuggling
        Off duty, but never off guard
    • On the Job
      • Police chief: Officers likely prevented further violence in Minnesota...
        Policing and fatherhood
        2025 Top Cops
        What’s with all the gear?
        Reckless elegance
    • Labor
      • Dallas Police Department drops college requirement for police...
        Small Texas town left without a police force after firing its last...
        Port Authority Police Department welcomes 71 new officers
        The P.D. that wouldn’t go away
        Critical incidents and waiting woosah
    • Tech
      • How local police departments can combat cybercrime
        Your website is your front desk
        Telegram investigations
        Florida sheriff’s office deploys cutting-edge forensic tool to...
        A new chapter for Utah law enforcement
    • Training
      • Blind spots
        LPVOs are the next evolution of the patrol rifle
        Training vs. practice: Improve or maintain?
        Off duty, but never off guard
        Meeting training needs on a limited budget
    • Policy
      • Cartel intelligence operations streamline cross-border drug smuggling
        Michigan Supreme Court: Marijuana odor alone no longer justifies...
        Milwaukee P.D. and schools clash over SROs
        Seattle Police Department launches new plan to curb violent crime
        Buffer-zone law blocked in Louisiana
    • Health/Wellness
      • “Hold my beer”
        When empathy backfires
        Navigating retirement
        Keeping work at work and home at home
        Avoiding the road to burnout
    • Community
      • Police warn of growing “jugging” crime trend as attacks spread...
        Code enforcement officers: The community’s frontline property...
        San Diego Honors Fallen Officer Austin Machitar with Park Renaming
        Battle of the Badges baseball game to support injured Missouri officer
        Temple University Police celebrate 7-year-old’s support with...
    • Offbeat
      • Not eggzactly a perfect heist
        Pizza … with a side of alligator?
        Wisconsin man charged with impersonating Border Patrol agent twice in...
        Only in California?
        Durango, Colorado, police hop into action after unusual 9-1-1 call
    • We Remember
      • National Police Week 2025
        Honoring Fallen Heroes
        What’s with the white chairs?
        The pain and sorrow of loss
        A cop and his car
    • HOT Mail
      • The War on Cops Continues Unabated
  • On the Job
    • Police chief: Officers likely prevented further violence in Minnesota...
      Policing and fatherhood
      2025 Top Cops
      What’s with all the gear?
      Reckless elegance
  • Labor
    • Dallas Police Department drops college requirement for police...
      Small Texas town left without a police force after firing its last...
      Port Authority Police Department welcomes 71 new officers
      The P.D. that wouldn’t go away
      Critical incidents and waiting woosah
  • Tech
    • How local police departments can combat cybercrime
      Your website is your front desk
      Telegram investigations
      Florida sheriff’s office deploys cutting-edge forensic tool to...
      A new chapter for Utah law enforcement
  • Training
    • Blind spots
      LPVOs are the next evolution of the patrol rifle
      Training vs. practice: Improve or maintain?
      Off duty, but never off guard
      Meeting training needs on a limited budget
  • Policy
    • Cartel intelligence operations streamline cross-border drug smuggling
      Michigan Supreme Court: Marijuana odor alone no longer justifies...
      Milwaukee P.D. and schools clash over SROs
      Seattle Police Department launches new plan to curb violent crime
      Buffer-zone law blocked in Louisiana
  • Health/Wellness
    • “Hold my beer”
      When empathy backfires
      Navigating retirement
      Keeping work at work and home at home
      Avoiding the road to burnout
  • Community
    • Police warn of growing “jugging” crime trend as attacks spread...
      Code enforcement officers: The community’s frontline property...
      San Diego Honors Fallen Officer Austin Machitar with Park Renaming
      Battle of the Badges baseball game to support injured Missouri officer
      Temple University Police celebrate 7-year-old’s support with...
  • Offbeat
    • Not eggzactly a perfect heist
      Pizza … with a side of alligator?
      Wisconsin man charged with impersonating Border Patrol agent twice in...
      Only in California?
      Durango, Colorado, police hop into action after unusual 9-1-1 call
  • We Remember
    • National Police Week 2025
      Honoring Fallen Heroes
      What’s with the white chairs?
      The pain and sorrow of loss
      A cop and his car
  • HOT Mail
    • The War on Cops Continues Unabated
  • About
  • The Magazine
  • Events
  • Partners
  • Products
  • Contact
  • Jobs and Careers
  • Advertise
  • Subscribe
Search

Health/Wellness

The value of data: Wellness through the eyes of officers

Sherri Martin, MA, LPCA Published January 17, 2023 @ 3:15 pm PST

iStock.com/DrAfter123

As police agencies across the country build new wellness programs for their personnel, how will they know if they are effective and are actually helping? 

The prevalence of police suicide has finally emerged from the shadows in the past decade, spurring a profession-wide focus on resilience and officer wellness. While the shift in our culture is promising, it is critical that often-limited resources are properly directed, so that we get the most bang for our buck when it comes to wellness services. While research into successful programs is important and may provide a base of knowledge from which to begin building a program of services, the needs and desires of our personnel should be the focus of efforts if we are to ensure effectiveness. 

In that vein, the National Fraternal Order of Police routinely surveys its over 364,000 members to gather information about the perceptions and experiences of both active and retired officers. Beginning in 2018 with the FOP/NBC Survey of Police Officer Mental and Behavioral Health, which drew nearly 8,000 responses from police officers in all 50 states and the District of Columbia, the FOP began to learn about the perceptions, experiences, needs and desires of members of law enforcement when it comes to mental health and wellness. For example, although 79% of respondents to the 2018 survey reported experiencing critical levels of stress at some point in their careers, 90% reported that stigma existed and acted as a barrier to asking for help with their mental health. Based upon these and other findings of the survey, the FOP, an independent member-driven organization, began to utilize this data, straight from officers in the field, to build effective wellness services for members of law enforcement. 

Over half of the officers surveyed in 2018 indicated a concern that wellness providers — counselors, psychologists, etc. — would not understand the nature of police work or larger police culture. Recognizing that officers often won’t seek services from a professional who they believe will not understand them, the FOP increased and enhanced its process of vetting wellness providers, seeking to identify those culturally competent at working with law enforcement clients and their families. Today, the FOP Approved Provider Bulletin, an online directory of culturally competent wellness services, is being built. This tool enables police agencies, officers and their support systems to locate effective wellness services from the privacy of their own homes and in their own time. As the ongoing process of vetting more and more providers and programs continues, a network of qualified professional services is being placed at the fingertips of officers, and it all began with data gathered from officers themselves!

As the range and variety of wellness services available to law enforcement increases, survey research consistently confirms that peer support is the service most preferred by officers, and the one they deem most effective at assisting them in times of need. This was first indicated in the 2018 FOP/NBC Survey of Police Officer Mental and Behavioral Health, in which nearly 90% of those officers who had access to peer support found it helpful. Since 2018, the number of peer support programs in police agencies across the country has exploded, and fortunately, this service is more widely available than ever. 

The 2021 FOP Biennial Critical Issues in Policing Survey, which included the voices of 3,843 active police officers around the country, confirmed that of all wellness services available, peer support continues to be perceived as most effective by officers. Currently, the U.S. Department of Justice Office of Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS Office) is working with the National FOP to develop a national standard in law enforcement peer support training. The Power in Peers course will begin to be taught throughout the United States in 2023, increasing the number of trained peers available to assist their fellow officers. The Power in Peers curriculum was also crafted with input from members of law enforcement, as the FOP again surveyed members about the ways in which peer support could be most helpful, including measurements of the circumstances and issues with which officers most wanted help and the mentoring of a peer. 

Moving into the future, as resources for developing wellness services and programming may at times be limited, checking in with those at whom the services are directed is key. Best practices dictate that before building we conduct research, and that research should be designed to include users of the tools. In fact, this should be the case with each challenge that faces law enforcement: that we include the perceptions and needs of personnel involved. 

Building a culture of wellness requires that we seek ways to appeal to every individual. No two people will respond the same way to a wellness resource, and different things may appeal to different officers. Findings of the 2021 FOP Critical Issues in Policing Survey indicate that the greater the number of wellness services a police agency provides or can link an officer to, whether internal or external, the lower the level of burnout among officers. Greater access to wellness services also serves the purpose of reducing stigma that might prevent an officer from asking for help as they see the value that an agency places on wellness through the dedication of resources. This issue is far too important to just check a box.

Sherri Martin, MA, LPCA

Sherri Martin, MA, LPCA

Sherri Martin, MA, LPCA, is the director of Wellness Services for the National Fraternal Order of Police.

View articles by Sherri Martin, MA, LPCA

As seen in the January 2023 issue of American Police Beat magazine.
Don’t miss out on another issue today! Click below:

SUBSCRIBE TODAY!

Categories: Health/Wellness

Primary Sidebar

Recent Articles

  • CARFAX for Police and NE-IAATI unveil vehicle crimes educational series
  • “Hold my beer”
  • NLEOMF’s 2025 Mid-Year Law Enforcement Fatalities Report reveals law enforcement deaths have decreased by more than 50% over last year
  • Are performance evaluations worth the effort?
  • Blind spots
  • Police warn of growing “jugging” crime trend as attacks spread across nation
  • Code enforcement officers: The community’s frontline property regulators
  • When empathy backfires
  • 2025 Mid-Year Law Enforcement Officers Fatality Report
  • National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund Announces May 2025 Officer of the Month

Footer

Our Mission
To serve as a trusted voice of the nation’s law enforcement community, providing informative, entertaining and inspiring content on interesting and engaging topics affecting peace officers today.

Contact us: info@apbweb.com | (800) 234-0056.

  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Twitter

Categories

  • Editor’s Picks
  • On the Job
  • Labor
  • Tech
  • Training
  • Policy
  • Health/Wellness
  • Community
  • Offbeat
  • We Remember
  • Jobs and Careers
  • Events

Editor’s Picks

“Hold my beer”

“Hold my beer”

July 12, 2025

Are performance evaluations worth the effort?

Are performance evaluations worth the effort?

July 10, 2025

Code enforcement officers: The community’s frontline...

Code enforcement officers: The community’s frontline...

July 07, 2025

Cartel intelligence operations streamline cross-border drug...

Cartel intelligence operations streamline cross-border drug...

June 30, 2025

Policies | Consent Preferences | Copyright © 2025 APB Media, LLC | Website design, development and maintenance by 911MEDIA

Open

Subscribe

Close

Receive the latest news and updates from American Police Beat directly to your inbox!

  • This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.