We do this because it's needed and it makes sense.

It's no secret that a law enforcement career places unique stresses on cops.  We're good at what we do because we can exist on adrenalin and caffeine, we're doggedly determined, fiercely loyal, and always in control.  We remain stoic and professional in the face of the senseless tragedy we view daily.  Despite low pay, long hours, and no "normal" life on holidays and weekends, we report for work as scheduled, because the battle of good versus evil rages on.  We know that without us, anarchy would rule society.  Only a cop understands that this is who we are, not just what we do.  We really are 24/7. 

The bottom line is that what makes us good at our jobs can take its toll on the rest of our lives.

We're taught to "keep it all in" from the first day at the academy, to protect our families, because society just doesn't understand the cop sub-culture, and because it's just not "police" to show emotion.

Every day, police face critical incidents, situations which hold the potential to invoke unusually strong emotions which have the potential to interfere with our ability to function, either at the scene or later. 
Shootings, accidents, use of physical force, injuries, seeing injured victims (especially children), deaths (especially line-of-duty-deaths), suicides (especially police suicides), sudden health problems, and the myriad of tragic events that we witness happening to others (and ourselves!) daily are all examples of critical incidents

But sometimes our "survival techniques" are self-destructive.

DID YOU KNOW ...
 - the life expectancy of a cop is 59 years (78.56 years for civilians)
- there are 300-500 cop suicides each year;
three times as many cops kill themselves each year than are killed in the line-of-duty
- there is a 72% divorce rate among 10-year veterans
- alcoholism among cops is twice the national average
-domestic abuse is twice the national average

THIS DOESN'T HAVE TO BE;

THAT'S WHY WE'RE HERE.
We're cops just like you.  We're here to respond and help you deal with the physical, emotional and spiritual effects of job-related stresses.  You are not alone. 



We also have a chaplains' component to our program which offers great benefit to many officers. If you hany questions about chaplaincy or other general questions, please get in touch with us.