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On the Front Lines: Police Stress and Family
Well-Being. Hearing before the the Select Committee
on Children, Youth, and Families. House ofRepresentatives, One Hundred Second Congress, First
Session. Printed for the Use of the Select Committee
on Children, Youth, and Families.
Congress of the U.S., Washington, DC. House SelectCommittee on Children, Youth, and Families.
ISBN-0-16-035316-5
20 May 91
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Legal/Legislative/Regulatory Materials (090)MF01/PC05 Plus Postage,*Family Problems; Hearings; *Police; *Stress
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Congress 102nd

ABSTRACT
Testimony from a Congressional hearing on police
stress and how it affects the well-being of the officers, theirfamilies.and their work, is presented in this document. An opening
statement by Representative Patricia Schroeder is presented.
Statements are included from Representatives Frank D. Riggs, George
Miller, and Frank R. Wolf. Testimony and/or prepared statements fromthese individuals are included: (1) Beverly J. Anderson, clinicaldirector/program administrator, the Metropolitan Police Employee
Assistance Program, Washington, D.C.; (2) Anthony E. Daniels,
assistant director, Training Division, Federal Bureau of
Investigation, Quantico, Virginia; (3) Leanor Boulin Johnson,
associate professor of family studies, Department of Family Resourcesand Human Development, Arizona State University, Tempe, Arizona; (4)Jeffrey A. King, officer and peer counselor coordinator, theMetropolitan Police Employee Assistanle Program, Washington, D.C.;(5) James T. Reese, supervisory special agent, Assistant Unit Chief,
Behavioral Science Services Unit, Training Division, Federal Bureau
of Investigation, Quantico, Virginia; (6) Cathy Riggs, former police
officer, Santa Rosa Police Department and wife of Representative
Frank Riggs (former police officer), Santa Rosa, California; (7)Ellen Scrivner, director, Psychological Services Division, Prince
George's County Police Department, Upper Marlboro, Maryland, andpresident elect, Division of Psychologists in Public Service, theAmerican Psychological Association, Washington, D.C.;, (8) Gary W.
Sommers, sergeant, training services, Prince George's County Police
Department, Landover, Maryland, accompanied by Kay Sommers, Landover,Maryland; (9) Aristedes W. Zavaras, chief, Denver Police Department,
Denver, Colorado; (10) Suzanne F. Sawyer, executive director,
Concerns of Police Survivors, Upper Marlboro, Maryland; and (11)William K. Stover, police chief, Arlington County Police Department,
Arlington, Virginia. (ABL)ON THE FRONT LINES: POLICE STRESSAND FAMILY WELLBEINGHEARINGBEFORE THE

SELECT COMMITTEE ON
CHILDREN, YOUTH, AND FAMILIESHOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVESONE HUNDRED SECOND CONGRESSFIRST SESSIONHEARING HELD IN WASHINGTON, DC, MAY 20, 1991

Printed for the use of theSelect Committee on Children, Youth, and Families

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SELECT WMMITTEE ON CHILDREN, YOUTH, AND FAMILIESPATRICIA SCHROEDER, Colorado, Chairwoman
GEORGE MILLER, California
FRANK R. WOLF, Virginia
WILLIAM LEHMAN, Florida
J. DENNIS HASTERT, Illinois
CLYDE C. HOLLOWAY, Louisiana
MATTHEW F. McHUGH, New YorkTED WEISS, New YorkCURT WELDON, Pennsylvania
LAMAR S. SMITH, Texas
BERYL ANTHONY, JR., Arkansas
JAMES T. WALSH, New YorkBARBARA BOXER, California
RONALD K. MACHTLEY, Rhode Island
SANDER M. LEVIN, Michigan
BOB McEWEN, Ohio
J. ROY ROWLAND, Georgia
MICHAEL BILIRAKIS, Florida
GERRY SIKORSKI, Minnesota
ALAN WHEAT, Missouri
SCOTT L. KLUG, Wisconsin
RICHARD JOHN SANTORUM, Pennsylvania
MATTHEW G. MARTINEZ, California
DAVE CAMP, Michigan
LANE EVANS, Illinois
RICHARD J. DURBIN, Illinois
FRANK D. RIGGS, California
DAVID E. SKAGGS, Colorado
BILL BARRETT, Nebraska
BILL SARPALIUS, Texas
TIM JOHNSON, South Dakota
BARBARA-ROSE COLLINS, Michigan
JOAN KELLY HORN, Missouri
JIM BACCHUS, Florida
DOUGLAS "PETE" PETERSON, Florida
ROBERT E. "BUD" CRAMER, J/L, Alabama

COMM/WEE STAFF
KARABELLE PIZZIGATT, Staff Director
JILL KAGAN, Deputy Staff Director
DANIELLE MADISON, Minority Staff Director
CAROL M. STATUTO, Minority Deputy Staff Director:3

CONTENTS
Page

Hearing held in Washington, DC, May 20, 1991
Statement of:Anderson, Beverly J., M.A., C.A.C., clinical director/program administra-

1

tor, the Metropolitan Police Employee Assistance Program, Washington, DC

Daniels, Anthony E. assistant director, Training Division, Federal
Bureau of Investigation, Quantico, VA
Johnson, Leanor Boulin, Ph.D., associate professor of family studies, Department of Family Resources and Human Development, Arizona State
University, Tempe, AZ
King, Jeffrey A., officer and peer counselor coordinator, the Metropolitan
Police Employee Assistance Program, Washington, DC
Reese, James T., Ph.D., supervisory special agent, Assistant Unit Chief,
Behavioral Science Services Unit, Training Division, Federal Bureau of
Investigation, Quantico, VA
Riggs, Cathy, former police officer, Santa Rosa Police Department andwife of Representative Frank Riggs (former police officer), Santa Rosa,

61
81

32
63

82

CA

28

Psychological Association, Washington, DC

10

Scrivner, Ellen, Ph.D., director, Psychological Services Division, Prince
George's County Police Department, Upper Marlboro, MD, and president elect, Division of Psychologists in Public Service, the American

Sommers, Gary W., sergeant, training services, Prince George's County
Police Department, Landover, MD, accompanied by Kay Sommers,

Laurel, MD
Zavaras, Aristedes W., chief, Denver Police Department, Denver, CO
Prepared statements, letters, supplemental materials, et cetera:
Anderson, Beverly J., M.A., C.A.C., Clinical Director/program administrator, and officer Jeffrey A. King, Peer Counselor Coordinator, preparedstatement ofDaniels, Anthony E. assistant director, Training Division, Federal
Bureau of Investigation, accompanied by Dr. James T. Reese, superviso-

7
71

VA, prepared statement ofJohnson, Lecinor Boulin, Ph.D., associate professor of family studies, Department of Family Resources and Human Development, Arizona State
University, Tempe, AZ:
statement of
Response to request from Chairwoman Patricia Schroeder

85

65

ry special agent, Assistant Unit Chief, Behavioral Science Services
Unit, Training Division, Federal Bureau of Investigation. Quantico,

PreparedMiller, Hon. George, a Representative in Congress from the State ofCalifornia, prepared statement ofRiggs, Cathy, former police officer, Santa Rosa Police Department; wife ofRepresentative Frank Riggs (former police officer), Santa Rosa, CA,prepared statement of
Sawyer, Suzanne F., executive director, Concerns of Police Survivors,
Upper Marlboro, MD, prepared statement of
Schroeder, Hon. Patricia, a Representative in Congress from the State ofColorado and chairwoman, Select Committee on Children, Youth, and

a

36
113
102

30
105

Families:"On The Front Lines: Police Stress and Family Well-Being," a fact
sheet
Opening statement of

3
1

4

IV
Page

Prepared statements, letters, supplemental materials, et ceteraContinued

Scrivner, Ellen, Ph.D., director, Psychological Services Division, Prince
George's County Police Department, Upper Marlboro, MD, president
elect of the Division of Psychologists in Public Service of the American
Psychological Association, Washington, DC, prepared statement ofSommers, Sergeant Gary, training services, Prince George's County

Police Department, Landover, MD, prepared statement ofStover, William K., police chief, Arlington County Police Department,
Arlington, VA, prepared statement ofWolf, Hon. Fran lc R., a Representative in Congress from the State of
Virginia, and ranking minority member, Select Committee on Children,
Youth, and Families, prepared statement ofZavaras, Aristedes W., chief, Denver Police Department, Denver, CO,prepared statement of

13

9
109

102

73

ON THE FRONT LINES: POLICE STRESS AND
FAMILY WELL-BEING
MONDAY, MAY 20, 1991
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES,
SELECT COMMITTEE ON CHILDREN,
YOUTH, AND FAMILIES,

Washington, DC
The select committee met, pursuant to call, at 9:30 a.m., in Room

2322, Rayburn House Office Building, Hon. Patricia Schroeder[chairwoman of the select committee] presiding.
Members present: Representatives Schroeder, Smith, Riggs andBarrett.

Staff present: Karabelle Pizzigati, staff director; Jill Kagan,
deputy staff director; Julie Shroyer, professional staff; Thomas

Brooks, professional staff; Danielle Madison, minority staff director; Carol Statuto, minority deputy staff director; Elizabeth Maier,professioinal staff; and Joan Godley, committee clerk.
Chairwoman SCHROEDER. Let me call the hearing to order.
Congressman Riggs and I have decided we are not too awake, but

we are going to see what we can. We have been wandering aroundon the wrong floor.
We thank you very much for being here this morning. We wantto talk about this awareness that the Federal Government has

gotten way behind on focusing on the tension and the stress that
law enforcement officers and their families have been suffering as
the rising violence level occurs in our country.
All of the crime bills mainly have been focusing on hardware
without really looking at i,he families and wear and tear on them.
We have two distinguished panels to focus on them this morning.
I am going to put my full statement in the record.
[Opening statement of Hon. Patricia Schroeder follows:]
OPENING STATEMENT OF HON. PATRICIA SCHROEDER, A REPRESENTATIVE IN CONGRESSFROM THE STATE OF COLORADO ANL) CHAIRWOMAN, SELECT COMMITTEE ON CHILDREN, YOUTH, AND FAMILIESI am pleased that today the Select Committee will begin taking a look at conditions of police work that get little attention but can profoundly affect the well-beingof officers, their families, and their work.
Each day police officers live on the front lines, often confronting desperate problems and scenes of horror and suffering. Yet we often expect the men and women inblue to police our streets without ever getting the blues. Police are required to medi.
ate disputes, arrest suspects and put their lives on the line without becoming emo-

tionally involved.
Without relief, officers bring society's problems home to their families. These con-cerns multiply at home because of ever present safety concerns, and the unpredict,able and rotating shift schedules that come with the job. Officer and family stress
(1)

f;

2

can lead to a range of problems, including emotional numbness, communication
breakdown, officer burnout, depression, suicide, alcoholism, and marital problems.
Today, there is new evidence that self-reports of family violence are twice as high inpolice families as in the general population. Because of these problems, the policefamily often becomes another victim.
Police work involves reat danger and risk. In 1989, nearly 22,000 law enforcement officers were injured as a result of line-of-duty assaults. The resulting stress,
grief, and suffering placed an additional burden on officers, families, and survivors.
While recognition of the burdens placed on police families has progressed slowly,
increased understanding of job-related stress has changed the way that officers confront stressful situations. A few years ago, when an officer shot a suspect, fellow
officers were likely to greet the officer by saying, "Good shot." Today an increasing
number of officere prefer to ask, "How are you handling this?" or "Can we have acounselor talk with your family?"
Police departments which provide comprehensive services, unfortunately, are still
the exception instead of the rule. Most police departments provide only referrals.
Rural and suburban departments Lypically offer far fewer services than urban departments.
The health and well-being of officers and families should be a national priority.

Yet, without departmental assistance, police families seldom know about or canafford psychological services. We must ensure that police departments make theavailability of education, stress-reduction training, and family support services anintegral part of their work.
Programs which reduce officer burnout and family problems can save money bysaving officers. The Los Angeles Police Department reported that, in one year, 63%of disability pensions granted were related to stress or psychological problems.
Greater availability of stress-reduction and family support services could save departments thousands by reducing the number of officers who retire prematurely on
disability.

Many of the stresses common to police families also occur in military families.
With a bit of encouragement, the Department of Defense recognized the need forfamily support services and established family centers and advocacy programs on
military installations. Family centers comprise the primary support network for
military families. The 367 DOD Family Centers responded to over 9,250,000 contacts
for assistance in 1989.

We usually hear about police when something goes wronga serious crime iscommitted; a police officer is shot or kills someone. Yet, in order to ensure a healthy
and effective police force, the everyday needs of police officers and their families
warrant attention. Increased research about and services to police families are critical to their well-being and ultimately the well-being of our communities.

I want to convey a special welcome to Sergeant Sommers and Kay Sommers,
Cathy Riggs, and Officer King who are or have been on the front lines and know
well how important it is to address these aspects of police work. Thank you to all of
the witnesses for helping us to understand and to begin making all families apriority.

7

3

ON THE FRONT LINES:
POLICE STRFSS AND FAMILY WELL-BEING

A FACT SHEETnot o

ICAL AND SUPPORT SERVICES FOR Pc:MC
TODAY'S DEMAND

FAR EXCEEDS SUPPLY

In a 1979 survey of police departments nationwide, only 20% usedsome type of psychological services, compared with more than halfof all departments surveyed in 1988. (Delprino and Bahn, 1988)

In a national survey of 232 large municipal and state police
departments, 53% provided counseling to police officers for jobrelated stress, 52% provided counseling to officers for personal andfamily problems, and 42% counseled police officers' spouses andfamily members. However, the perceived need among departments
for these specific counseling programs was 79%, 72%, and 64%
respectively. (Delprino and Bahn, 1988)

In a study of 188 police departments where an officer had diedfeloniously or accidentally, 54% had a psychological unit, but only

31% offered access to a staff psychologist. Only 5.4% of thedepartments offered peer counseling and police family response
servico, 43% made counseling referrals, and 19% paid for outside
counseling. Surviving relatives of police officers killed in the lineof duty reported a lack of psychological counseling for family
members, and feelings of abandonment by the police departments.
Nearly 70% of departments surveyed lacked formal policies
concerning the death of an officer, including assistance to thefamilies of the slain officer. (Stillman, 1987)

PO ICE STRESS UNDERMINES OFFICER AND FAMILY WELLBEING

In a 1988 Arizona study of 553 police officers and their spouses,
41% of male officers and 34% of female officers reported violent
assaults in their marital relationships compared with 16% ofcivilians. Over one-third of wives of police officers (37%) reported
violence in their marriage. (Neidig, Russell, and Seng, unpublished)4

A 1981 survey of Toronto police officers found a divorce andseparation rate of 63%, almost double the national average among
Canadians at the time. Recent studies indicate that as many as 75%
of police marriages in large metropolitan areas are likely to end indivorce. (Came, et al., 1989)

A study of 130 Qdifornia police officers and their spouses foundthat job burnou, is associated with domestic, emotional, andbehavioral problems. Yet only 10% of the officers sought
counseling or support while 80% of their spouses did. (Maslach andJackson, 1979)
Between 1980 and 1981, applications filed for disability pensions at
the La: Angeles Police Department (LAPD) increased 82%. Of the

104 disability pensions granted during 1981, 63% were stress or
psychologically related. While stress-reduction and mental healthprograms and more stringent claim evaluations reduced the LAPD's
stress-related disability pensions to seven in 1988, 25% were stressrelated in 1990, the highest proportion since the mid-1980s, when
the rules on psychiatric-related petitions were first tightened.
(Petrone and Reiser, 1985; Hackett, et al., 1989; Los Ante les Times,
1991)

In a study of 82 Honolulu undercover officers, 28% experienced
relationship and marital problems and 20% experienced eacessive
use of alcohol during their undercover assignment. (U.S.
Department of Justice [130J], 1986)
A 1986 review suggested that as many as 30% of all police officers
abuse alcohol, compared with less than 10% of the population atlarge. (Hepp, 1987)

ThICREASED VIOLENTRIMES PUT OFFICERS AT_EVEN

fiBlagjungi

In 1990, violent crimes such as murder, rape, robbery and aggravatedassault increased by 10%, the largest annual increase since 1986.
(Federal Bureau of Investigation, 1991)
Violent crimes increased 43% during the decade from 1977 to 1987.
During the same time period, the average rate of serious violent IT id

property crimes reported to police departments in large cities
increased 22 1. (DOJ, 1987)

9

5

In 1989, almost 22,000 law enforcement officers were injured as aresult of line-of-duty assaults, 79 police officers were accidentallykilled while on official duty and 66 law enforcement officers werefeloniously killed. (Uniform Crime Reports, 1989)
In a 1986 nationwide training needs assessment, state and local law
enforcement officers in all types and sizes of agencies ranked theneed for training in personal stress management as the highat
priority. (D0J, 1986)
May 20, 1991

lt 0

6

Chairwoman SCHROEDER. You are going to hear from real people

who can tell you much better than I can.
In 1989 we had over 22,000 law enforcement officers injured. I

don't think any of us are in a career where we have that high alevel. When you think of the horrible things that they see at work,
how do you turn that off when you go home? And if you are learning to block that out, how do you make sure you don't block out
your family in the interim?
So health and welfare of families should also be a focus of thecrime bill. I have worked long and hard on the Armed Services
Committee to make sure that the military did much more aboutfamily programs. When we first started, they were unhappy about
it and said, "if we wanted these guys to have families we would
have requisitioned them." I don't think there is one branch of theservices that would trade their family services for anything. Let'stake what we know, work there and try and help.
I want to yield to Congressman Riggs who, I understand, knows
some people on the panel. He can do his opening statement, and wewill call the first panel to the table.
Mr. FRANK RIGGS. I want to compliment you for convening these
hearings this morning.
I don't have a prepared statement, in part because my wife is apanelist, and I have long since learned to keep the political speech
making to an absolute minimum when she is in the room. She islong suffering, and that goes back to our joint years in law enforcement.
I have not had an opportunity to preview her testimony, so I am
looking forward to hearing her testimony and the other witnesses
this morning.
There is a part of me that will always be there on the beat withthe working cop, having spent six, almost seven, years in California

law enforcement as a police officer and deputy sheriff prior togoing into private business. There is a special fondness deep within
me for the men and women who are on the front lines in the fightagainst crime.
I won't refer today to my present job perhaps being as stressful,
if not more so, than my former law enforcement job.
It is a delight to join the audience this morning. I must introduce

behind me here one of the products of my wife's and my joint
career in law enforcement. We were explaining to our son, Matthew, this morning that had it not been for the fact that we wereboth in law enforcement, since that is how Cathy and I met, that
he would not be here at the hearing this morning. He is taking aweek off from school in California to observe firsthand what his
dad does. So this is truly a faraily outing apropos of the Committee
on Children, Youth, and Families.

Chairwoman SCHROEDER. Let's welcome our first panel. Gary

Sommers, Prince George's County Police Department in Landover,Maryland, accompanied by his wife, Kay Sommers, both from

Laurel, Maryland.
We have Ellen Scrivner, the Director of Psychological Services at
the Prince George's County Police Department.

11

7

We have Cathy Riggs, whom we have just heard about. Cathy, it
is wonderful to have you and you, Matthew, here working hard.
You can send us notes if we don't ask the right questions.
We are also pleased to welcome Dr. Leanor Boulin Johnson, theAssociate Professor of Family Studies, Department of Family Resources, at Arizona State University, Tempe, Arizona.
We welcome this very, very distinguished panel this morning andreally appreciate your coming to help the Congress deal with thisissue.

Gary, let's start with you. We will work down the table. We will
put your whole statement in the record. We welcome you and yourwife this morning. We want to tell you how much we appreciate
your talking about this publicly. I know it is not easy, but it reallywill be helpful long term.
Thank you.
STATEMENT OF GARY W. SOMMERS, SERGEANT, TRAINING SERVICES, PRINCE GEORGE'S COUNTY POLICE DEPARTMENT, LANDOVER, MD, ACCOMPANIED BY KAY SOMMERS, LAUREL, MD

Mr. GARY SOMMERS. Dear committee members, my name is Gary

Sommers. I am a Sergeant with the Prince George's County Police

Department. Prince George's County is a Maryland suburb of
Washington, D.C. I have been a policeman for eighteen years.

During those years, I have been assigned to the Patrol Division andSpecial Operations Division, and I am currently assigned to Training and Personnel Services as an instructor.
My story begins in August of 1988. I had 15 years on the job withfour and one-half years in the Emergency Services Team. This isPrince George's County's version of a SWAT Unit. It is comprisedof two six-man teams. Our duties included barricade and hostage
situations, narcotics raids, Presidential and Vice-Presidential Protection at Andrews Air Force Base, underwater rescue and recovery, and firearms training.
Our teams were well trained and highly respected. W.?. had successfully concluded over 200 barricade situations and handled morethan 500 narcotics raiis. Our teams appeared on 60 Minutes and a

BBC documentary. We had also trained numerous other SWAT
teams in the eastern region of the United States.
My best friend was Corporal Mark Murphy. He was pointman on
our team. My job was coverman. On August 31, 1988, I accidentally

shot and killed Mark during a narcotics raid. Mark stepped between myself and a suspect that I was attemptir4 to shoot.
For four and one-half years Mark and I had done everything to-gether. Our personalities and interest were similar. We worked
out, ran, partied, and vacationed together. The two of us were as

close as two friends could be. The officers of the Special Operations
Division called us "Frick and Frack" because we were always side

by side. We worked very well as a team and on the team. Mark
told us many times he had the utmost confidence in me as his covermin to protect his life. After the accident people said if it could

happen to us it could happen to anybody.
Initially, the impact of the accident was overwhelming. I had lost
my best friend. It had been my job to protect him and now I had to12

8

live day to day with the fact that I killed him. When a suspect

shoots an officer, it's easy to focus hate on the suspect. In my case,I hated myself. There were very few officers who had known thebitter anguish I went through.
Some officers have described this type of incident as a "Police Officer's Worst Nightmare." Suicide and total despair went throughmy mind. When some people are faced with the loss of a friend or
family member, they put themselves deep into their job to try andget through the rough times. In my case, my SWAT job was mywhole life, and now it was gone. When I added things up, all I had
left was my family.
It was the police psychologist, Dr. Harvey Goldstein, of the Psychological Services Unit that made me realize I had so much morelife to give. He met me in the hospital that first night and told me,"We will get through this." Harvey had been exposed to a similar
situation with another area department. He had words and advice
that had meaning and relevance.
In the first month he took me frame by frame through the inci-

dent. Harvey told me that my feelings were very normal and I
wasn't going crazy. Many time,a he told me how I was going to feelbefore I felt it. This advance advice really helped me cope with all
the tremendous emotion.

For the first week, he met with me on a regular basis. We had

one-on-one sessions where each team member was brought in with
Harvey and me to discuss the incident in depth.

With his previous experience in this type of incident, Harvey
could advise the police administration what to do and what not to
do. Harvey was determined that the mistakes made in the last incident would not be made by Prince George's County. His job as liaison with the administration was very successful. Special situations
require special attention, and there is no exact rule for each incident.

The administration could not have been more understanding.
Their patience and confidence in me helped save my career as apolice officer. The department helped my transition into anotherproductive job when many of my friends said I should retire on disability.
At home, all of the small problems became large problems. The
stress, tension, and emotion were constant. My wife and I had trou-

ble dealing with our respective parents' and brothers' and sisters'

reactions to the tragedy.
Our own children had a very rough time. Sean, our oldest, wasseven at the time of the accident. He exploded early. He was angry
with both of us because we were never home.

Our younger son, Kyle, was five. He was closer to Mark and,
therefore, felt his loss more. Kyle was livid that I had killed Mark.
At one point he wouldn't let me give him a bath and screamed angrily, "Don't touch me. I want Mommy!"
Our daughter, Meghan, was only three and was a little too young
to understand. She Itnew Mark and became very scared of either

one of us leaving her. Two years later, as I put her to bed onenight, she asked, "Daddy, why did you kill Mr. Mark?" Harvey wasright there to help us deal with these problems and more.

13

9

My wife and I had our own marital problems, and Harvey's sessions were vital to our survival as a family. Today, I continue as apolice officer, and our marriage is stronger than before. We owe
much to many, but Dr. Harvey Goldstein stands out as the personthat made it all work.
[Prepared statement of Sergeant Gary W. Sommers follows:]
PREPARED STATEMENT OF SGT. GARY W. SOMMERS, TRAINING SERVICES, PRINCEGEORGE'S COUNTY POliCE DEPARTMENT, LANDOVER, MD

My name is Gary Sommers. I am a Sergeant with the Prince George's County
Police Department. Prince George's County is a Maryland suburb of Washington,
D.C. I have been a policemen for eighteen years. During those years, I have been
assigned to the Patrol Division and Special Operations Division, and I am currently
assigned to Training and Personnel Services as an instructor.
My story begins in August of 1988. I had fifteen years on the job with four andone-half years in the Emergency Services Team. This is Prince George's County's
version of a SWAT Unit. It was comprised of two six-man teams. Our duties included barricade and hostage situations, narcotics raids, Presidential and Vice-Presidential Protection at Andrews Air Force Base, underwater rescue and recovery, andfirearms training.
Our teams were well trained and highly respected. We had successfully concluded
over two hundred barricade situations and handled more than five hundred narcotics raids. Our teams appeared on 60 Minutes and a BBC documentary. We had also
trained numerous other SWAT teams in the eastern region of the United States.
My best friend was Corporal Mark Murphy. He was pointman on our team. My
job was coverman. On August 31, 1988, I accidentally shot and killed Mark during anarcotics raid. Mark stepped between myself and a suspect that I was attempting toshoot.

For four and one-half years Mark and I had done everything together. Our personalities and interests were similar. We worked out, ran, partied, and vacationed
together. The two of us were as close as two friends could be. The officers of theSpecial Operations Division called us "frick and frack," because we were always
side by side. We worked very well as a team and on the team. Mark told me manytimes he had the utmost confidence in me as his coverman to protect his life. Afterthe accident people said if it could happen to us it could happen to anybody.
Initially, the impact of the accident was overwhehning. I had lost my best friend.
Ik had been my job to protect him and now I had to live day to day with the factthat I killed him. When a suspect shoots an officer, it's easy to focus hate on thesuspect. In my case, I hated myself. There were very few officem who had known
the bitter anguish I went through. Some officers have described this type of incident
as a "Police Officer's Worst Nightmare." Suicide and total despair went through mymind. When some people are faced with the loss of a friend or family member, they
put themselves deep into their job to try and get through the rough times. In mycase, my SWAT job was my whole life, and now it was gone. When I added things
up, all I had left was my family.
It was the police psychologist, Dr. Harvey Goldstein, of the Psychological Services
Unit, Prince George's County Police Department, that made me tealize I had somuch more life to give. He met me in the hospital that first night and told me "Wewill get through this." Harvey had been exposed to a similar situation with anotherarea department. He had words and advice that had meaning and relevance.
In the first month he took me frame by frame through the incident. Harvey told
me that my feelings were very normal and I wasn't going crazy. Many times he told
me how I was going to feel before I felt it. This advance advice really helped mecope with all the tremendous emotion. For the first week, he met with my wife andme every other day. Harvey also met with my team members on a regular basis. We
had one-on-one sessions where each team member was brought in with Harvey andme to discuss the incident in depth.
With his previous experience in this type of incident, Harvey could advise thepolice administration what to do and what not to do. Harvey was determined thatthe mistakes made in the last incident would not be made by Prince George's
b as liaison with the administration was very successful. Special situations reqw., special attention, and there is no exact rule for each incident. The administration could not have been more understanding. Their patience and confidence in me helped save my career as a police officer. The department helped myCounty. Hi

1410transition into another productive job when many of my friends said I should retireon disability.
At home, all of the small problems became large problems. The stress, tension,and emotion were constant. My wife and I had trouble dealing with our respective
parents' and brothers' and sisters' reactions to the tragedy. Our own children had avery rough time. Sean, our oldest, was ceven at the time of the accident. He ex-

ploded early. He was angry with both of us because we were never home. Our
younger son, Kyle, was five. He was closer to Mark and, therefore, felt his loss
more. Kyle was livid that I had killed Mark. At one point he wouldn't let me givehim a bath and screamed angrily, "Don't touch me, I want Mommy!" Our daughter,
Meghan, was only three and was a little too young to understand. She knt.w Markand became very scared of either one of us leaving her. Two years later, as I put her
to bed one night, she asked "Daddy, why did you kill Mr. Mark?" Harvey was rightthere to help us deal with these problems and more.
My wife and I had our own marital problems, and Harvey's sessions were vital to
our survival as a family. Today, I continue as a police officer, and our marriage isstronger than before. We owe much to many, but Dr. Harvey Goldstein stands out
as the person that made it all work.

Chairwoman SCHROEDER. Thank you very much.

Would you like to add anything or are you just there?
Ms. KAY SOMMERS. I am just here right now.
Chairwoman SCHROEDER. Then we will move to Dr. Scrivner.
STATEMENT OF ELLEN SCRIVNER, PH.D., DIRECTOR, PSYCHOLOGICAL SERVICES DIVISION, PRINCE GEORGE'S COUNTYPOLICE DEPARTMENT, UPPER MARLBORO, MD, AND PRESIDENT-ELECT, DIVISION OF PSYCHOLOGISTS IN PUBLIC SERVICE, THE AMERICAN PSYCHOLOGICAL ASSOCIATION, WASHINGTON, DC

MS. SCRIVNER. Madam Chairwoman and members of the selectcommittee, I am Dr. Ellen Scrivner, a police psychologist, and I

have been requested to provide an overview of the unique problems
experienced by police families and the extent of services available
to address these problems.
I am presenting testimony on behalf of the American Psychological Association where I am President Elect of the Division of Psychologists in Public Service as well as past chair of the Division's
Section on Police and Public Safety Psychology.
Professionally, I consult to federal and local law enforcement

agencies, and I am currently the Director of the Psychological

Services Division of the Prince George's County Police Department.

With your permission, I will submit my remarks for the recordand present a brief summary of my testimony.

It is particularly fitting that this hearing should follow Police
Memorial Week where the families of those slain in the line of
duty were honored. Their needs remain substantial as do those ofother police families who, though not having lost a member of
their family, still contend with the rather unique stressors attributed to the influence of the law enforcement occupation. In thisregard, my remarks are presented on behalf of police families nationwide.

The central issue before this committee may be how do thesefamilies differ from those in other occupations? A career in law en-forcement imposes a nontraditional lifestyle on police families
which can contribute to family dysfunction.

15

11

A major issue is the family disruption due to rotating shift work,
particularly true for single parents who struggle to provide child'care while working midnight shifts.
Shift work, however, is not the sole problem. The environmert ofpolice work is one of unpredictability, crises and emergency response, communicating to a family that the job must take priority
over their personal needs. Certain destabilizing events occur withsome frequency in this environment. Families, of necessity, learn tolive with the fear of death, but the potential for injury, and its

long-term ramifications, as well as an officer becoming a target of
an internal investigation occur with greater frequency.
A more prevailing concern is the personal effect the job has on apolice officer. Law enforcement is not just about apprehending
criminals. Police officers are in daily contact with the social problems of our communities. A police officer will see more humantragedy in the first three years of their career than most of us will
see in a lifetime. They erect psychological shields to protect themselves, and these shields inevitably go home with the officers andare manifested in insensitivity in family relationships, growing suspiciousness, hypervigilence and mistrust of other people. These arebyproducts of time on the job and are found consistently in law enforcement families.
Personal change is further complicated by communities holding
police officers' families to different standards and different expecta-

tions for behavior. They are expected to be free of the typicalfamily conflicts that we all experience and their children are ex-pected to behave differently from their peers,
Generally, then, a career in law enforcement represents a significant intrusion into family life and nowhere is that intrusion experienced more than in the requirement that a police officer, in mostjurisdictions, carry a weapon and tp.'ce appropriate police action
when necessary on a 24-hour basis. Thus, a pleasant family outing
can quickly become an unpleasant police event.

This interplay between police work and family life is based on

anecdotal evidence that comes from clinicians who provide services

to police departments. There is a lack of empirical data in thisarea. From what we do know of departments providing services,many provide only pre-employment screening for police recruits.
Counseling for family members is not readily accessible, particu-

larly in small police departments. Clinical sources continue toreport that high rates of family dysfunction, including divorce, alcoholism and suicide are attributed to careers in law enforcement.
No comprehensive data exists to support these assertions, and thislack of empirical evidence limits the understanding of the extent offamily problems.
I would like to now move from the national perspective and discuss briefly the psychological services program which Sgt. Sommers
referred to in his testimony to show how psychological services can
assist police officers and police departments.

I would like to use the Prince George's County program as amodel. The program was developed in 1980 on a grant from the
Maryland Governor's Commission on Law Enforcement and was
designed to provide a range of psychological services to the department, including research, training and management consultation.

1 f;

12

But the keystone of the program is the confidential counselingservices provided to all personnel and their families. Given thenature of police work, the program provides a 24-hour emergency
response which was the type of response that responded to Sgt.
Sommers and his family.
Our staff provides crisis intervention in emergencies, including a
police officer's personal crises, on-duty injuries or department fatalities. We also provide a critical incident response to any officer
or group of officers involved in on-duty traumatic incidents.

We have found that the emotional support to families during

these highly stressful times is critical.
This program also provides specialized counseling for problems

unique to police departments, such as on-duty exposures to the

HIV virus and in cases where the officer has been charged with excessive force. These are also highly stressful times for families, andthey need to be included in this type of counseling.

The goal of the program has been to maintain a healthy police

force. The program philosophy clearly recognizes the interrelationships between work and family and acknowledges that law enforcement stress affects family life. Conversely, family problems influence job performance.

In closing, I have cited a number of issues that identify policefamilies as confronting problems unique to the law enforcement oc-

cupation. My testimony suggests the need for empirkal data todefine the full extent of these problems and to identify effective
intervention strategies. These data would also assist in ensuringthat services to families be preserved.

Currently, there is concern that budget constraints will limit

these services. Police families do not wear the badge or carry theweapon but are very much affected by those who do. Their supportrole clearly contributes to maintaining law enforcement services in
the community.
Thank you.
[Prepared statement of Ellen Scrivner, Ph.D., follows:]

17

13
PREPARED STATEMENT Or ELLEN SCRIVNER, PH.D., DIRECTOR, PSYCHOLOGICAL SERVICESDIVISION, PRINCE GEORGE'S COUNTY POLICE DEPARTMENT, UPPER MARLBORO, MD
PRESIDENT EIZCT Or THE DIVISION OP PSYCHOLOGISTS IN PUBLIC SERVICE Or THE
AMERICAN PSYCHOLOGICAL ASSOCIATION, WASHINGTON, DC

Madam Chairwoman and Members of the Select Committee, I am
Dr.

Ellen

Scrivner,apolicepsychologist,

and

have

I

been

requested to provide an overview of the unique problems experienced

by police families, and the extent of the services available tothese problems.

addressI

am presenting testimony both aspractitioner with sixteen years of experience in responding totheseissues

Association

and

on

where

(Psychologists

I

Professionally,

I

serve

as

of

Americanthe

President

Public Service),in

PoliceDivision's

behalfandPublichave

provided

and

Elect
as

Safetyof

Psychological
Division18

past Chairof

Psychology

Section.

consultationtovariousthatlaw

enforcement agencies on the federal and local levels and currentl}
I am Director of the Psychological Services Division of the Prince
George'sCountyPoliceDepartment,

PrinceGeorge'sCounty,Maryland.

With your permission, I shall submit the full statement ofmyremarks

testimony.

the recordforand presentabrief summary of my

Following the summary, I shall be prepared to answer

any questions.

It is particularly fitting that this hearing should follow
Police Memorial Week where that special group of police families,

the survivors
honored.

ofthose slain

in

the

line

of

duty, have been

Their needs remain substantial as do those of otherpolice families who, though not having lost a member of theire14family, still contend with the rather unique stressors attributed
tothe law enforcement occupation.

influence oftheregard,myremarksIn

thispresented on behalf of police families

arenationwide.

At the outset,
a rewarding career.

I wish to state that law enforcement can be

The opportunity to contribute to the public

safety of a community generally produces a personally worthwhile
experience.

However,itis not without certain costs and your

Hearing Notice aptly describes the range of stress problems that
can accompany the demands of police work.

Nowhere are these costs

more keenly felt than in police officer families.

The police family, though not part of the organization, isvery much affected by it.

Over and above the prevailing fear forsafety of their loved ones, the police family experiences pressures

not typically found in other occupations.
at all levels.

These pressures occur

They vary from the family of a new recruit withchildren learning to manage the presence of a weapon in the home,

and the fear of being alone while the officer works the midnight
shift, to those of a police chief's family coping with the personalanguish and public scrutiny that occurs when a chief is embroiled
in a community controversy.

19

15

In between, we see a variety of job related issues that
contribute to family dysfunction.

Famil

Disru tion Due to Rotatin

Singlelaw

Shift Work

enforcement

parents,

frequently

women,

struggle to provide adequate child care and a family
life, while working rotating shifts.

For all police families, shift work disrupts family life,

as when the officer

is unavailable on

family special events or

holidays,foris called for court on a day

off.

Over time, shift work also begins to exact a physicaltoll on the officer that is accompanied by emotionalchanges such as irritability and increased tension at
home.

Unpredictable Work Environment

Shift work,in and ofitself,isnotthe sole problem.

Rather the environment in which it occurs, one of unpredictability,
crises,andemergency response, generally communicates

to

the

police family that the job must take priority over their needs.

0

16

This

phenomenon

destablizing

occursaninchallenge

eventsaoccupation

where

with

familysomefrequency. Of necessity, a law enforcement family learns

to live with the fear of death but quickly learns thatthe potential for physical injury

Theseis greater.

injuries have long term ramifications for an officer andthe family and, other than monetary assistance throughthe Workmen's Compensation Program, there are generally

few services available to assist injured officers andtheir families.

Equally destabilizing is the risk of an officer becoming
the target of an internal investigation.
aseriousinfraction

or

to

a

Whether due tofrivolouscomplaint,

families bear the burden of something for which they had

no responsibility.

Consequently, they fear financial

ruin and/or social ostracism.

Job Related Personal Change and _oily Relationships

Injuriesandinvestigationsarecommonplaceenforcement and are not just isolated career events.

in

law

Yet, the moreprevailing family concerns come from the personal effects that thejob has ona police officer and how observed personal changes

impact family relationships.

17

Law enforcement is not just about.apprehending criminals.

Interwoven into the fabric of workisthe continualsocial problems of the community.

contact with the

A police officer can see more human tragedy in the first

three years of a career than most people see in a life
time.

Under

these

conditions,aidealistic

young,

officer motivated to provide service to the public begins

to construct a psychological shield to avoid becoming
emotionally overwhelmed.

The psychological shield does not remain in the locker
room.

Inevitably, it goes home with the officer and is

manifested

asrelationships

a

lack

alreadyofsensitivity

strained

by

in

the

familygrowing

suspiciousness, hypervigilance, and mistrust of otherpeople that develop with time on the job.

These by-products of police work influence communicationstylesandproblem solving

skills

at

home

and

contribute to family dysfunction.

Community Expectations and Demands

Communities frequently hold officers to a different

0 fl

can

18

standard ofin

Not only are officers expected to beother occupations.
available

readily

to individuals

in comparison

behavior

hours

off

in

to

respondtotheslightest neighborhood infraction, but community members

the officer and their family to be free fromexpectfamily conflicts.

Moreover, the children of officers are expected to behave

differently when their parent is a police officer.

Suchparticularly troublesome for police officer's

can beadolescentchildren

if

held

to

behavior

standards

different from their peers.

There is little question for most professionals in the field
thatacareerinlaw enforcement

intrusion into familyclassic

study

can

representasignificant

This phenomenon was defined inlife.

(Neiderhoffer&

Neiderhoffer,1978),

a

as

job

in

the

responsibilities superceding family relationships.

Nowhereis

thisintrusion more apparent thanrequirement in most jurisdictions for officers to carry

their weapons and take appropriate police action, whennecessary, on a twenty-four hour basis.

Thus, a pleasantfamily outing can readily become an unpleasant police
event.

0 '1

19

It is not unusual, then, for police family members toexperienceloneliness andalienation

andto develop

resentment for the pervasive influence that a career inlaw enforcement assumes over their lives.

Psychological Services for Law Enforcement Personnel

This portrayalfamilylife

is basedof

the interplay between police work andon consistent anecdotal data from police

psychologists and other mental health professionals who provide
servicestopolicedepartments.

Unfortunately,

theresearch

literature on the interplay between police stress and family life
remains sparse, and the minimal research findings from the 1970's

may be less generalizable today as the escalating crime rates incommunities across the country change the working environment of
the police officer. However, while empirical research findings arelacking, the anecdotal data cannot be discounted coming as they dofrom the experience of clinicians.

These data identify problem

areas but they also demonstrate that some police departments havemade efforts in the past decade to respond to these problems.

Historically, the first comprehensive psychological services

program was implemented in 1968 by Dr. Martin Reiser of the Los
Angeles Police Department.

Since that time, police departments

20
have slowly begun to recognize the needs for such services but itwould be an overstatement to say that all departments currently
provide these services.

A national survey of 237 large municipal agencies and 49
State Police agencies on

the extent and nature of services inpolice departments (Delprino & Baker, 1988),

showed that of the

69 percent responding;Over 50 percent targeted the pre-employment assessmentofrecruitsastheprimary

activity

of

their

psychological services.

Job stress counseling for on duty officers was also cited
as a priority.

Only 42 percent provided services for families.

While these statistics demonstrate a need for additional
services, they also indicate an improvement since 1979 when a study
found that only 20 percent of the departments surveyed provided any

type of psychological services (Parisher, Rios, & Reilley 1979).

The years from 1979 to 1988 saw a growth in psychologicalservice:, provided to law enforcement as highlighted by the first21
National Conference

Psychological

PoliceonServices

Law

for

Enforcement sponsored by the Federal Bureau of Investigation in
1984.

conferenceThis

professionals
agencies.

who

Much

brought

discussed
of

th,,

their

research

together

work

with

presented

healthmental166

law enforcement
at

lhat

meeting

addressed:

Pre-employment screening of police applicants
Guidelines for establishing counseling services
Organizational stress
Police officer stress and stress management
Only 4 of the 83 papers addressed the police family

High

rates

of

familydysfunction,

including

divorce,alcoholism, and suicide, are commonly attributed to careers in law
enforcement.

Yet, no comprehensive data exist that support theseassertions(Ellison & Genz,prevalenceofpolice1983).

familyIn fact, theproblems,(ncidence andwhile believedtobesignificant, are not known because no systematic data collection
has been performed nationwide.

This lack of empirical evidence

limits the understanding of toe extent of family problems.

Moreimportantly, it impedes the development of effective intervention
strategies.

Finally,

the

lack

of data makesitdifficult to

encourage police departments to adopt policies that include

0il
4., (1

22

services for families.

My testimony on these issues is not intended to pertain only
to departments ',.aat have sufficient resources to either employ a

psychologist(s) or who contract for services.

These remarks areto small size departments who employ fewer thanalso relevant
twenty persons.

Itis estimated that 80 percent of

the approximately

18,000 law enforcement agencies in the United States areclassified as small departments.

Only minimal attention has been directed to these departmentsthat constitute the backbone of law enforcement services across thecountry.

Their personnel and their families experience many of thesame problems addressed in this hearing.

dictate that

it would be

Pragmatic considerations

unrealistic for small departments toprovide full scale psychological services fortheir personnel.

However, mental health treatment could be and should be provided
in health insurance plans.

Small departments need to be included in any national effort

to study the police family so that appropriate models for service
delivery to smaller departments can be developed.

23
Having addressed the police family and its need for services

from the national perspective, / shall provide a brief descriptionof how psychological services are provided for a police department.
The

psychologicalGeorge'sCountyservices

Policeprogram developed

Department,

PrincefortheGeorge'sPrinceCounty,Maryland, will provide the model for this description.

The Prince George's County Police Deiartment employs 1232
sworn officers and 328 civilian personnel and is in the top fifty
departments nationally in terms of size.

As a police jurisdiction,

Prince George's County represents an ethnically diverse community

in the process of responding to changing community trends.

The

county represents a complex of urban and suburban features and thiscombination generates a significant number
services.

of calls for police

No stranger to homicides and drug crimes, the police

officer in the county is far more than a report taker or clerk ina cruiser.

In fact, most officers respond to a panoply of police

calls for service on a fairly continuous basis.

In October 1980, a grant from the Maryland Governor'sCommission on Law Enforcement enabled the department to establish
a service unit designed to provide behavioral science services tothe organization and its employees.
constituted,

providesawide

The program, as currently

range ofthese

services

department including research, training, and management

2

to

the

24

consultation services.
theconfidential

The keystone of the program, however, iscounselingservices,

provided

sworn

to

and

civilian police personnel and their families.

The counseling services are free of charge and located in a

facility that is separate from police administration buildings.
Any employee, or family member, can contact the service and receive

an initial assessment of the presenting problem to be followed bytheappropriate

includetherapeuticindividual,

couples,Interventions

intervention.
orfamilytherapy,

or

in

can

some

instances, arrangements for treatment of substance abuse problems.

Because of

the nature ofpolice work,

the program also

provides a 24 hours emergency response offering crisis intervention
services

for

a

wide

range

of

emergency

situations.

These

emergencies can include an officer's personal crisis or on-duty
injuries and/or departmental fatalities.

A criticalincident

response is also provided under the 24 hour service, with the staff

responding to say officer, or group of officers, involved in onduty traumatic incidents.

Emotional support for families has beenfound to be particularly critical during these stressful times.

Other services include specialized counseling provided to
officers and their families who encounter unique situations suchas on-duty HIV exposures, or in any case where there has been an25
excessive force complaint.

Finally, support groups are developedaround focused issues as in a most recent effort to provide support

to personnel with family members in the Persian Gulf.

ThPse services have been generally well received throughout
the department.

A study conducted in 1987 revealed that 41 percent

of department personnel had utilized these services. Additionally,

from 1987 to 1989, overall service delivery had increased by 53
percent.

The goal of the Prince George's County program is to maintainahealthy police

recognizes theforce.

But

theprogram philosophy clearlyinterrelationship between work andfamily.

Itacknowledges that the stress inherent to law enforcement affects
family life. Conversely, family problems influence job performanceand the delivery of effective police services to the community.

Drawing from this experience, the Prince George's County

program offers one model for providing psychological services tolaw enforcement agencies.

There are other highly effective

programs that exist throughout the country and many oftheseprograms also provide services to families. However, the provisionoffamilyservices

could

be

at

risk

since

state

and

local

jurisdictions are experiencing the same budget constraints as are

3 ()

26

seen at the federal level.

Should staffing cutbacks occur, thenpsychological services for families may be particularly threatened.

In closing, I have cited a number of issues that identify thepolice family as confronting problems unique to the law enforcement
occupation.

The state of the art, however, suggests the need for

empirical data to define the extent of these problems, and to
identify effective intervention strategies.

Finally, these data

would assist in ensuring that adequate resources -re maintained sothatservices

jeopardized.

to

the

enforcementlawfamily

will

not

be

Police families do not wear the badge or carry aweapon but they are very much affected by those who do, and theirsupport role clearly contributes to maintaining effective police
services.

It is only fitting that this often difficult role besupported by ensuring accesstonationwide.

11

servicesforpolice families

27

Bibliography

Delaprino, R.P. & Bahn, C.
andnatureof(1988).

psychological

Professional Psychology:

National survey of the extent
servicesinpoliceResearch and Practice.

19

departments.
(4)421-425.

Ellison, K.W. & Genz, J.L.

(1983).

Stress and the police officer.

Charles C. Thomas, Springfield, IL.

Neiderhoffer, A. & Neiderhoffer, E. (1978).

From the station house

to

the

The police family -ranch house.

Lexington Books,

Lexington, KA.

Parisher, DO, Rois, B., & Reilley, R.

(1979).

Psychologists andpsychological services in urban police departments.

Professionsl

Psychology, 10, 6-7.

Reese, J.T. & Goldstein, H.A. (Eds)for law enforcement.

(1986).

Psychological services

U.S. Government Printing Office.

Washington, D.C.

I

t)

r)

28

Chairwoman SCHROEDER. Thank you.

Our next witness is Cathy Riggs, a former police officer at theSanta Rosa Police Department. We welcome you. We are delighted
to hear what you have to add, Cathy. Welcome.
STATEMENT OF CATHY RIGGS, FORMER POLICE OFFICER, SANTAROSA POLICE DEPARTMENT AND WIFE OF REPRESENTATIVEFRANK RIGGS (FORMER POLICE OFFICER), SANTA ROSA, CA

MS. CATHY RIGGS. Thank you for this opportunity to speak on the
topic of police stress and families.
I am Cathy Riggs. I was a veteran 12 years in law enforcement,eight years as a police officer, an investigator for the City of Santa
Rosa in northern California.
I am married to Congressman Frank Riggs. We both were police
officers for four of the eleven years of our marriage.
One of the major causes of stress for police families is the lack oftime spent with the officer due to the shift work. In most organiza-

tions, shifts are selected by seniority which means the majority of
the young officers with families do not have the opportunity towork days with weekends off.

Shift work creates disruption in the sleep patterns and theeating habits of both the officer and the family. Attempting to eat
dinner at 3:30 a.m. while working the graveyard shift, then goinghome to a household of young children to sleep during the day is aconstant stress to both spouses.
During a majority of the holidays such as Christmas and Thanksgiving the families are alone.
Shift changes and the irregular work hours often cause isolation
for the police family. Due to the odd hours, most families find thatthey socialize only with other police families. This further reinforces the isolation from the rest of the community for the family.

Frustration with our court system touches each officer's life.

Whether it be the arresting officer, the investigator or supervisor,each may become disillusioned or disappointed by the handling of
their case by the District Attorney or the courts.
Subpoenas for things such as contested traffic citations often
come on the officer's day off, vacation time or in the middle oftheir sleep patter 1. for the day. Many officers spend valuable timein hallways of courts, waizing to testify only to have the case delayed or postponed.

Many departments have complained about the expense of overtime for officers waiting to testify, so District Attorney Offices insome jurisdictions have set up on-call procedures for the officers.
The hazards of the job of a police officer is probably the most unspoken stress on police families.
Police officers in coping with the hazards of the job become abrotherhood of trust and protection amom themselves. An officer
never knows when they will be called upon to save another officer
or be saved themselves.

The ugly side of humanity as well as the victimization of otherhuman beings is one hazard that the brotherhood cannot protect
each other from. Police officers often find it difficult to share their

33

29

feelings of fright, sadness or hopelessness, because they think they
will be perceived as weak.
So instead, many officers will mask their depression by further
isolation from the family or by sedating themselves with alcohol.
Many officers choose not to share the traumatic aspects of theirjob with their spouse. This lack of communication on the officers'part further feeds the feelings of helplessness for spouses. When alife-threatening situation occurs, many officers find themselves in asituation where the spouse demands that they choose between theirjob or the spouse.
Unfortunately, due to the sense of brotherhood on the force andthe increased friction and feeling of isolation with the family,

many officers choose the job.
The media can also feed the feelings of stress and isolation of thepolice officer and their family. When an incident occurs that portrays the police in a bad light or a misdeed by an officer, it causes
all officers to feel ostracized. In some cases, the media may attempt
to sensationalize a local incident and attempt to link it to one thathas received national attention.
All too often the press reports the misdeeds of law enforcement
rather than the good deeds.
Families that successfully cope with police stress do so by breaking the cycle of isolation by becoming involved in the community
outside of police work. This involvement may be with a church thatgives the family a sense of inner peace and a source of strength tocount on for support.
Involvement in community groups such as Big Brothers/Sisters,
scouts or little league helps to break down the barriers between officers and the rest of the community. It gives the officer an opportunity to be seen as a human being rather than just a uniform.

These outside involvements assist the officer and family in thatthey take the focus off the job and gives them some sense of normalcy in their lives.
Officers that have hobbies that are shared with the family or areoutside the scope of the job find that they are also better able tohandle the stress. Officers that utilize sports such as running, bicycling or weight training find it easier to deal with the everyday
stresses of the job, as well as helping them be physically prepared
for the job.

Police organizations that set as a priority or in the mission statement the need to recognize the stress of the job and reinforce ways
to deal with it are the most successful in addressing the problem.

This sense of support and awareness must come from the top,
Police Chief or Sheriff, on down.

Police agencies that have encouraged fitness among officers toaddress stress and reward the fitness by merit pay increases often
have less on the job injuries.
To integrate officers and the community, many departments are
now encouraging the idea of professional reserves who assist officers in various aspects of the job. In Santa Rosa, one of the first
professional reserves was Wayne Light, a police psychologist. By
his everyday contact with officers and his personal demeanor hehelped break down and demystify the barrier against getting counseling for many officers. He has also been instrumental in assisting

45-659 0 - 91 - 2

34

30

the administration in planning for programs to reduce or manage
stress within the organization.
Santa Rosa also has a sports medicine professional who helps
design personal fitness programs for officers. Recently, the professional reserves has expanded to include a CPA and computer experts who assist investigators on white collar crimes.
Immediate crisis counseling for officers involved in life threatening incidents or traffic accidents has shown to reduce by 50 percent
the amount of stress-related disabilities.

Counseling programs that are offered for police officers and fami-lies that are confidential in nature are very important in dealing
with stress. In many organizations officers are given a letter or
number identification and are entitled to unlimited visits withcounselors without the fear of feedback to the administration or supervisors.

Many organizations have gone so far as to have the counselors
meet with officers during briefing times, discuss their programsand explain the process for officers.

A new program being started by some organizations is that of"peer counseling". Long Beach Police Department has pioneered
the successful ideal of training officers to assist, listen and be a
support to other officers in distress. In some cases this may be justusing a buddy system where one officer will call, go to dinner orjust spend time with the officer who has just been involved in ashooting incident or traffic accident or some other job-related stressinducing incident.

When officers find that they are able to open up to a peer about
their feelings, they are then more likely to seek the professional

help and recognize the need for treatment.
Training in the area of stress management is often a portion of
the police academy for new recruits and their families. But refresher courses should be offered annually for officers during their mandated advanced officers' training.
While the police bureaucracy can make policy changes that accommodate police families or systems that reward officers working

to manage stress, ultimately it is the individual officer that mustchoose to take advantage of programs. It may also be that one of
the choices that an officer may make is the choice to leave theforce.

Thank you.
[Prepared statement of Cathy Riggs followsd
PREPARED STATEMENT OF CATHY RIGGS, FORMER POLICE OFFICER, SANTA ROSA POLICE
DEPARTMENT: WIFE OF REPRESENTATIVE FRANK RIGGS (FORMER POLICE OFFICER),SANTA ROSA, CAPERSONAL HISTORY

Cathy Riggs, twelve years in law enforcement, eight years as a police officer andinvestigator for the city of Santa Rosa in Northern California. I am married to Congressman Frank Riggs. Both were police officers for four of the eleven years of marriage.

One of the major causes of stress for police families is the lack of time spent withthe officer due to the shift work. In most organizations shifts are selected by seniori-

ty which means the majority of the young officers with families do not have theopportunity to work days with weekends off.

31

Shift work creates disruption in the sleep patterns and the eating habits of boththe officer and the family. Attempting to eat dinner at 3:30 a.m. while working thegraveyard shift then going home to a household of young children to sleep during
the day is a constant stress to both spouses.
During a majority of the holidays such as Christmas and Thanksgiving the families are alone.
Shift changes and the irregular work hours often cause isolation for the policefamily. Due to the odd hours most families find that they socialize only with otherpolice families. This further reinforces the isolation from the rest of the community
for the family.
Frustration with our court system touches each officer's life. Whether it is thearresting officer, the investigator or supervisor, each may become disillusioned or
disappointed by the handling of their case by the District Attorney or the courts.
Subpoenas for things such as contested traffic citations often come on the officer's
day off, vacation time or in the middle of their sleep pattern for the day. Many officers spend valuable time in hallways of courts, awaiting to testify only to have thecase delayed or postponed.

Many departments have complained about the expense of overtime for officers
waiting to testify, so District Attorney Officers in some jut isdictions have set up "oncall" procedures for the officers.
The hazards of the job of a police officer is urobably the most unspoken stress onpolice families.

Police officers in coping with the hazards of the job become a brotherhood of trust
and protection among themselves. An officer never knows when they will be called
upon to save another officer or be saved themselves.
The ugly side of humanity as well as the victimization of other human IY:tings is

one hsvard that the brotherhood cannot protect each other from. Police officers
often find it difficult to share their feelings of fright, sadness or hopelessness, because they think they will be perceived as weak. So instead many officers will mask
their depression by further isolation from the family oe by sedating themselves withalcohol.

Many officers choose not to share the traumatic aspects of their job with theirspouse. This lack of communication on the officers part further feeds the feelings ofhelplessness for spouses. When a life threatening situation occurs many officers findthemselves in a situation where the spouse demands that they choose between theirjob or the spouse.

Unfortunately due to the sense of brotherhood on the force, and the increased

friction and feeling of isolation with the family, many officers choose the job.
The media can also feed the feelings of stress and isolation of the police officers

and their families. When an incident occurs that portrays the police in a bad lightor a misdeed by an officer, it causes all officers to feel ostracized. In some cases themedia may attempt to sensationalize a local incident and attempt to link it to one
that has received national attention.
All too often the press reports the misdeeds of law enforcement rather than thegood deeds.

Families that successfully cope with police stress do so by breaking the cycle ofisolation by becoming involved in the community outside of palice work. This involvement may be with a church that gives the family a sense of inner peace and asource of strength to count on for support.
Involvement in community groups such as Big Brothers/Sisters, scouts or little
league helps to break down the barriers between officers and the rest of the community. It gives the officer an opportunity to be seen as a human being rather thanjust a uniform.
These outside involvements assist the officer and family in that they take thefocus off the job, and gives them some sense of normalcy in their lives.

Officers that have hobbies that are shared with the family or are outside thescope of the job find that they are also better able to handle the stress. Officers thatutilize sports such as running, bicycling or weight training find it easier to deal

with the everyday stresses of the job, as well as helping them be physically prepared
for the job.
Police organizations that set as a priority or in the mission statement the need torecognize the stress of the job and reinforce ways to deal with it are the most successful in addressing the problem. This sense of support and awareness must comefrom the top, Police Chief or Sheriff, on down.
Police agencies that have enccuraged fitness among officers to address stress andreward the fitness by merit pay increases often have less on the job injuries.

:3 6

32
To integrate officers and the community, many departments are now encouraging
the idea of professional reserves who assist officers in various aspects of the job. In
Santa Rosa, one of the first professional reserves was Wayne Light, a police psychologist. By his everyday contact with officers and his personal demeanor he helped
break down and demystify the barrier against getting counseling for many officers.
He has also been instrumental in assisting the administration in planning for programs to reduce or manage stress within the organization. Santa Rosa also has a
sports medicine professional who helps design personal fitness programs for officers.
Recently the professional reserves has expanded to include a CPA and computer experts who assist investigators on white collar crimes.
Immediate crisis counseling for officers involved in life threatening incidents or
traffic accidents has shown to reduce by 50% the amount of stress related disabilities.
Counseling programs that are offered for police officers and families that are confidential in nature are very important in dealing with stress. In many organizations

officers are given a letter or number identification and are entitled to unlimited

visits with counselors without the fear of feedback to the administration or supervi-

sors.

Many organizations have gone so far as to have the counselors meet with officers
during briefing times, discuss their programs, and explain the process for officers.
A new program being started by some organizations is that of "peer counseling".
Long Beach Police Department has pioneered the successful idea of training officers
to assist, listen and be a support to other officers in distress.
In some cases this may be just using a buddy system where one officer will call,go to dinner, or just spend time with the officer who has just been involved in ashooting incident or traffic accident or some other job related stress inducing incident.
When officers find that they are able to open up to a peer about their feelings
they are then more likely to seek the professional help, and recognize the need fortreatment.
Training in the area of stress management is often a portion of the police academy for new recruits and their families. But refresher courses should be offered annually for officers during their mandated advanced officers training.
While the police bureaucracy can make policy changes that accommodate policefamilies or systems that reward officers working to manage stress, ultimately it is
the individual officer that must chooee to take advantage of programs. It may also
be that one of the choices that an officer may make is the choice to leave the force.

Chairwoman SCHROEDER. Thank you very much. We really appre-

ciate that.
Dr. Boulin Johnson, we welcome you and thank you for comingfrom Arizona to join us this morning.
STATEMENT OF LEANOR BOULIN JOHNSON, PH.D., ASSOCIATEPROFESSOR OF FAMILY STUDIES, DEPARTMENT OF FAMILYRESOURCES AND HUMAN DEVELOPMENT, ARIZONA STATE UNIVERSITY, TEMPE, AZ

Dr. BOULIN JOHNSON. I am an Associate Professor of Family
Studies at Arizona State University. I deem it a pleasure to sharemy findings with this distinguished committee.
My study of the linkage between police officers' stress and theirfamilies resulted in a volume of qualitative data and statistics. To
me, these statistics are neither cold nor distant.
During the course of our study, an officer dedicated to our efforts
committed suicide, two women officers shot their husbands, a maleofficer killed his estranged wife and dozens of spouses in stable
marriages shared with us heart rendering testimonies about theirwork-family tensions and hardships. It is on their behalf that I
present these findings. I trust that the information provided will becarefully used and interpreted.

37

33

Although many of my findings are presented in general terms,
please remember that numerous subgroup differences and interaction effects were also observed.

We looked at four important aspects of police culture. First we
examined the effect of job stress on three groups: the police officers
themselves, police spouses and the citizens whom the police serve.
Second we looked at individual and husband and wife coping strat-egies, third, social support sources and finally we studied the

spouses' perception of the police department's role in meeting theneeds of police families. Our findings reflect the responses of 728
officers and 479 spouses.

Stress was attributed to a number of factors: repeated arrest of

the same offenders, lack of career development opportunities, offensive departmental policies and practices, failure of supervisors' support for delicate street situations or personal needs, shift rotations

which disrupted body rhythm and created daily fatigue, observations of people suffering, and threats to their own health and life.
All these forces and others conspire to create job burnout and job
withdrawal for the majority of our officers; as well as personal
withdrawal, for example, in the form of excessive drinking for alarge minority of officers. Emotionally burnt-out officers reported
that they felt emotionally drained from their work anc; fatigued
when they awaken each day. Those who experienced depersonalization reported that they treated some citizens as if they were impersonal objects and they were becoming more callous towards people
since taking the job.
In addition, the job itself consumed the officer. The perceived re-quirements of the jobrugged individualism, authoritativeness,and emotional detachmentbecame personal traits for many officers.

What does this have to do with the work-family connection?
In sum, 77 percent of the spouses were above the scale mean inreporting stress from their mates' job. Burnout and assignment/job
dissatisfaction was clearly associated with negative marital interaction and higher potential for separation and divorce.
Dissatisfaction with current assignment was associated with excessive drinking, and excessive drinkers were higher on our divorce

potential scale. Thirty-six percent of our officers said that in thelast six months prior to the survey they felt guilty or worried about
their use of alcohol, and nearly a fifth were above the scale mean.
Ho:, le leadership style. The most frequently heard complaint

from spouses and from the officers as well, was the officers' inability to leave the job at work. Treating the family like citizens, expecting the last word and being over-critical was associated withhigh levels of family strain.
The coping mechanism that they used most was "rugged individualism," and it had no positive effect in the home. This is kind of

surprising that both "rugged individualism" and "working it out

with others" were used in the department when conflicts arose, but
the more effective strategy of "working it out with others" was not
a popular coping mechanism in the home.
Family violence seems to be a problem as well. Some argued that
officers who work daily in predominantly negative and sometimes

38

34

violent environments may unconsciously promote and perpetuate
acceptance of violence in their own lives.
We found that 10 percent of the spouses sr ;d they were physical-

ly abused by their mates at least once during the last six months
prior to our survey. Another 10 percent said that their children
were physically abused by their mate in the same last six months.
How these figures compare to the national average is unclear.
However, regardless of national data, it is disturbing to note that
40 percent of the officers stated that in the last six months prior to
the survey they had gotten out of control and behaved violently
against their spouse and children.

Finally, rotating schedules was a major cause of family strain.
Common complaints included feeling too exhausted from work tointeract with spouse, having limited time after work to discuss important domestic matters and child care problems.
Some officers complained of either missing all or a substantial
number of important performances of their children. One officer

claimed that he was not allowed to see the birth of his second

child; yet another friend in the same squad was allowed to go fishing that same week of his child's birth.

An officer married to another officer stated that in two years

they only shared two weekends together. Their request for simulta-

neous shifts were denied. At the time of the interview she wasseeking counseling for emotional exhaustion and assistance insaving her marriage.
Not surprisingly, then, 71 percent of the spouses believe that thepolice administration does not take family life into consideration
when making policies which may affect families. Fifty-one percent

agreed that a police officer's career could be hurt if his family
voiced any special needs or frustrations.
The programs these spouses rei uested reflected their perceptionof the work family linkage. Nearly 90 percent felt that police departments should provide for the officer and their family both marriage enrichment programs and psychological counseling. Seventyfive to 82 percent felt that alcoholic rehabilitation and stress reductioi, programs should also be provided.

Future research should take into account the fact that stress is

not al, individual matter. It is part of a system.
Yon cannot take an individualistic approach and expect to fully
understand police job strain. We should include children in our research. Given the difficulty with child care, the vioknce level, andthe limited parent/child quality time reported in iy research, it istime for us to look at stress from the children's perspective.
W.. should also look at the social network of police. Given thetightly-knit organization which accepts and often encourages suppression of emotions and keeping information within the group, we
need 'co understand the role of social support.
I found that officers who claim that other officers were their bestfriends and only associated with other officers were the ones thatwere higher on burnout. Those officers who diversified their social
network were the ones that had lower burnout. So the social network and the tightly-knit organization also needs to be examinedin the context of the burnout process.

35

It is clear that we should be looking at subgroup differences aswell. The differences between males and females, blacks and whites
were quite evident in a number of our investigations here, particularly with regard to divorce and depersonalization.

Neither job stress nor family stress can be examined indepen-dently of each other. They are part of a system, and researchshould be designed with this in mind.
[Prepared statement of Leanor Boulin Johnson, Ph.D., follows:]

40

36
PREPARED STATEMENT OF LEANOR BOULIN JOHNSON, PH.D., ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR OF
FAMILY STUDIES, DEPARTMENT OF FAMILY RESOURCES AND HUMAN DEVELOPMENT,ARIZONA STATE UNIVERSITY, TEMPE, AZ

INTRODUCTION

Madam Chairwomen and Members of the Select Committee:
My name is Dr. Leanor Boulin Johnson. I am an Aseociate Pyofeemor
I deem it aof Family Studies at Arizona State University.
pleasure to share my findings with thie distinguished committee.
My study of the linkarl between police officer's strain and theirvolume of qualitative data and statistics.
families resulted ir
During the
To me these statistics are neither cold nor dietant.
course of our study, an officer dedicated to our efforts committed
suicide, two women officers shot their husband's, a male officer
killed his estranged wife, and dozens of spouses in stable
marriages shared with us heart rendering testimonies about their
It is on their behalf that I
work-family tensions and hardship0:.
present these findings. I trust that the information provided will
be carefully used and interpreted.

Although many of my findings are presented in general terms, plea..
remember that numerous subgroup differences and interaction effects
were also observed.

WORK-FAMILY sTRAIN AMONG POLICE OFFICERS AND THEIR SPOUSESBackgroundIn the early 1980s when
we conceived and implemented our study of work-family strain, we
had few empirical studies to guide our efforts. Most studiee on
police took an individualistic approach--ignoring as sources ofstress the family and often even the work environment. Today,social scientists and employers are showing increased interest in
work and family linkages (a significant catalyst has been the rapid
growth of employed women with children). Our study was the firstlarge scale effort to provide empirical evidence of this link among
police.
Findings todate show that while the officer's
personality, physical health, and individual coping skills areimportant considerations, an effective approach to police officer
strain must also consider his/her total social network andenvironment--departmental policies,
familyinteractions,andsources of support (e.g., supervisor, squad, friends, spouse).
iisills:Ismily_14nkaae: Scholarly Nealect,

Overall Goal

Examined were four important aspects of police culture:o job stress effects on police officers, citizens, and police
spouses,o individual and husband/wife coping strategies,o social support sources, and37o spouses perception ol the police department's role in meetingthe needs of police families.
Sample (selected characteristics):

I present to you our sample of over 728 officers and 479 spouses
who were drawn in 1983 from two of our five East cow. police
departments. We gathered the data using extensive survey
instruments, interviews, stress workshops, police ride-alongs, andan advisory board.
o Survey Sites- two East Coast police departments (moderate
to large in size)o Survey Pretest- three East Coast police departments--two small
rural and one large urban department.
o Survey Response - 728 officer1/479 spouses.
o Officer Profile - The majority (66 percent were between ages
26 and 36.
- 90 percent had at least some college
education.
o Instrument- the officer survey contained 333 items; thespouses survey 254 items. Items weredeveloped based on information obtained frompolice ride-alongs, in-depth interviews,
stress workshops, an advisory panel of police
officers/administrators and academicians, andpretesting in three departments.
o Interviewees- 75 single, married officers and police
spouses. Interviews ranged from 2 1/2 to 3 1/2
hours
o Stress Workshops - three for spouses, Ins for couples, and one
for women police officers.

our formal contact with the departments ended in August 1989 when
we provided each department with a survey feedback workshop.
Police Job Stress.

Officers' emotional and psychological energies are drained fromdealing with irate citizens, people pain/suffering, and threats totheir own health and life. As a way of coping they many findthemselves acting tougher than they feel or becoming callous.
However, contrary to popular belief it is the structure andpractices of police departments and the justice system which
elicit the most stress for the average police officer in our study.
In our interviews stress was attributed to a number of factors:
o Repeated arrest of the same offenders
o lack of career development opportunities
o offensive departmental policies and practices
o failure of supervisor's support for delicate street2

38
situations or personal needso shift rotations which disrupt body rhythm and create daily
fatigue.
All these forces conspired to create cynicism, frustration,
resentment, distrust, and a general level of fatigue; or what is
typically referred to as job burnout or job withdrawal.
o Two TVDOS of Burnout--"emotional" and "depersonalization" weremanifested. Emotional burnt out officers reported that they felt
emotionally drained from their work and fatigued when they awakened
Those who experienced depersonalization reported thateach day.
they treated some citizens as if they were impersonal objects andwere becoming more callous towards people since taking the job.
Based on a 7 point scale, our survey of the 728 single/married
officers showed:
a)

b)
c)

relatively high emotional burnout (4.0) anddepersonalization (4.5),
increased burnout over time,
subgroup differences. Regardless of tenure, females andBlacks relative to males and Whites were least likely
to report feelings of depersonalization; however, just as
likely to report emotional burnout. Overall, females had ahigher rate of internal burnout regardless of tenure.

A second indication of straino hamignmentiJob Withdrawal.
wasreflected in dissatisfactions with assignment and thedepartment. A relatively high proportion of officers, particularly

during the first three years desired to transfer out of theircurrent assignment. Although few officery desired to quit the
department(basedonfeelingsofbenefitentrapment/nontransferrable skills, or overall satisfaction), the desire to quit
increased over time. During the first three years on the job, nomajor differences emerged between gender and racial subgroups onthese measures.
Work-Family Connection
Seventy-seven percent of the spouses were above the scale mean inreporting stress from their mates' job. Not surprisingly, burnout
and assignment/job dissatisfaction was clearly associated withnegative marital interaction and higher potential for
separation/divorce.
Additional factors contributing to familystrain included:o Rotating Schedules. In our survey we found that family strain
resulted primarily from work schedule's intrusion into family
functioning, feeling too exhausted from work to interact withspouse, having limited time after work to discuss important
domestic matters, and child care problems. Our survey findings

39

were consistent with our qualitative data.
Many officers
complained that their shift rotations were too short to provide
adequate body adjustment and left them tired and exhausted.

Rotating schedules had both negative and positive effects.
Dual
career officer couples who had sequential shifts noted that they
were fortunate in that they did not have to face the difficulty offinding a night time baby sittertheir children were always
supervised by one or the other parent.

However, sequential shifts

also meant that they as a couple seldom: spent time together;working a hardship on the quality of their marital life.

As expected, three quarters of the 479 spouses felt that the
department had an obligation to provide child care for theofficers.

Further, some supervisors were insensitive to the officer's familyneeds.
For example, a women officer married to another officer
asked her supervisor if she could get the same weekend off as her
husband (Note: 30 percent of the women police officers in our
sample were married to other police).
His response was "no. If I
do it for you, I will have to do it for everybody." (albeit, at thetime there were less than five women in a department of several
hundred police officers).
For two years this couple shared only
two weekends together.
At the time of my interview with her she
was seeking counseling for emotional exhaustion and assistance insaving her marriage.
For another example, one male officer wasdenied leave for the birth of his child; while his fellow squadmember was given leave to go fishing. Others complained of either
missing all or a substantial number of important performances of
their children.

Not surprisingly, 71 percent of the spouses believed that thepolice administration does not take family life into consideration
when making policies which may affect families and 51 percent

agreed that a police officer's career could be hurt if his/herfamily voices any special needs or frustrations. Noteworthy, malespouses more than female spouses believed that the department wasinconsiderate of police families and felt that the department
should take an aggressive role in responding to families of police.

o rome Leadership Style. The most frequent complaint reported byboth spouses and officers was the officers' inability to leave thejob at work. Treating the family like citizcns, expecting the lastword, and being overly critical was associated with high levels offamily strain.
o rmotional Availability. A significant number of spouses reported
that their mates were not emotionally available to them. Some
officers confessed that after talking it out with their colleagues
they had h desire/energy to speak to their wives.
others feltthat they ccld handle their own problems.
However, the coping

44

40

strategy most often used was the one most dysfunctional.

oCooina Strategies. Rugged individualism, that is, going it alone
and being extra tough, was the most typical coping strategy vsed todeal with problems at work as well as at home.
However, thiscoping style was associated with higher alcohol usage and tended toexacerbate emotional exhaustion and depersonalization of citizens.
Further it had detrimental affects on marital relationships and was
associated with work-family conflicts and problems with children.
An example, a few female spouses in our interviews noted that theirhusbands frequently said things were under control; but would grind
their teeth at night to the extent that serious dental attention
was needed. Our survey treated this as a subliminal strain and we
found teeth grinding to typically be a male response to stress(reflecting we guess, an effect of "rugged individualism"). Many
officers considered rugged individualism to be a necessary andessential requirement for policing. Unfortunately, during our data
feedback workshops, many did not want to deal with the negative
aspects of this coping strategy.

Interestingly, working it out with others was the most helpful
strategy; it was associated with lower divorce likelihood, lessanxiety, fewer vascular symptoms, and lower burnout.
However,while it was typically used in the department; it was atypicallyused in the home.
As noted, the most typical (albeit harmful)strategy used in the home was rugged individualism.

Finally, the importance of shifting from an individualistic
approach to police stress is best illustrated by our findings oncouple coping strategies. For example, the police officers' use ofreligion appeared to do no good at all. In contrast, not only did
the spouses' use of religion reduce the level of nearly all theirstrains, but that of their mates' as well. It appears that thestrength they obtain from spiritual communication with God makes
them stronger; in turn they become a source of strength for theirpolice mates.
Other coping strategies also showed strong coup]einterdependence and transference.

o §ocial Sur:port.
Lack of social support from all sources(squad,supervisor, spouse, friends) had a pervasive influence on
the various job and family strains of male officers.

What happens

at work spills over into every aspects of their lives.
Oddly,
while supervisor support tended to lower job burnout it had anegative effect on spouse interaction and it increased divorce
potential. Indirectly, spouse support did the same.
It appearedthat support at work served as a substitute for family interaction.

In our interviews the female spouses frequently complained that
their husbands seldom shared their work life with them. Many wereconcerned that this lack of self-disclosure was affecting theirhusbands' emotional health.

41

It is worth noting that while job support created a high level ofcamaraderie, the data suggest that those officers who did share
work problems with their spouses or non-police friends had lower
burnout levels. Unfortunately, non-police are often not consideredappropriate confidants.

In contrast to men, social support did not have an pervasive an
influence on female officers' burnout level; nor was the husband's
support important in alleviating their burnout. Unlike men, noneof the sources of job support influenced their family life. A
significant number of female officers married to non-police
officers claimed that their husbands made it very clear that they
did not want to hear anything about their jobs.
The physicalhealth price these women may be paying for separating their workand family lives has yet to be examined.
These are a few of the strains and their sources among "intact"
police families who are trying to make their families work in spiteof the odds.
These families are the ones who often get ignored infavor of the more extreme family crises involving alcoholism,
divorce, domestic violence, and suicide.
Individual and Family Pathology
I saved the extreme family strains for last, because they need theinterpretation.
Alcohol abuse, divorce, family

most care inviolence and suicide are the concerns of many within the police
community.
It is tough to deal with deviations from the police
image of perfect physical health and strict law enforcer.
Toooften deviations are carefully covered up either by the officer,
his/her spouse, or the department. However, a strong indication of
the seriousness of the problem is the fact that nearly 90 percentof the spouses felt that the police department should provide forthe officer and their family both marriage enrichment programs andpsychological counseling;
75-82 percent felt that alcoholicrehabilitation and stress reduction programs should also be
provided.
o Alcohol Use. The self-reports of our officers revealed that 36
percent of them felt worried or guilty about their use of alcoholand nearly 1/5 (17%) were above the scale mean. A ?significant
minority of the spouses were also concerned about their mates'
drinking behavior--23 percent exceeded the scale mean in theirexpressed concerns. This is consistent with the spouse's
overwhelming support for alcoholic rehabilitation programs. Not
surprisingly, excessive drinkers were higher on divorce potential,
depersonalization, emotional exhaustion and dissatisfaction withcurrent assignment.
The causal direction of these relationships
can not be determined with the current data.
o Divorce. Within our sample 6 percent of the overall sample wascurrently divorced. Based on 1984 Census data, this rate is around

4 E;

42
the national average of 6.5 for ages below 35. Gender differenceswere striking.
Currently divorce female officers represented 13
percent of our,sample--twice the national average; compared to 4
percent of the males.
Females were also twice as likely as males
to be separated (3 v. 7 percent).
A divorce history was not
calculated.
It could be that a significant number of currently
married were formally divorced. Also, it should bo noted that thissurvey was promoted as a work-home study; thus perhaps biasing thesample towards the currently married.
Forty-one percent of the divorced males and 21 percent of thedivorced females reported that police work was definitely a factor
in getting divorced or separated. A fifth were unsure of thepressure of policing on their former marriage.
o family Violence. According to Bibbins (1986) there is a growing
number of scholars who assert that there is a direct link between
police stress, family/marital discord, and incidents of excessive
force/brutality.
Some argue that officers who work daily in a
potentially negative and sometimes violent environment may
unconsciously promote and perpetuate an acceptance of violence. Is
it possible that "high" exposure to street violence facilitatesfamily violence? Although we have the data, we have not had theresources to address this question.

Ten percent of the spouses reported being physically abused bytheir mates at least once; the same percentage claim that theirchildren were physically abused. The officers were asked a lessdirect question, that is, if they had ever gotten out of control
and behaved violently against their spouse and children in the last
six months.
We did not define the type of violence.
Thus,
violence could have been interpreted as verbal or physical threatsor actual physical abuse.

Approximately, 40percent said that in the last six months prior to
the survey they had behaved violently towards their spouse or
children.
Given that 20-30 percent of the spouses claimed that
their mate frequently became verbally abusive towards them or theirchildren, I suspect that a significant number of police officers
defined violent as both verbal and physical abuse.
Furtheranalyses showed that years on the force were not associated withviolent spouse behavior.
However, among male officers violence
towards children jumped 12 percent after the first three years(i.e., 28 percent in the first three years and 40 percent in years

four to seven); another nine percent leap occurred after eight
years of service.
Although the relationship between tenure andviolence was not statistically significant for females, four toseven years showed the highest frequency of violence toward theirspouses and children. However, unlike the males the frequency ofreported violence subsided after the seventh year.
A comparison of our data with national official reports on the47

43
The three major data
incidence of child abuse was difficult.
sources are contradictory and other studies often used different
definitions and measurements for the same variable. According toGalles and Conte (1990) parent self-reports of very severe violence
Our data is
toward children was 36/1000 (3.6%) children in 1985.
based on number of abusers not the number of children; and does notThus, amake a distinction between severe and non-severe.
comparison is not appropriate.

In 1985 the national incidence of severe spouse abuse was 30/1000(3%) couples; 113/1000 (11%) for any type of spouse abuse. Since
our survey did not capture the severity of the abuse, we cril only
report that a physical spouse abuse rate of 10 percent represents
a violence rate slightly below the national average for all typesof spouse abuse.
Finally, it must be noted that under reporting is a problem in thegeneral population, and I suspect it may even be a more serious
problem in this population, particularly for the female spouses.
Our interviews revealed cases where abused female spouses sought
refuge in another police officer's home and went to great lengths
to conceal the problem from police administrators for fear that
their mate might lose his job. On the other hand, one could argue
that perhaps police officers accept a higher level of violence;thus under reporting may not be a problem. In sum, the fact thatat least 40 percent admitted to violent behavior within the family
in the last six months prior to the survey may reflect not so muchacceptance, but a cry for help.

Definitive data on suicide among police areo Suicide Thoughts.
It is believed that suicide is more common among older
needed.
police than younger ones; and is usually associated with marital
distress, impending retirement, and alcoholism (Schwartz and
Schwartz, 1975). Our study only focused on the frequency andThirty percent of our sample hadcorrelates of suicide thoughts.
suicidal thoughts sometimes and 10 percent exceeded the 7 point
An equal and moderately strong relationship was foundscale mean.
between suicide thoughts and assignment satisfaction (.36) and
Strikingly but quite unexpectedly, thedivorce potential (.36).
strongest relationship the officers' suicide thoughts had with any
variable was with spouses' satisfaction with the officers* current
assignment (rim.59).
Future Research And Program Needs
The need for systems research can not be over emphasized.
officers are embedded in systems of interacting people.

PoliceTwo oftheir most prominent systems are the other officers and their
The data support the fact that what happens at work
families.
affects the family and vice verse. The influence of Job burnout on
spouse interaction and potential for divorce as well as thes44
relationship between the officers' coping strategy and that of
their spouses', indicate that we can not take an individualist
approach and expect to fully understand police job strain. The
literature is entirely too sparse with regard to marital dyadic
studios; stress research must make dyadic family research a highpriority.

Unfortunately, because of the linkage between women and families,
research has neglected (exception, males' income and family wellbeing) to examine the intricate tie between the work environment ofmales and their family life. In at least one respect, our stUdy

shows that the linkage between men's work and family life istighter than that of women's.
We need to further explore thesgender differences and their consequences.

Children are also part of the system.
Several times during theinterview stage, officers strongly requested that we interview
their children. Resources did not allow such inclusion. Given the
difficulty with child care and parent-child quality time as well as
the large minority of officers who expressed some type of violent
behavior (infrequently or frequently) towards their children,
future research should not neglect the perspective of children in
the work and family dynamic interplay.
The social network of police officers is in need of further study.

By tradition police officers are enmeshed in a tightly knittedorganization which accepts and often encourages suppression ofemotions and keeping information within the group. Yet, our study
showed that not all work supports provide positive outcomes for theofficer or his/her family. With the exception of our seminal work,
studies (empirically based) have not even indirectly addressed thenegative and positive effects of in-group ties on police officers
and their families.
Subgroup

difference

shouldbeacknowledge.

Althoughnotconsistently reported here, there were significant differencesamong males and females and Blacks and Whites.
The high divorce
rate among women police officers and Blacks as well as thesimilarities between Blacks and women on a number of factors (e.g.,their low levels of depersonalization) are in need of further
Such a study may suggest effective structural responses andprovide us with useful work-family coping strategies for women andethnic minorities in general.
study.

Finally, the spouses clearly stated their needs which they felt the
department should fulfill. They gave top priority (ranging from 68
to 99 percent support) to programs for psychological counseling,stress reduction, alcoholic rehabilitation, marriage enrichment,
health programs, child care services, and career counseling/preretirement planning.
This menu is long and expensive; it isdoubtful whether any police department as currently funded could
meet all these needs.

49

45
Further, while human relationship workshops are not now to work
settings, institutionalizing programs that do not specificallyaddress labor-msnagement interactions or job performance may meetwith rsistance. Most work institutions are not willing to invest
money and time in projects (e.g., marriage enrichment) that do notdirectly relate to profit, productivity, or serviwl their client.
For example, it was difficult gaining acceptance for this present
It took us nearly two years to find a police commissioner
study.
with a deep appreciation of the work-family linkage relevance topolicing and the courage to allow within the police ranks civilian
Reasons given for non-participation by departments
researchers.
that bothered to return our calls, included a denial of a work-

family stress linkage (e.g., only officers who sparat work fromfamily survive and remain in policing); fear of adverse publicity
with no tangible benefits, and a belief that any demonstrated
take
must
departments
thethat
indicate
linkagewould
responsibility for civilian spouses who are assumed not to be partof their jurisdiction or budget. What is needed are more studies

which establish the linkage between the programs these police
spouses request, the benefits of these programs to both the police
department and the citizens on the street. These programs should
be well designed and scientifically evaluated for their feasibility
and effectiveness.
The interplay between the goals of funding agencies and the police
Internal
administration goals was problematic for us at times.
affairs often delayed our schedule. One of our departments lacked
thus
exchanged theirservices;stressforresourcestheparticipation in our study for our "free" participation in a stressWe creatively turned this type of request into data
workshop.
they were not
However,
becausegathering opportunities.
unanticipated, they were not part of the budget.
Future researchers must make police departnents and funding
Funding agencies
agencies more aware of each others priorities.
must be prepared to accept no cost extensions, since police
services and internal affairs may supersede research agendas. They
must expect to give tangible benefits up front if necessary (e.g.,stress workshops as a means of service and data gathering) in orderto gain the greatest amount of cooperation (Note: We attribute ourhigh response rate which was unexpected by the FOP presidents, toour high service participation). In order to preserve anonymity
and to create trust, we agreed to delay publications until after weleft the field--a professionally disadvantageous decision; however,Many officers are highly
advantageous to study feasibility.
cynical of outside researchers; believing they are only after the
next book and could not care less about them as human beings. On
the other hand, police departments must appreciate the disadvantage
of undue delays to the research process. Hence, if they commit toparticipation they should commit to a timely completion.

5

46
Most importantly, any attempt to deal with police officer tress,
must include input from their families. During our workshops andinterviews with the spouses, the spouses became excited about mysuggestion that police departments consider institutionalizing anadvisory board with official representation from both male andfemale civilian spouses (similar to the military ombudsman model).
Such a board could provide the necessary forum for a proactive
approach with regard to departmental policies which affect police
It would further serve to reduce the negative viewfamilies.
spouses have of the department to which their mates dedicate theirlives.

5

47

REFERENCES
Bibbins, V. E. (1986). The Quality of Family and Marital Life of
Police Personnel. Pp. 421-427 in James T. Reese and Harvey
Goldstein (ed.) Psychological Services for Law Enforcement.
Proceedings from the National Symposium on Police Psychological
Services. FBI Academy, Quantico, Virginia.
Beehr, T.A.
Johnson, L. B., Sieve, V. (1991). OccupationalStress: Coping of Police and Their Spouses.
Paper presented at
the annual meeting of the Midwestern Psychological Association,
Chicago.
,Dooley, D., Rook, K, and Catalano (1991). Stress Transmission: The
Effects of Husbands, Job Stressors On The Emotional Health of
Their Wives.
Journal of Marriage and the Family. (February):
22 01: 165-177.

Furstenberg, F. F.
(1991).
The Mythical Connection.

The Welfare State and Family Breakup:
Family Relations. (April): 139-147.

Galles, R. and Conte, J. R.
Domestic Violence and Sexual Abuseof Children.
Journal of Marriage and the Family. la i(November): 1045-1058.
Johnson, Leanor (1990). Job Strain Among Police Officers: GenderComparisons. Police Studies: The International Journal ofof Police Development.
Johnson, Leanor (1989). The Employed Black: The Dynaaics ofWork-Family Tension. The Review of Black Political Economy.
(Winter): 12 03: 69-85.

Johnson, L., Sieve, V. F., Wilson, M. J. (1985). Police Nork-NomeStress Study. Interim Report.
Westat, Inc. and National
Institute of Mental Health, Rockville, Maryland.
White, L. K. (1990).
Determinants of Divorce: A Review of
Research in the Eighties. Journal of Marriage and the Family.
52:904-92.

Schwartz and Schwartz (1975). The Personal Problems of the Police
Officer: A Plea For Action. In W. H. Kroes and J. J. Hurrell,
Job Stress and the Police Officer: Identifying Stress Reduction
Techniques (December). U.S. Department of Health, Education, andWelfare.
Strauss, M. and Gelles, R. (1986) Societal Changes and Changes inFamily Violence 1975-1085 As Revealed By Two National Surveys.
Journal of Marriage and the Family. AA: 465-479.

52

48

Special Acknowledgement
Special gratitude is extended to:o

The participating spouses and police officers who gave so
generously of their time.

oMy research staff who worked with and without pay to see that
this study reach its current status.

o

The National Institute of Mental Health and the Ford
Foundation for funding.

oRepresentative Patricia Schroeder whose leadership provided'an important forum for examining police work-family wellbeing.

oThe members and staff of the select committee on Children
Youth And Families for their support and efforts.

oDr. Gary Peterson, Chair of Family Resources and Human
Development at Arizona State University, who earnestly
sought travel funds so that I could present this study
before the U.S. House of Representatives.

oMary Beardsley who assisted in last minute data analysis.

oMy family who provide me with continuing support.

53

49

Chairwoman SCHROEDER. Thank you very much.

I want to thank the whole panel. I have learned a tremendous

amount, all things that you think you should know, but it is amaz-ing how you don't stop and reflect on it. Hearing from you will
help the average citizen understand how vital this area is and how
important it is to focus on it.
Mr. Riggs, this is a great chance. You can ask you wife questions.
My husband would love this.
Congressman Riggs.
Mr. FRANK RIGGS. Thank you, Madam Chairwoman.

I would like to compliment all the witnesses for their outstanding testimony this morning. I would like to launch into some of thequestions that come to mind.
I guess for Dr. Scrivner and Dr. Boulin Johnson, how widespread
today in American police forces is the availability of police psycho-

logical services? Do you have an idea as to how many agencies

offer this service on an in-house or contractual basis?
Ms. SCRIVNER. We don't have those figures that would pin it

down quite that specifically. What we do know is that there is a
growth in the offering of these services. A 1988 study surveyed asignificant number of municipal and suburban jurisdictions andfound that over half of them did offer these services. But the concern from the family perspective is that frequently when services
are offered they include only the pre-employment screening of applicants.

Mr. FRANK RIGGS. Sgt. Sommers, in your caseand thank you
for appearing this morning and sharing your experience because I
think it really helps us better understand the sort of traumatic experience that you could routinely encounter in the line of duty anda situation that you and your family had to work throughin youragency are these services, services that you availed yourself of? Arethey part of your benefits package?
Mr. GARY SOMMERS. I believe they are offered by the county as

part of the police department, not as part of our bargaining agreement. And they are available to anybody any time.

Mr. FRANK RIGGS. But this is not a negotiable itom, so to speak?
Mr. GARY SOMMERS. NO.

Mr. FRANK RIGGS. So in your situation this was a direct expense

to the county to contract with the doctor that you and your family
worked with?

Mr. GARY SOMMERS. To my knowledge, it was.

Mr. FRANK RIGGS. I know my wife may have an opinion on this,so I would like to ask her first and then the two psychologists. I
will preface it by a brief editorial on my part.

One of my observations in law enforcement was it was not somuch external stresses of the job that cause police job stress andultimately cause, I think, too many good people to leave the profes-

sion, but, rather, there are the internal stressorsshift work andwhat have you. Petty bureaucratic politics I think a lot of times
enters into play. What is your opinion on that? And, for the two

psychologists, were you able to capture that in terms of the greater
stress-causing aspect of the job, whether it was the internal or theexternal?

54

50

Dr. BOULIN JOHNSON. Ey the way, I am a sociologist. Feeling thatthe department was not treating one fairly was the most prominent stressor that we were able to identify. It was much stronger
than anything else. In fact, we didn't talk too much about thestreet stresses as a result of this observation.

After we went through five workshops we realized the street

wasn't really the problem as much, and that surprises people.
So the burnout that we are talking about is really coming fromdepartmental conditions and environment.
Mr. FRANK RIGGS. Cathy, do you have an opinion?

You made a reference, Cathy, to the fact that leadership needs tobe enlightened or the idea of providing psychological counselingand psychological services has to come from the top down. Whatwas your observation based on, your law enforcement career?
Ms. CATHY RIGGS. In the City of Santa Rosa I believe we were
probably more progressive than other organizations though the internal stress was definitely there. Some organizationsSanta Rosa
was known to be an organization that had high accountability tothe officers on their actions. Any citizen could call and complain.
That would start an internal investigation, which is highly stressful and there were members, supervisors, who used to consider
these internal investigations opportunities for advancement. So
most definitely the internal stress is there.

I think most officers find that there is enough on the street.
Though there is a lot of negative, there is a lot of positive reinforcement that keeps them there in the job, and it rewards them
personally because certainly the money is not the reward to be at
the job. So it comes from internal satisfaction.
MI". FRANK RIGGS. Dr. Scrivner--

Ms. Scr VNER. In terms of the literature, there are many discrepancies and disagreements, but this is one area where there is general agreement. Almost every study identifies the stressors comingfrom within the organization as predominant in terms of their significance. However, I also think that is probably true of many occupations, that people do identify the internal stress factors as predominating over other aspects of the job.
Mr. GARY SOMMERS. In my particular case, that was one of thebigbest csietors in getting me back was that the administration listened to the psychological services unit and followed their advice in
how to handle the situation instead of just taking me as an officer

and sweeping me under the rug and putting me in a desk job andsaying, maybe in a couple of years he will be okay. They listened towhat the psychological services unit said, did what they said, andthings were a lot better.
Mr. FRANK RIGGS. It sounds like the leadership in your agency isenlightened and regards their human resources as their most im-

portant assets. How many years had you been on the job?
Mr. GARY SOMMERS. When the incident occurred, I had 15 yearson.

Mr. FRANK RIGGS. Do you think that an entry officer would havereceived the same attention, the same care?
Mr. GARY SOMMERS. I do. I really do. They are very good in that
respect.

51

Mr. FRANK RIGGS. Two other quick questions. One is, there aresome trends to seern to try to bring balance, if you will, to the deli-cate relations and the dynamic tension between police management and rank and file. In California, for example, the peace officers' Bill of Rights is the focus of binding arbitration for public
safety employees. Would either one of thoseor do they significantly impact the level of police job stress, the availability, if you
will, of a police officers' Bill of Rights, and the availability of binding arbitration as it relates to pay and benefits negotiations?
Because I know that disparity in pay and benefits can sometimes
cause disgruntlement, low morale. And some agencies participate

in benchmark surveys so they receive pay on a parity with agencies in surrounding communities. Are either one of those significant factors?

Ms. SCRIVNER. Are you addressing this to me?

If I understand your question, it is, would these services be included as part of a policeman's Bill of Rights or be part of the bargaining package. I think, yes, that that would be very helpful. Thatmay be one way to ensure greater availability of services and more
standardized kinds of services throughout the country.
The program Sgt. Sommers refers to is the program of which I
am the director. We may have those kinds of services in the Washington area, but even some of the other police departments don't
have comparable services. So to ensure consistency I think yoursuggestion is more than adequate.
Dr. BOULIN JOHNSON. I would like to make a suggestion thatcame from several of the spouses, and that is that many of themfeel like the job interferes with their lives enough that they should

be a part of a family advisory board where they have official

status, they are recognized, so that they can perhaps prevent someof the policies from going into place before they go into place or atleast have some influence on them. I think that is something thedepartment should seriously consider. They already have this typeof spouse representation in the military.
Mr. FRANK RIGGS. I think that is an excellent idea. Is enoughbeing done in the area in the preventive sense? I know it is toughbecause I can still harken back to being a 24-year-old young man
right out of military, very enthusiastic about going into law enforcement.

I think I had certain notions about law enforcement that I

tended to glamorize the profession more than perhaps circumstances should have warranted. Unfortunately, that wc,re off all toosoon when you get out of the academy and sta:, working thestreets and reality hits home.
Is there more that can be done in a preventive sense in terms ofimprovement in recruitment, screening, hiring and training ofpolice officers to prepare them for police job stress? This is just an
open-ended question, so anybody go ahead.
Ms. SCRIVNER. I would agree that training is critical. In Prince
George's County we do provide eight, two-hour blocks of instruction

to all recruit classes. The goal is to inoculate them to the kind ofstress that they are going to experience. We touch upon families.
The big lack here is training or ongoing orientation for families.
That is very much needed.

5G

52

Mr. FRANK RIGGS. So that element is missing?
Ms. SCRIVNER. Yes. That is an important point, and it is very dif-ficult to bring police families together, particularly in the Washing-

ton metropolitan area where you have two income families. Justfinding the time is difficult.

Also, recruits sometimes don't anticipate that these things aregoing to become a problem three years down the road. There is alag in what we are doing right now to try to integi ate the family
into some of the things that they can expect, using a prevention
education model.
Mr. FRANK RIGGS. Yes. I sense from the testimony of Sgt. Som-

mers and my wife, a 15-year plus veteran, 12 years in California,
that we have made great strides. When you harken back to years

ago when you first entered the profession and today, it is lightyears of difference.
Sgt. GARY SOMMERS. Very much so.

Mr. FRANK RIGGS. We are about to take up this week or next the
subject of civil rights legislation. In part that legislation is intended
to remedy certain Supreme Court decisions pertaining to so-called
reverse discrimination lawsuits. I know in northern California, theSan Francisco Police Department in specific, there have been pro-motions mandatedcourt mandated promotionsof certain minority groups and women police officers in part to address the factthat they were woefully unrepresented in the police force versus
the percentage representation in the population as a whole.

Has reverse discrimination in hiring and promotion practices

shown up yet in the empirical data relating to police job stress.
Dr. BOULIN JOHNSON. I was trying to find out. Yes. I am trying
here to look for the exact percentages, but we did see some kind ofeffect. There were officers who felt that their chances for promotion were hindered by the presence of women in the department. It

was, basically, a male/female issue rather than a black/whiteissue.

Mr. FRANK RIGGS. If I may jump in. Which is whatthe Tempeor the Tucson Police Department, Arizona law enforcement agencies?

Dr. BOULIN JOHNSON. Two major departments on the East Coast.

Although we looked at five departments. We did see some kindeffect. We are just now beginning to investigate this issue.
But while we are talking about that subject, I would like to mention that I did complete a study on black police officers and their
feelings of discrimination within the department. And what I wasinterested in is not only their feelings but how those feelings affect-

ed their family life. And I found that discriminationperceived
discrimination within the departmenthad a spillover effect into
their families, lowering their family marital interaction and increasing the po9sibility for divorce.
Mr. FRANK RIGGS. Thank you very much for your comments.

Thank you, Madam Chairwoman, for your generous time. I appreciate it.
Chairwoman SCHROEDER. Thank you.

Congressman Barrett?

53

Mr. BARRETT. Thank you, Chairwoman Schroeder. And I would
offer my apologies for being a little bit tardy. And I would ask thatmy opening statement be included in the record.
I particularly enjoyed the remarks that I have heard this morning, and I want to thank those of you who have taken the time totestify before this committee. My colleague, Representative Riggs,
and Cathy, this must be one of the few times that a wife has testified before a panel of which her husband has been seated. Interesting!Perhaps a question to the Sergeant. Would you think that rookies or veterans and their respective families are more likely to seek
counseling? Or perhaps Dr. Scrivner might like to jump in, too. Is
it rookies as opposed to veterans or is there any distinction?
Mr. GARY SOMMERS. From my view, the rookies of today aremuch more apt to get psychological services, counseling than I

would have been as a young officer. When I was a young officer it
was looked on as if you went to get any type of mental health counseling, there was something wrong with you and maybe you should
not be a police officer. Nowadays when they come in and they talkto these recruits in the academy and they start them out from that
it is much easier for them to go to psychological services and knockon that door and say, I need help, than it was before. Maybe you
can add to that.
MS. SCRIVNER. I would confirm what Sgt. Sommers is saying, that

there is a greater permissibility among younger officers now to utilize services. However, we do see some of the more severe problems
with the older officers who have had more time on the job.
Mr. BARRETT. Mrs. Sommers, you are nodding in acknowledgment. You would agree with that statement from the Sergeant?
Mrs. KAY SOMMERS. Yes, I do.

Mr. BAssErr. Is there any common characteristic that is prevalent among those that are seeking counseling that you could identify at this point? Anything in particular that jumps out?
MS. SCRIVNER. Are you addressing that to me, Mr. Barrett?
Mr. BARRETT. Yes.

MS. SCRIVNER. There is no common characteristic that cuts
across all police couples or all police officers seeking assistance.
They seek assistance for a wide variety of reasons, and one of the
problems that my testimony addressed was the fact that we do nothave an adequate data base indicating the extent of these problems.

So we might see many of the same kinds of things that havebeen discussed in the various testimonies in our case load at psychological services.

Mr. BARRETT. Thank you.

Dr. Johnson, on page six of your testimony I was interested inyour comments about coping, coping strategy. You indicated thatpolice officers' use of religion appear to do no good at all, and yet
you also said, in contrast, a spouse or the family seemed to benefit
and reduce the level of stress or whatever. Co-Ild you embellish alittle? Could you enlarge upon that statement just a little for me?
Dr. BOULIN JOHNSON. This was an unexpected finding. First,
coping as far as religion is concerned is really never included in re-search as a coping mechanism. We are not really surewu are

58

54

very confused about the finding, but, apparently, the spouses may

have a deeper faith and belief than the officers, and when they
pray or when they seek God in their conflicts they really believe
they are going to get an answer. Questions on reliance on prayerand God underlined our religion variable.
The only thing we can think of is that the officers may not havethat same kind of faith, but the fact that their wives have the faith
gives them more courage to go on or to face their conflict.
Mr. BARRETT. Thank you.
Cathy, I can't let you off the hook. Have any of the management

skillsor the negotiating skills perhaps is a better way of putting
itthat you learned while you were police officers come into playsince your husband has been elected to the House of Representatives?

M. CATHY RIGGS. Well, what I would like to say is that police
officers are truly the best salesmen in the world. So if you consider
that they are the best salesmen in the world, they have a good opportunity as politicians to sell themselves as well.
Mr. BARRETT. Do you think that you have hadwhere both hus-

band and wife are police officers, does that create a little better understanding and a fulfilling relationship, where one of the spouses
knows what the other spouse is doing and where ht or she is, thatsort of thing? As opposed to we, quote, civilians?
MS. CATHY RIGGS. Frank and I worked for two different organizations, and I am trying to think, I don't think we really had except
on a couple of occasions where we were both actually on the street

at the same time, and Frank showed up at one of my calls and I
told him to go away. I think in one sense having a spouse who isalso in law enforcement is good. It is supportive.

Personally, for me, I found that when I was in a situation thatwas life threatening I definitely did not want to go home and tellFrank about it because I knew his reaction, what it would be. I
think there are pluses and minuses.
I found, too, that when we were both competing for promotions
naturally that we were both very supportive of the other person, of
getting ready for that process.
Mr. BARRETT. You spent a lot of time, and rightly, understandably so, talking about stress. Time spent with the officer due to theshift work, reinforcing the isolation, frustration with the court systems, hazards of the job, the ugly side of humanity, etc. Is it fair tosay that this is compounded when both spouses are law enforcement officers?

MS. CATHY RIGGS. I believe so. Frank and I would kind of taketurns on whose turn it was to complain or be depressed about what
was going on at that time in our lives, either because of the caseload or a problem with a supervisor.
Mr. BARRETT. Excuse me. Dr. Johnson?
Dr. BOULIN JOHNSON. I would like to say something about dual
career couples. We found the pluses and the minuses in our study
as well. The Riggs appear to have a wonderful relationship, but not
all officers have wonderful relationships, so I want to provide somebalance.
When we did the workshop for the female officers, those female
officers who were married to other officers would often say that55

"when I come home from a hard day at work, and I have identicalproblems to my husband's, he is always saying that, 'it is my job tobe supportive, that it is the woman's job to be supportive. Therefore, I really don't want to hear your problems. You have to listen

to mine."Another minus is thatI guess it is a plus and a minusmanyof the officers who had sequential shiftsin other words, thefemale may work during the day and the male in the evening
found that their children were always supervised by at least one orboth of the parents all the time. And so that was a plus for thechildren.

However, their marriage suffered because they weren't together
enough. They were always with their children. And so they were
finding that there was a tremendous amount of strain in the marital relationship but fairly good relationships with the children.
So there are pluses and minuses, and I think we need to keepthat in mind.
Mr. BARRETT. I think you have all probably hit very hard on theissue of stress. How effective is peer counseling? I guess it is a verystraightforward question. Dr. Scrivner, would you like to respondto that?
Ms. SCRIVNER. Well, my understanding is that in some departments it has been extremely effective. In the department where myprogram is housed, we did a survey looking at the possibility of implementing peer counseling, and the police officers, as well as thecivilian personnel, overwhelmingly rejected the notion, based on
two factors.

One, they felt if they were going to see someone about problems
they were having, they wanted to see a trained professional. And
they were very concerned about the confidentiality of the information. That was a major issue they were concerned with about peer
counseling, because police departments, as you probably are aware,are very much rumor mills. They were very much concerned thatthe information be protected.

Those were the two reasons that officers in Prince George's

County turned peer counseling down. But there are police departments that have had a great deal of success with peer counseling.
So I think it is pretty variable at this time.

Mr. BARRETT. Sgt. Sommers, would you care to comment on that?
Mr. GARY SOMMERS. Yes. At the time of my accident, I did haveanother peer that I could turn to who had been through a similar
situation and leaned on him very heavily. Since the incident, I
have been called upon twice to talk to different officers around thecountry that have had this same situation or a similar situation
happen. It is very important to be able to relate to somebody. I related very well to Dr. Goldstein, but it was also portant that I
had someone in my shoes who I could talk to. And, for me, it was
important.

I also feel nowadays that when I can help somebody else, it
makes me feel good, you know, to let them know that what they
are going through they will get through and there has been somebody there before and it is not the end of the world and life goeson.
Mr. BARRETT. Thank you.

t)
I

Cathy, would you care to respond to that?
Ms. CATHY RIGGS. I think what the Sergeant has to say is very

important because no matter what the contact is you need that
other person who has been through it as well to make you feel
that, you know, you aren't crazy, that these feelings are real, andthat there is going to be a better day down the road. And ir is very

critical, I think, just the sense ofas I refer to the peer counselingas more of a buddy system that you know that there is someone else out there that also cares about you.
Mr. BARRETT. Thank you.

Just one final question, Madam Chair. How do we make police

bureaucracyand some of you have touched very hard on thatissuemore responsible or more family oriented? Let me put itthat way. Where does the problem lie? Is it in the academies? Is it
in the recruiting? How do we make it more family oriented? Dr.
Scrivner?
Ms. SCRIVNER. My impressions are it is within the supervisory
structure, which, obviously, implicates management. Training acad-emies generally tend to be quite sensitive to family issues, but
within the supervisory structure police supervisors can be overwhelmed by the needs to provide the minimum manpower on thestreets, so very frequently they will not hesitate to call someone inon a day off or ask them to give up a family event to assist them.

Within that structure I think we need to do a lot in terms of
training to sensitize people to the kinds of disruptions that they
impose on a family. There are minimum standards for requirements of coverage but we need to do more in that area.
Mr. BARRETT. So the problem is still essentially within the police
bureaucracy itself, management?
Ms. SCRIVNER. Yes, I would say so.

Mr. BARRETT. Any disagreement, Dr. Johnson?
Dr. BOULIN JOHNSON. No, I certainly do not disagree. But I thinkthat even though we are becoming more and more aware of thelinkage between work and family, many supervisors still do notthink there is a linkage. They are still within the frame of refer-ence of "if you can't handle your own problems you need to get outof the system and make way for someone that can."I think we need to demonstrate to them what that linkage is andhow that linkage has repercussions for the performance of thepeople that are out there doing the work.

Mr. BARRETT. Thank you. Thank you very much.

Thank you, Madam Chair,
Chairwoman SCHROEDER. Thank you.

I think that is very interesting because one of the goals of thiscommittee is to try and make the work place more family friendly,
and it sounds like the police force is maybe one of the areas where
we need much more focus than in a lot of other places.
As you were talking, I was thinking one of the easier things that
we have in the military is that everybody lives together on a base,so there is a focus and a focal point and other resources which, obviously, the police don't have. And so you are running against thewind right away, or it is a much more difficult thing.
Let me ask a question about underreporting. We often hear thatwhen there are incidents of family violence, child abuse or family

f; 1

57

abuse or whatever, it is very difficult for a police family to call thepolice. I mean, is that something that you vould find? So that, in away, we don't quite know what we really do have here so the sta-tistics are not very good because you really hesitate to call thepolice because the whole police operation is kind of like a family,
too. It is like you are turning in one family to the other family. Is
that an accurate statement that we should deal with? Do you findthat, Dr. Johnson?
Dr. BOULIN JOHNSON. Yes. Actually, my first awareness of family

violence within the police community came through a few interviews where the individuals just said in passing that we housed oneof my police friend's wife, who had been beaten by her police offi-

cer husband. And that came up at least three or four times in thespace of aboutwell, my best guessmaybe 15 interviews andthree times that it came up. And I thought, oh, my heavens, this issomething that is hidden. I asked the individualthe first individualwhy didn't they go to a shelter. They said they could not go toa shelter because they were afraid that if the police department
found out about it that their husbands would lose their jobs.
So they felt like going to another police officer's home was thesafest path.
Chairwoman SCHROEDER. SO, again, that would be another levelof tension that you don't quite see in the military because you arevery hesitantyou are hoping for a better day, and you don't wantto jeopardize everything by reporting it.
Dr. BOULIN JOHNSON. Although I was kind of surprised that 40

percent of my officers admitted to being violent. It seems that
there may be a higher acceptance for violence in the community

than I had expected. So maybe the spouses are underreporting. The
officers-40 percent seems extremely high. If that is underreporting, I am surprised.

Chairwoman SCHROEDER. Maybe it is also a cry for help.
Dr. BOULIN JOHNSON. I thought about that as well.
Chairwoman SCHROEDER. I mean that could well be, too.

Dr. Scrivner, Sgt. Sommers was talking about the psychologiststhat he deals with and how important it was. I assume that part ofit was his specialty of being, working with the police, so he understood a little mora, rather than someone who had never done thisbefore. I take it from your testimony that was terribly helpful.
Could you describe the Prince Georges services package that thepolice department has there?
Ms. SCRIVNER. Surely. The program was developed on a grantfrom the Maryland Governor's Commission on Law Enforcement
and provides a variety of services. The service received by Sgt.
Sommers is just one of those services, but we take that one very
very seriously. Any officer involved in an on-duty traumatic inci-

dent would receive immediate response from my office. A psycholo-

gist would meet the officer at ..he hospital, if that is necessary, or
wherever the incident is being investigated and would go immediately to the officer in the field.
However, we provide a wide range of other services as well. We
do research for the department, applying behavioral science technology to some police problems that gives them a different focus, a

58

different data bar e of information that they might not ordinarilycollect themselvei
We do a tremendous amount of police training. I have mentioned

the recruit training, but we train field training officers, those whotake the recruit out of the academy and help them apply hands-on
police skill. We do supervisory and, management training, as well.
In fact, we conducted a two-day management stress workshop forthe command staffalluding to what Mr. Barrett was talking
about, trying to educate commanders as to the importance offamily issues as well as their own stress levels.
We will also provide specific kinds of management consultation,

but the keystone of the program is the counseling service where
any family member or any police employee can call psychologicalservices, get an appointment, come in and receive an initial assessment of the problem with recommendations for the appropriate
therapeutic follow-up.

And that is really the keystone. That service includes some ofthe other specialized services that I talked about, such as the onduty HIV exposures and interventions for any officer that is in-volved in an excessive force complaint. The latter situationsI
think we are probably all fairly sensitive to that right nowhave

tremendous impact on police families. They fear financial ruin andsocial ostracism, and we really need to provide some kind of support services for them.
The counseling service is the major part of the program in addition to the 24-hour response that provides the kinds of services that
Sgt. Sommers referred to.
Chairwoman SCHROEDER. With the incredible pressure cities areunderand as I was driving to work this morning they were playing some of the speeches of the candidates running for mayor ofPhiladelphia. It was very interesting because there was a real

theme about we will hire more police officers, we will put them on
the street, we will do this, we will do that.
Nobody was talking about the quality of life of the police officers.
My guess is as we see more and more pressure economically comeon cities, these are going to be the first things cut. I mean, for the
few places that are enlightened enough to have them, my guess isthere is going to be a real tendency to try and cut them.
Ms. SCRIVNER. They are very vulnerable to budget cuts.
Chairwoman SCHROEDER. I think one of the things all of us would

appreciate isyou can do that as a take home exambut anythingthat you see that would be helpfill for the Federal Government to
do in a crime bill in the future, we would really appreciate yourinput.
I know we used to have educational packages for policemen andother such things, and a lot of those have been cut out or cut backto the point where they are hardly out there. So any ideas, please
let this committee know because we al c trying to figure out what

the most comprehensive thing might be.
Cathy, let me ask you one question, too. We often hear some of
the women in the police force feel that there is still a lot of sexual
harassment that is difficult within the police bureaucracy, that you

add that extra burden. Did you hear that among some of yourfellow colleagues?

r) 3

59

MS. CATHY RIGGS. I was in a unique situation in that I was theirfirst female patrol officer, and I was the only female officer for
about two years. As I said before, my organization was quite enlightened, so I was allowed to become a field training officer after
only having two and a half years of experience when the opportunity arose through the department.
They hired three new additional female officers. So part of theirfield training was an opportunity to ride along with me as theirtraining officer and give them a perspective of as a female how toapproach the job and be successful.

I found I was hired in a very competitive process, and my approach to the job was that I was a police officer first and a female
second. And I believe because of that approach that, because I was
not a token female, that I was there on my own merits as were theother women that were hired really made a difference in how I was
treated by the other officers. I found, quite frankly, that my better
friends and my closest mentors were some of the oldest and saltiestof the officers. Because they knew I was out there to do the job.

And I think thatin my particular organizationthat was the situation.

I know that it was very different in other organizations. It

comesI found at a certain point in my career, when we had hireda large group of officers from Southern California that did have ananti-female police officer attitude, that I did have some difficulty atthat point with those particular officers. But the organization wasvery good, I think, in treatment of all officers.

Chairwoman SCHROEDER. Dr. Johnson, did you find some of that?

I noticed when we were talking about affirmative action and civilrights you said there seem to be more male/female things thanblack/white.
Dr. BOULIN JOHNSON. I just found my data on that. Overall,when you look at female attitudes and perceptions of differential

treatment by gender, males in the departments that I surveyed
tended to feel like they have to carry an extra load for female

police who cannot handle difficult situations. They felt like the department went easy on female, officers who abused medical leaveand do not perform their duties. They felt like women were getting
away with it, in a sense.

On the other hand, allboth males and females, black andwhitesfelt that over all police women get mixed signals frommale officers on whether to act as a woman or as a police officer.
There were many interesting stories that were told that were fascinating in this regard.
So many of the women thought of themselves as police officers
first, but they weren't treated that way.
If I could give an example, if the time permits, I will. There wasa woman that was calledgot a call. It was a robbery of some sort,and it was dark. She showed up on the scene and got more backup
than she needed. The male officers, when they arrived, told her toget behind the building because this could be dangerous. Her

thought was, "Well, should I be flattered because they are protecting me, or angry because they are not allowing me to do my job?"
And I heard stories like that very frequently.

60

Chairwoman SCHROEDER. I think that you make a very good
point. We are in a very difficult transition stage, and so that is oneof the things that is very hard. I think watching these young kids
playing soccer together and everything, it is very helpful because
they are going to grow up thinking of each other as teammates.
But e are dealing with generations who have not thought of eachother as teammates, and so it is a little hard to transfer that inanything that is done. So I think you make a good point.
Well, let me thank every one of you.
Is there anyone that knows anything about any child care that isever done by any police departments?
MS. SCR1VNER. Not to my knowledge. No.
Mr. FRANK RIGGS. Not there yet.

Chairwoman SCHROEDER. I know that 24-hour-a-day child care isa very serious concern because the job is all hours, and the point
about being called in off hours and so forth and so on, it is very
hard to schedule your child care around that if there is no provision.

Mr. FRANK RIGGS. Madam Chair, if you would yield for just a

moment on that, and maybe I could encourage my wife to tell
about our situationvery approposabout our difficulty in coordinating child care around our jobs. I am sure you recall the incident
that I am referring to.
Chairwoman SCHROEDER. Did it break down today?
Ms. CATHY RIGGS. Child care is always very difficult. Obviously, I

am not a police officer right now, and that was one of the reasonsthat helped me make a decision to leave, was my son, Matt, was

two and a half. And we had an incident where I was working
patrol and drove into the parking lot o Ice Arena, and the baby-

sitter that I had at the time had a son who was an ice skater. And
when I drove out in the parking lot I found my son sitting alone inhis car seat in the car, and she waF nowhere to be found. Youmight say that I really saw red that day as I retrieved my son fromthe car.
But it is difficult since you don't have the normal days off. Often
it is hard to find people to baby-sit on Saturdays and Sundays.
Chairwoman SCHROEDER. And you never know.

Mr. FRANK RIGGS. If I could just add an anecdotehe actually
thought it was wonderful because Cathy put him in the patrol car.
And all the way he was trying to get her to put on the lights andsirens.
Chairwoman SCHROEDER. She didn't put handcuffs on you, didshe?
MS. SCRIVNER. Just one brief comment. We have found that oneof the major reasons that women leave law enforcement is becauseof the inadequacy of the child care and the concerns they haveabout their family life which eventually takes precedence overtheir career choice.
Chairwoman SCHROEDER. That is very very important to put on

the record. I thank every one of you. And, as I say, as you think
about this, the record will be open for a while. We would be morethan happy to have any input. We really, really appreciate thisvery distinguished panel and your time. Thank you.

61

Chairwoman SCHROEDER. We have another distinguished panel
this morning that we are very pleased to welcome. We have Beverly Anderson, who is a Clinical Director and Program Administrator

for the Metropolitan Police Assistance Program in Washington,

D.C. And she will be accompanied by Jeffrey King, who is an officer and peer counselor.
We have my own home town police chief whose birthday it is, so

I am particularly honored that he would come out from Denver,
Colorado, on his birthday. I think it shows his allegiance to his
people, and we are very proud of him at home. Our chief, Aristedes
Zavaras.
And then we have Anthony Daniels, who is the Assistant Director, Training Division, Federal Bureau of Investigation, Quantico.
James T. Reese, a Ph.D. and special agent, and he has a plane to

make at one. I think at this point we are okay, but if something
starts to happen, hold up your hand, and we will move you aheadof the process.
So if all of you would like to take the table.

Chief, you are in good shape. I promise I won't sing happy birthday. I am afraid I would get arrested if I tried to sing.

But we are really pleased to have you all here this morning.

Again, we will put all of your statements in the record, and so you
can summarize. I know you have all been patiently listening to theprior panel, so maybe you want to add, subtract, multiply or divide
as we move along.

Why don't we start with you, Ms. Anderson? We welcome you,and the floor is yours.
STATEMENT OF BEVERLY J, ANDERSON, M.A., C.A.C., CLINICALDIRECTOR/PROGRAM ADMINISTRATOR, THE METROPOLITANPOLICE EMPLOYEE ASSISTANCE PROGRAM, WASHINGTON, DC

Ms. ANDERSON. Good morning. I am here as the Clinical Director

and Program Administrator fo r the Metropolitan Police Employee
Assistance Program. However, in addition to being a therapist, I
am also the wife of FBI Speci 31 Agent Chuck Anderson who fornine years has been a member of the combined FBI/DEA/MPD
Drug Task Force. They were responsible for the investigation, andindictment of Rayful Edmond.
The Metropolitan Police Employee Assistance Program ie a joint

union/management program which combines the inherent trustthat officers have for their unic a with the backing and the supportof police management. As an outside contracted program, thetherapists, of v hich I am one, are not employees of the Metropoli.
tan Police Department. Nor w e we employees of the city government. The result of that has been that police officers are invested
in the confidentiality of the program.
The program is also located physically away from all police facilities. Again, in the best interests of confidentiality.
The combination of clinicians, of therapists and police officer
peer counselors brings together what we think is the best of bothworlds. That is, the police experience, as well as the expertise ofclinicians.

45-659 0 - 91 - 3

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I think that the most significant difference in terms of our program is that it provides ongoing services, and what I mean by thatis that most employee assistance programs, as you might know, areprograms that evaluate and refer out. That is, an individual may
come to a therapist for maybe three or four times, maybe even up
to six times. However, eventually that person will be referred out.
That does not necessarily happen in our program except in extreme cases. So that, unfortunately, what happens with police officers is that with the increasing cost of health care insurance andlimited coverage for therapy, they are unable to obtain the kind oflong term therapy that they need.
Also, we have found that many therapists are not familiar withthe unique stressors inherent not only in law enforcement officers

but in their families as well. And right now the median priceacross the country for individual therapy sessions is $80 an hour.
So if you have a police officer with a beginning salary of $25,000,
therapy is not a priority when the officer is more concerned withexpenses of daily living; $40 a week, even, is just a little bit difficult. And I know with our officers and the cost of living in Washington, D.C., it is especially difficult.

Our program does many things. We do education and training,
and we have provided training for over 2,000 officers, including ourdebriefings of the police officers and their family members. We do
peer counselor training. We do recruit training not only for the recruits but their family members. We have retirement seminars. We
do roll call in service trainings end suicide debriefings.
In the last six months we have had three suicides and several attempted suicides. We have mid-level and executive level management training as well as family and spouse education. We have ongoing therapy groups, an alcohol recovery group, and an adolescenttherapy group, which was supposed to have ended after eightweeks, and the adolescents voted to continue it.
We have marital couples' groups which are ongoing, marital retreats, and an adult children of trauma group. We have a postshooting trauma group, and our department has chosen to makeour post-critical incident debriefing a mandatory six sessions.
In my 15 years of work with police officers it has been my experience that when you ask a police officer if he needs help he usuallysays "no." So that when you make it mandatory, the officer does
not have to deal with the myth that only the weak ask for help.

Our statisticsin two and a half years we have seen 849 police

officers and/or family members. Our number one problem is family
and marital. Forty-eight percent of everything that we see is family
and marital. I concur with the other participants today with problems in family violence. We see a lot of that.
The number two problem that we see is stress related problems.
Number three is alcohol, and number four is shooting and criticalincident debriefings.
In terms of the types of problems that we seeI initially started
my career as a children's specialist, so we do lots of evaluations
with children, and we see issues in child abuse, discipline problems,
school problems, hyperactivity, and attention deficit disorders. And
I want to make particular mention about the kinds of problems
that we see with children. I confer with teachers all the time, and I

63

hear the same old story. Johnny is such a nice little boy, but his
stories are so filled with violence. His pictures are so violent.
I have a six-year-old son. If you ask him what his daddy does, hewill, at least in the second sentence, tell you that his daddy has a

gun and he arrests the drug boys. This is a theme that is verymuch a part of children. And I don't think that we have even thesmallest bit of research about this. Nobody has been asking thesequestions about the effects on children, but children are very very
sensitive to what their parents do.
Recently we had the Mt. Pleasant riots, and we have been doing
critical incident debriefings. One of our officers stated that her 15year-old son because she was on the 12 hour duty refused to go toschool until he knew that his mother was okay.
So it is very much an issue. We see violence, we see acting out,depression, suicidal ideation among our adolescents, conduct disorders, stealing, sleep problems, stress problems related to their parent's (the police officer's) PTSD. We do see lots of violence. We see
problems with divorce, blended families, relationship problems mut
problems related to parental absenteeism.
One of the issues that was not mentioned this morning was theunpredictability of being a police officer.
During the five years that my husband was involved in investi-

gating Rayful Edmond, there were lots of drug busts and, to tell
you the truth, I had absolutely no idea what was going to happen

during those periods of time. So I say that from a personal perspective.

I think it was Jim Reese in one of his writings about six or sevenyears ago who said that there is no such thing as a routine trafficstop, not until the officer leaves and the citizen leaves. And I think
that, Mr. Riggs, you might know something about that. The stressrelated problems among officers, loss of control.

From the years 1984, 1985 and 1986, the District government
paid out $5.4 million in lawsuits against the District in claims of
brutality. We see anger, depression, psychosomatic illnesses, anxkty, hypervigilence, attempted suicide, suicidal ideation, grief andloss issues, the feelings of alienation from society, workaholism
all the ismsfood addictions, sexual addictions, eating disorders,nicotine addiction and financial problems. We also see alcoholism
and the abuse of prescription drugs.
Thank you.

Chairwoman SCHROEDER. Thank you very much.

Officer King, did you have anything you wanted to add?
STATEMENT OF JEFFREY A. KING, OFFICER AND PEER COUNSELOR COORDINATOR, TIIE METROPOLITAN POLICE EMPIA)YEEASSISTANCE PROGRAM, WASIIINGTON, DC

Mr. KING. Yes. Thank you.

I am a second generation D.C. police officer. I have been on theforce for six years, but my father retired from the Metropolitan
Police Department. And in the 20 years that he worked as a police

officer, in this area, I saw a man who was never iffected by the job.
lie came home every day and he was just (tic' But soon, close to
the time before retirement, he was getting I:ivorced. Ile divorced

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64

my mom, and then he started suffering heart attacks. And in the
10 years he survived after his retirement he had six heart attacks.
He also had chronic sugar diabetes. So I always felt as though I
saw this job kill my father.
Now I became a police officer in 1985, after getting my Master's
Degree from Howard University in Psychology, so I felt r.s though I
was immune to stress because I knew what the symptoms were.
During my first two and a half years I was undercover buying andselling, drugs, that was my main job. And I have also had a contract put out on my life before.
But those things did not stress me as much as when I, off duty,
shot and killed a 17-year-old who was in the midst of a critical drug
hit. The amount of guilt I felt for shooting someone wrecked me,
and it is something that has made me really push for peer counseling and, therapy you know, getting really involved with the therapists in the office.

We respond to every critical incident, a therapist and an officer,.to let them know that someone is there for them. I am there to letthem know that I have been through it, and I am there for you.
And the therapists are there to help then) out and show them thatthey are not going crazy. We tell them the things they are going togo through.

It is helpful, too, because recentlythere was a shooting incident
with an officer, and I went there and I sat with his wife for five

hours. He was in major surgery for 12. And just being there a lot oftimes is enough.

Hopefully, I will be able to answer any questions you have.

Thank you.
[Prepared statement of Beverly J. Anderson, and Jeffrey A. King
follows:]

G9

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PREPARED STATEMENT OF BEVERLY J. ANDERSON, M.A., C.A.C., CLINICAL DIRECTOR/
PROGRAM ADMINISTRATOR, AND OFFICER JEFFREY A. KING, PEER COUNSELOR COORDINATOR, WASHINGTON, DC

The purpose of the Metropolitan Police Employee Assistance
Program (MPEAP) is to assist police officers and their families indealing with perdonal problems and job-related problems that often
affect job performance. We have established a confidential
counseling program that is respected by both police officers andofficials. Whwn we began the program, one of our primary purposes
was "prevention" of work-related incidents that could adversely
affect an officer's job ultimately leading to disciplinary action
or even termination.
Through the many "interventions" ourcounselors and police staff have initiated, the program has truly
proven to be one of "prevention".

The Fraternal Order of Police(FOP), Metropolitan Police

Department (MPD) Labor Committee instituted its Officer Assistance
Program in September, 1986. Even before it was fully operational,
calls were coming in from families, police officers and management.
In October, 1988, the program was accepted by management as a"joint" union-management program, supervisors have increasingly
referred greater numbersof officers to us.

The joint "police director - clinical staff" has proven mostsuccessful. Because many police officers are distrustful of"outsiders" or those who are not a part of the police system, thepresence of the police director and peer counselor coordinator has

proven invaluable to the credibility of our clinical staff. The
combination of clinically trained therapists and trusted police
officers combines the best of both worlds.

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66
Another valuable aspect of the program, has been that it is tar
removedfromanypolicefacility
therebyensuringthe
confidentiality of the NPEAP.
SERVICHISTHERAPY/COUNSELINGThe WEAR provides short-term supportive counseling/crisis
intervention.11ost clients tall into this category. Sometimes, suchas in the case ot death, divorce, critical incidents, poet shooting
stress or other situational lite crises, long-term therapy is notneeded.
However, in some cases individuals' problems are very
deep-rooted as in cases of della tbuse/neglect, childhood trauma,
clinical depression, etc.
These situations may interfere so

greatly with an individual's ability to !unction that long-term
therapy is necessary. In these extreme cases, referrals are made toan outside therapist.

Although our initial plan tor counseling was less than or up
to si- months, that plan has been tbandoned. In tact, many *tourclients have been with us tor over 1 year.
Why the change? The
cost tor counseling nowadays averages $40.00 per session.
The
recommended treatment is usually 1 session per week. Unfortunately,
police officers do not have insurance coverage to pick up this costor they will have HNO'S that may pay little to nothing towards theooet of treatment. Therefore, the Chances that an officer/family

amber will follow up on a referral are very poor due to thefinancial burden posed by weekly therapy on the outside.

REFERRALS POW IN-PATIENT TREATNEW
It has been our experience that treating alcoholism in police
officers is best done in an inpatient setting. This accomplishes
two critical tasks:

1. It takes the police officer away tram thestress ot the job, and

2. It removes the officer from his odrinkine
friends.

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ON-SITE EMERGENCY RESPONSE FOR SHOOTINGS & OTHER CRISISSITUATIONSThe MPEAP staff along with the Police Director and/or the PeerCounselor Coordinator has responded to such critical incidents asshootings, accidents and injuries to MPD officers and/or theirfamily members. By responding immediately and effectively, we havegained the trust of shop stewards, police officers, family members
and officials.

YOST SHOOTING TRAUMA
Post shooting trauma is a very real fact of life for those
officers using deadly force. Research has estimated that 70% nf
officers involved in a shooting leave law nforcement withinseven years. This figure reflects officers who have left due toemotional problems stemming from a shooting. One-third of theofficers have a mild or no reaction, and one-third have a severereaction. (Solomon and Horn, 1986; Stratton, et al., 1984.)
Hence, two out of three officers involved in a shooting will havea significant emotional reaction.
During the past two and one half years, the MPEAP has provided
debriefings for over 200 police officers involved in shootings, andcritical incidents. It has been our experience that the sooner anofficer begins to talk about the incident and the feelings that
accompany it, the better his/her chances are of resolving/working
through the trauma.

A general order now makes it mandatory for police officers
involved in shootings to attenA a minimum of six post shooting
In addition, vne officer is reguire to meet withtrauma groups.
an MPEAP counselor at least once following the incident.
Thisorder eliminates the Conflict that officers often feel about"asking for help" for fear of appearing weak.
POST SHOOTING/CRITICAL INCIDENT DEBRIEFINGSThis group is co-facilitated as are all the MPEAP support
groups, by a therapist and a peer counselor. It is best if theofficer/peer counselor has been involved in a shooting himself/
herself.

Many officers have reported that the stress of a shooting iscompounded by the stress of resultant administrative, investigativeand legal policy aftermaths within the department.
The officer's weapon and police powers are removed sometimes giving
the officer the idea that he did something wrong.

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68
admit
An officer is often reluctant to talk about -- or evenincident.
emotional
reactionstoacriticalto himself -- his
flashbacks and nightmares
Talking about fear, vulnerability,
doesn't fit the image. Many officers attempt to suppress theirgoingemotions. Some officers have reported feeling that they "areintensityof
theirreactions.
crazy" because of the emotional
normalHo/she needs to know that what is being experienced arereactions to an abnormal situation. Only after acknowledging one's
emotions can one begin to work through these reactions and come togrips with them. Who is in the best position to provide thisvalidation of emotional responses? Who else but the follow officer
who has "been there" to say, "After my shooting, I had nightmares
and flashbacks and I'm not crazy!"

TWENTY - FOUR (24) HOUR ON CALL SERV/CE (DAILY AND WEEKENDS)
Normal business hours for the MPEAP have been 7:00 am - 6:30
flexibility andpm Monday - Friday. The MPEAP philosophy is thataccessibility aro of utmost importance:therefore, appointments aro
scheduled to suit the needs of the policei officers.

The twenty-four (24) hour on-call service is maintained
after hours. In
with a professional answering service taking calls
therapist is also
addition to the therapist on call", a backup
paged.

MONTHLY TRAINING FOR POLICE PEER COUNSELORSThe MPEAP initiated and continues to be committed to a uniqueThis
program.
"Peer Counselor Model" of employee assistancemodel has proven to be highly successful in that is combines police
therapists thus
peer counselors and professionally trainedinservicedelivery.
maximizing both trust and excellence
Poor counselors have been most effective in

identificatiamof

officers with problems and in motivating them to seek further
assistance. In addition, the use of peer counselors to co-lead post
shooting groups, post critical incident stress groups were biahlv

effective, especially when the peer counselor had experienced asimilar problem as those members of the group.
GENERAL STRESS-RELATED PROGRAMSIn two and one half years of operation, the MPEAP has provided
stress-related training programs for over 1500 MPD personnel.

I3

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SPECIFICALLY DESIGNED EDUCATION SEMINAPSThe MPEAP conducts the following seminars on an ongoing basis:

Peer Counselor Training
Recruit Training
Retirement Seminars
Roll Call In-service Training
Suicide Debriefings
andExecutive-Level
Mid-Level
Family and Spouse Education

Management

Training

SUPPORT GROUPS
Alcohol Recovery Grouv
Adolescent Therapy Group
Marital Couples Groups
Adult Children of Trauma Group
Post Shooting/Critical Incident GroupStress Management Group for Officers involved
in Disciplinary Action
Marriage Retreat for Couples
STATISTICS

Types of problems:
1.

Family/MaritalChildren's Issues:Child Abuse
Discipline Problems
Hyperactivity/ Attention
Deficit Disorder
School Problems
Violence/Acting Out
Depression
Suicidal Ideation
conduct Disorders Stealing
Sleep Problems
Stress problems related
to the officers PTSD

Domestic Violence
Blended Families
Divorce
Relationship Problems
Parental Absenteeism

74

70
2.

Stress related problems of officers:

Loss of Control
Anqer
Depression
Psychosomatic Illnesses
Anxiety
Hypervigilance
Attempted Suicide
Suicidal Ideation
Grief and Loss issues
Feelings of alienation from Society
Norkaholism
Food Addictions
Sexual Addictions
EatiNg Disorders
Nicotine Addiction
Financial Problems

3.

Post Traumatic Stress Disorder4.

Alcoholism and Abuse of Prescription Drugs

t.1

71

Chairwoman SCHROEDER. Thank you very much for adding thatperspective.
Chief, welcome. Glad to have you here. Happy birthday. I under-

stand Cher has the same birthday.

STATEMENT OF ARISTEDES W. ZAVARAS, CHIEF, DENVER
POLICE DEPARTMENT, DENVER, CO

Mr. ZAVARAS. I would have traveled, quite frankly, on my birth-day or Christmas or any other time, and would gladly travel the
2,000 miles because I think what is being talked about todaythe
testimony being givenis very very important for law enforcement. The stresses in police work in some respect are very similar
to stresses that legislators may have, or in all occupations.
However, I think there are some unique differences. One of thosedifferences is you are talking about a group of people that are actu-

ally empowered to take life at the far end of the extreme, and it
scales down from there. So when you see people that are stress affected, it can be, overall, devastating.
I look at the stresses, and they go well beyond the classic ones inlaw enforcement, and, Congresswoman, you touched on one. It is
sc ,ething as simple as child care. There is some unique things fora law enforcement officer, particularly a single family orexcuse
mea single person, a single mother or father and that is immedi-

ate call up to court, What do you do when you have one hour to get
to court or you face disciplinary action? When you have rotating
shifts? When you have to worry about holidays 365 days a year.
From my perspective of chief, I am obviously concerned about
the well-being of the officers, but it goes beyond that. I also look at
the financial end of it, and I look at the tremendous cost. We lookat an officer at the end of one year and realize that we have probably over $1,000,000 invested in that person. From the administrative perspective you don't want to lose that person. That is a little
mercenary to look at it that way, but it is a reality.
And one of the concerns that I do have, when you have a tightbudget one of the first things you lean toward cutting are services

such as this. We haveand what I would like to briefly highlightand keep the panel moving is our psychological services. We have
two full time psychologists on board and then a team of peer advisors. Basically, our peer support program. That is a total now of 28
officers. They are trained counselors.
This program has been in existence over 10 years. They provide
services well beyond just the officers. It extends out, as does theservice from the psychologists to family members. And we havereaped a lot of benefits.

When I hear across the country about huge settlements thathave gone out for excessive force lawsuits and settlements against
officers, I think we are seeing the benefits in Denver when we pay
out more because of accidents, improper driving habits of officers
as opposed to improper use of force. I think we are seeing somebenefits.

I don't quite frankly think that departments can afford not tohave psychological services for their officers and extensive services.
One of the concerns I have is I think most major agencies do have

7 1;

72

some level of service. What concerns me is when it goes beyond
that. And we all know what happens in one area concerning law
enforcement touches out to all of law enforcement
So, quite frankly, what I would like to see is something included
in some crime bill eomewhere that would maybe mandate certain
levels of service mandated systems, you know, maybe concerning
times of a traumatic incident, a shooting, that sort of situation.
And certainly available at all times to not only the officers, but tofamily members.
Thank you.
[Prepared statement of Aristedes Zavaras followsl

7'
1

73
PRIMUS STATISM:NT OS AMMO W. ZAVAIIAS, CHM, DOWNS Pow=DIPASTIIINT, Dawn, CO
ZITIODUCTIOB

Stress may be viewed as the result of "physical," mental anduncertainty,

emotional reactions to situations that cause fear,
danger,excitement,

confusion or change.

The results of thenegative effects of stress on an individual can be seen in avariety of physical and psychological manifestations.

While this phenomenon of stress affects most people in somemanner, law enforcement officers xperience a higher than averageamonnt of its physical and mental signs.
post-shooting trauma,

Traumatic stress,
pre-menstrual

delayed stress syndrome,stress, nervous breakdown and grief are terminology to describe

some of the reasons police officers stress out in a thousand
different ways.

To dismiss the problem as the "natural results of a high-risk
occupation," is to overlook its significance. The raw fact isthat the City was losing vast amounts of money. When you look at
it,each recruit represents an investment. The Denver Police

Department has an estimated $60,000 invested when the recruits

have reached the end of the thir probationary period. Dy thetime he or she becomes a "seasoned" officer,that figure is

'7s

'14

easily doubled% Thus, to lose a proven officer,

is to lose thisinvestment. Bear in mind that the cost of training replacement
officers is becoming more expensive each year.

Mediocre job performance may cost even greater amounts of money.

These costs are more difficult to gauge since they include such
expensive factors as increased supervision time, higher rates ofequipment repair,lawsuits,

loss of revenue,

increased use of

sick-leave and compensatory time. This does not include any costs
the public may incur as a result of poor officer performance.

Stress and related problems that go unresolved, create a downward

spiral of inefficiency and declining job performance. This not
only leads directly to "hidden" costs, but it also increases theamount lost by the fact that the process usually extends over
5everal years and tends to increase in severity. In addition, theodds are better than 50/50 that the replacement officers willdevelop similar problems, unless steps are taken to address theseissues.

There is no accurate way to assess the human cost in shatteredindividuals, broken careers or scattered families. The City doesbear the expense of thase tragedies and their effects, especiallyin the increased load they place on the City's human service
agencies.

7;)75
Clearly,

an officer who works "troubled," is an officer who

increasingly becomes an expensive liability. Since replacement isexpensive and not a guaranteed solution, something must be done.

That "something" is our Psychological Services and Peer Support
Program. By dealing with stress and related problems, the program

has provided an aid to the city and the Denver Police Department
in cutting costs.

BACKGROUND

Unresolved stress is a powerful and destructive force to theindividual in today's society. Because contemporary problems andtensions are more complex and more comprehensivein

scope,

effective solutions usually involve more than a simple approachto management.

This

is becoming an important factor in all

occupations, but in high stress occupations, officers experience

countless incidents which create immediate stress and also
residual stress. Such effects bcome cumulative and can often
lead to exacerbation of human problems after a period of time.
Left unresolved,

critical prlblems become destructive to theindividual and to those around him.

76
Typically,

they may involve suchthingsasfinancialdifficulties, family disruption, behavioral and medical problems,or legal problems. Suchdependence on alcohol or other drugs,

wide-range and deep-seeded difficulties are especially dangerous
to

those

in

police work when theirinfluence might

effectjudgment and performance.

It is recognized that officers must respond with sensitivity andjudgment to human problems on a daily basis. At what point canofficers find help for themselves?

How can they acknowledge

problems without ridicule and seek aid without embarrassment? May

they accept help without

fear oflosingtheir dignity

andself-worth? Can they avail themselves to resources without fearof censure or derision by their peers? Is there a way to provide

officers needed assistance without undermining their confidence
and stature?

Definitely.

Methods for aiding troubled employees have been known and used inindustry for over 40 years, and they are now being utilized by alarge number of big corporations,(i.e., Coors, Gates). Althoughsuch programs often address humanistic concerns, their purpose isbi

77
quite selfish. An untroubled employee is a productive employee.
When an employee is healthy, his judgment and performance benefit
the employer.

How can this be done with police officers? Typically, a troubled
employee has begun to show poor job performance. Such an employee
moves through a series of supervisor and disciplinary actions. As

already demonstrated, losing police officers in this manner isvery costly to a city. Through effective supervision, it can be
avoided. At a certain stage, the supervisor can be authorized topoint out that there is a program available for help. This isoffered as information only, and does not provide an officer withan excuse for poor job performance.

PEER SUPPORTSuch a program is available to our City. It is the Psychologicaland Peer Support Program. It provides the adjunct to supervisionthat is sometimes necessary to improve job performance, and it
does so outside the work atmosphere. It is effective, due to the
key elements of the program.

It wasinstituted

in June of 1982

in orderproblems of police officers as victims.

toaddress theWe currently havetwenty-one advisors assigned to the program, and because of Its

78
value to our Department, we hr.vo recently increased that number

to twenty-eight. Our program is coordinated under the direction

Phillips and supervised with theof Detective William W.

assistance of our Psychological Services Unit. ft has provided
counseling, education and training to an average ot 148 officers,
or family members, annually.

confidentiality

Confidentiality is the basis of our program. All participation byindividuals and the details of their problems are confidential.
No information is made available to become part of their records.

Thus, they have the assurance that revealing a serious personal

problem will not create prejudice, nor will it be used against
then.

Perticipation

Participation is voluntary. Whether he enters the program because

fellow officers have recommended it, or because his supervisor
has suggested it, the officer alone makes the choice.

S3

79

MAIM
Advisors running the program are police officers trained in basic

counseling skills. They know critical issues a troubled officer
faces and they have been trained to help.

Client Clef Retrial,

Meetings and sessions are monitored by Psycholoqical services toensure the correct functioning of the Peer Support Program.
Throurh Peer Support Program sessions, officers seeking help for
personal problems find a forum to speak openly. If the nature ofa problem is beyond the scope of the Peer Support Program, theofficer is helped to identify agencies and resources which canlend professional aid. This referral process is made in the formof a suggestion, and is not binding to the participant. Should heelect to follow such advice, the Peer Support Program helps make.the arrangements for an interview.

When requested,

the PeerSupport Program will also offer to maintain contact with a chosen
resource for the purpos4s of feedback and follow-up.

S4

Stress is a major problem affecting law enforcement today. Its
overt effects can be seen in the high percentage of officers who
have experienced a stress-related problem. Post-shooting trauma,post-traumatic sLrecz disorder and burn out are the results of ahigh risk occupation. Education and training in managing stresshas helped to reduce the amount of job stress police officers
face. Additional programs are needed to aid in this reduction. A

poll of this Department, through Peer Support,

indicated thatchild care for the single family parent, additional time off,
non-police related recreation and on-the-job incentive programsfor education and physical fitness would be steps toward stress
reduction.

I have attempted to outline an area of serious concern to our
Department,

as well as law enforcement in general.

I

have

described a course of action that is cost-efficient and effective
in resolving these problems.

I hope you will agree with me thatby relying on the strategy of Peer Support, we provide a unique,low-cost program that utilizes self-help to get the maximum fromexisting resources.

81

Chairwoman SCHROEDER. Thank you very much. I just want one
quick question while you are here.

I know you brought up how much you would invest in a policeman a year. It is very expensive. And I know Sgt. Sommers wastalking about he could have taken disability. Isn't it much cheaper
to have kept him on the force than take disability? I am not quite

sure what that tradeoff means, but

Mr. ZAVARAS. Absolutely. Congresswoman, it would vary some-what depending on, you know, local disability plans, local union
contracts, that sort of thing. But regardless of what those are, it istremendously expensive when you lose an officer due to disability
prior to his normal retirement. So it is a costly thing.
It is kind of a catch 22. Tight budget, you cut these services.
However, the long range there is you actuallyMancially it actually costs you more.

Chairwoman SCHROEDER. I think that you make a very good
point. And we really need to show what they really cost if you cut
the services.
Mr. ZAVARAS. Right.

Chairwoman SCHROEDER. Anthony Daniels. We welcome you, andwe are delighted to have you here from the FBI. The floor is yours.
STATEMENT OF ANTHONY E. DANIELS, ASSISTANT DIRECTOR,
TRAINING DIVISION, FEDERAL BUREAU OF INVESTIGATION,
QUANTICO, VA

Mr. DANIEIS. Chairwoman Schroeder and Members of the committee. On behalf of the FBI I am pleased to appear before you totalk about stress in the field of law enforcement. I would like tocongratulate you and your committee and thank you for raising
this extremely important issue at this time. It has only been within
the pLat 25 years that significant progress has been made in utilizing mental health professionals to foster the psychological wellbeing of our law enforcement officers and their families.
The manner in which we view the FBI has changed dramaticallyin the last decade. While membership in the "FBI family" seemed
once to be limited solely to our special agents on the street andother employees, this view has broadened significantly. By providing services to families of employees, we have seen our FBI family
extend and become a larger, more cohesive entity.
Among the services we now provide are access to a consulting
psychiatrist and a very successful employee assistance p
which operates in our field offices with counselors who coTibliiiip
daily assist employees in dealing with a variety of stressful issues
like marital strain and substance abuse.
The behavioral science services unit of the FBI's training division administers our critical incident trauma program. This program has been embraced by our extended FBI family. Through thisprogram, trained FBI employee counselors respond to peers who
have been involved in traumatic incidents.
Just last week, during National Police Week, manT of our counselors provided assistance to a non-profit organization known as"Concerns of Police Survivors" which held seminars in Washington

6

tiZ

to aid surviving family members of police officers killed in the lineof duty.

The FBI organized and hosted the first National and World Symposium on Police Psychological Services in the mid-1980s to help

identify psychologists dealing with law enforcement agencies.
Through this and other meetings, a network of more than 300
mental health professionals was established and "police psychologists" began to be identified. This referral network of police psychologists is today the primary means of identifying such experts.
While the primary function of law enforcement officers is "tokeep our streets safe" we must continue to recognize the needs ofthe officers walking the thin blue line each dayand their families. While the FBI's commitment to stress management programs
demands precious resources, we are convinced at the highest levels
that such programs are absolutely essential.
I am accompanied today by Dr. James T. Reese, who is a 20-year

veteran of the FBI, a supervisory special agent in the behavioral

science services unit, a member of the American Psychological Association, and a nationally recognized figure among police psychologists. With your permission, I would like to relinquish my remaining time to Dr. Reese.
Chairwoman SCHROEDER. Absolutely. Dr. Reese, we are very
pleased to have you. Thank you.
STATEMENT OF JAMES T. REESE, PH.D., SUPERVISORY SPECIAL
AGENT, ASSISTANT UNIT CHIEF, BEHAVIORAL SCIENCE SERVICES UNIT, TRAINING DIVISION, FEDERAL BUREAU OF INVESTIGATION, QUANTICO, VA

Dr. REESE. Thank you, Mr. Daniels.

Madam Chair, distinguished committee Members, I, too, am

happy today to talk about a subject I have intimately been involved
with for the past two decades, police stress and its impact on thefamily.

Author Joseph Wambaugh wrote: "Civilians have seldom under-stood the real danger inherent in police work. It has never been
particularly hazardous to the body, not since Sir Robert Peel firstorganized his corps of bobbies. This line of work has always been athreat to the spirit."
Police stress is found wherever there are functioning police officers. Concern about police stress is underlined in the Nationwide

Law Enforcement Training Needs Assessment, a long-term comprehensive study by the FBI of state and local law enforcement training needs throughout the United States. In our surveys, the activity statement, "handle personal stress," has consistently been rated
a top priority activity for all types and sizes of state and local law
enforcement agencies.
The problem of helping officers resolve stress is very real. Eventsoccurring in the lives of police officers often affect family members
as officers bring their jobs home, albeit silently. As questioned in

the book "Police Marriages", "How does an officer who has witnessed violence, brutality, and even death, come home and be
warm, sensitive, and loving? Society expects police officers to beable to turn their emotions on and off at will."

b7

83

We in law enforcement have become very adept at turning ouremotions off. It is the "on" switch that many of us cannot find. To

expand on this, the greatest barrier to change in a law enforcement officer and that which has the greatest impact upon thefamily is what is termed "image armor." This image armor has asinherent characteristics the need to always look in control, toalways be the authority, to repress emotions, to never admit mistakes, to "take charge," and, consequently, to repress true emotions.

Why does one officer have a wonderful, fulfilling career while
his/her partner, sitting next to him or her in a cruiser, "falls topieces?" Stress management is a choice. The major factor whichsets humans apart from animals is their ability to choose. Each ofus, at some level, chooses what to become. Becoming a police officer

is a choicetoo often made without knowing the toll it may takeon personal and family life.

Police officers may hear from their spouses; "you're different,
you've changed, you are not the person I used to know, you've

become cold, callous, and unfeeling, what happened to the person I
married?" Families should be educated to identify the early warning signs of maladaptation to stress, for they are in a position tosee changes in attitude in their law enforcement spouse or parent

as they occur. These changes may be manifest in hardened atti-

tudes, increased difficulty relating to family members, or the use ofimage armor.
The integrity of the family is affected when symptoms of stressbecome apparent. Both police officers and their departments need
to be educated in ways to help affected officers' families preserve

their integrity. In these situations, it is important that the policefamily be regarded as a whole unit or support system. All members
use the family unit as a resource pool for support and strengthening, since changes in status of any family member alters the balance of the whole unit. When an officer experiences stress on thejob, the family may become vicarious victims of this stress and everyone suffers.

The many sides of police workterrible situations, traumatizedvictims, shift work, irregular court appearances, unscheduled overtime, lawsuits and the threat of physical dangercan cause overwhelming stress. A police officer must consider establishing priorities in his or her life. Does the family support the job or does thejob support the family?

There must be a proper balance between career and family. I
suggest these as priorities: 1) spiritual wellness, the choice to be-lieve in something spiritual if you choose to, 2) familial wellness, 3)

personal wellness, and 4) occupational wellness. It is logical toassume that, if an officer has his spiritual, family and personal life
in order, he will probably have a better chance of functioning wellon the job, returning home with his priorities in line.
Paramount to my remarks is the fact that police agencies must

educate officers and their families about the impact of this demanding profession upon their lives. No one is asking that any

police officer abandon God, family or a personal life. Stress management can be learned. Establish your priorities, make appropriate changes, get your life in order. If you do, your stress will be

84

reduced while your efficiency within your organization will be increased. This nation's law enforcement officers and the agencies
they represent can all gain as a result.
[Prepared statement of Anthony E. Daniels followsd

85
PREPARED STATEMENT OF ANTHONY E. DANIELS, ASSISTANT DIRECFOR, TRAINING DIN/1E110N, FEDERAL BUREAU OF INVESTIGATION, ACCOMPANIE. BY DR. JAMES T. REESE,
SUPERVISORY SPECIAL AGENT, ASSISTANT UNIT CHIEF, BEHAVIORAL SCIENCE SERVICES UNIT, TRAINING DIVISION, FEDERAL BUREAU OF INVESTIGATION, QUANTICO, VA

CHAIRWOMAN SCHROEDER AND MEMBERS OF THE COMMITTEE, ON
BEHALF OF THE FBI, I AM PLEASED TO APPEAR THIS MORNING BEFORE THE
SELECT COMMITTEESON CHILDREN, YOUTH AND FAMILIES, TO TALK ABOUTSTRESS IN THE FIELD OF LAW ENFORCEMENT.

IT HAS ONLY BEEN WITHIN

THE PAST 25 YEARS THAT SIGNIFICANT PROGRESS HAS BEEN MADE IN
UTILIZING MENTAL HEALTH PROFESSIONALS TO FOSTER THE PSYCHOLOGICAL
WELL-oEING OF LAW ENFORCEMENT OFFICERS AND THEIR FAMILIES.

THE MANNER IN WHICH WE VIEW THE FBI HAS CHANGEDDRAMATICALLY IN THE LAST DECADE.

WHILE MEMBERSHIP IN THE "FBIFAMILY" SEEMED ONCE TO BE LIMITED SOLELY TO OUR SPECIAL AGENTS ON
THE STREET, AND OTHER EMPLOYEES, THIS VIEW HAS BROADENEDSIGNIFICANTLY.

BY PROVIDING SERVICES TO FAMILIES OF EMPLOYEES,WE HAVE SEEN OUR FBI FAMILY EXTEND AND BECOME A LARGER, MORECOHESIVE ENTITY.

AMONG THE SERVI:IES WE NOW PROVIDE ARE ACCESS TO

A CONSULTING PSYCHIATRIST AND A VERY SUCCESSFUL EMPLOYEEASSISTANCE PROGRAM WHICH OPERATES IN OUR FIELD OFFICES WITHCOUNSELORS WHO CONFIDENTIALLY ASSIST EMPLOYEES IN DEALING WITH A
VARIETY OF STRESSFUL ISSUES, LIKE MARITAL STRAIN AND SUBSTANCE
ABUSE.

THE BEHAVIORAL SCIENCE SERVICES UNIT OF THE EBI'STRAINING DIVISION ADMINISTERS OUR CRITICAL INCIDENT TRAUMAPROGRAM.

THIS PROGRAM HAS BEEN EMBRACED BY OUR EXTENDED FBI

FAMILY.

THROUGH THIS PROGRAM, TRAINED FBI EMPLOYEE COUNSELORSRESPOND TO PEERS WHO HAVE BEEN INVOLVED IN TRAUMATIC INCIDENTS.

JUST LAST WEEK, DURING NATIONAL POLICE WEEK, MANY OF OURCOUNSELORS PROVIDED ASSISTANCE TO A NON-PROFIT ORGANIZATION,

MOWN AS "CONCERNS OF POLICE SURVIVORS", WHICH HELD SEMINARS IN

H
45-659 0 - 91 - 4

86
WASHINGTON TO AID SURVIVING FAMILY MEMBERS OF POLICE OFFICERSKILLED IN THE LINE OF DUTY.

THE FBI ORGANIZED AND HOSTED THE FIRST NATIONAL AND
WORLD SYMPOSIA ON POLICE PSYCHOLOGICAL ShAVICES IN THE MID 19801S
TO HELP IDENTIFY PSYCHOLOGISTS DEALING WITH LAW ENFORCEMENT
THROUGH THIS AND OTHER MEETINGS, A NETWORK OF MORE

AGENCIES.

THAN 300 MENTAL HEALTH PROFESSIONALS WAS ESTABLISHED AND "POLICEPSYCHOLOGISTS" BEGAN TO BE IDENTIFIED.

THIS REFERRAL NETWORK OFPOLICE PSYCHOLOGISTS IS TODAY THE PRIMARY MEANS OF IDENTIFYING
SUCH EXPERTS.

WHILE THE PRIMARY FUNCTION OF LAW ENFORCEMENT OFFICERS
IS "TO KEEP OUR STREETS SAFE," WE MUST CONTINUE TO RECOGNIZE THE
NEEDS OF THE OFFICERS WALKING THE THIN BLUE LINE EACH DAY -- AND
THEIR FAMILIES.

WHILE THE FBI'S COMMITMENT TO STRESS MANAGEMENTPROGRAMS DEMANDS PRECIOUS RESOURCES, WE ARE CONVINCED AT THE
HIGHEST LEVELS THAT SUCH PROGRAMS ARE ESSENTIAL.
I AM ACCOMPANIED TODAY BY DR. JAMES T. REESE, WHO IS A
20-YEAR VETERAN OF TEE FBI, A SUPERVISORY SPECIAL AGENT IN THE

BEHAVIORAL SCIENCE SERVICES UNIT, A MEMBER OF THE AMERICANPSYCHOLOGICAL ASSOCIATION, AND A NATIONALLY RECOGNISED FIGURE
AMONG:RICE PSYCHOLOGISTS.

WITH YOUR PERMISSION, I WOULD LIKETO RELINQUISH MY REMAINING TIME TO DR. REESE.
DR. REESE:THANK YOU, MR. DANIELS.

I, TOO, AM HAPPY TO BE HERETODAY TO TALK ABOUT A SUBJECT I HAVE INTIMATELY BEEN INVOLVED
WITH FOR TWO DECADES -- POLICE STRESS AND ITS IMPACT ON THE

87
POLICE FAMILY.

AUTHOR JOSEPH WAMBAUGH WROTE:"CIVILIANS HAVE SELDOM UNDERSTOOD THE REAL DANGERINHERENT IN POLICE WORK.

IT HAS NEVER BEEN

PARTICULARLY HAZARDOUS TO THE BODY, NOT SINCE SIR
ROBERT PEEL FIRST ORGANIZED HIS CORiS OF BOBBIES.

THIS LINE OF WORK HAS ALWAYS BEEN A THREAT TO THESPIRIT."POLICE STRESS IS FOUND WHEREVER THERE ARE FUNCTIONING
POLICE OFFICERS.

CONCERN ABOUT POLICE STRESS IS UNDERLINED IN

THE NATIONWIDE LAW ENFORCEMENT TRAINING NEEDS ASSESSMENT, A LONGTERM COMPREHENSIVE STUDY BY THE FBI OF STATE AND LOCAL LAW
ENFORCEMENT TRAINING NEEDS THROUGHOUT THE UNITED STATES.

IN OURSURVEYS, THE ACTIVITY STATEMENT, "HANDLE PERSONAL STRESS," HAS

CONSISTENTLY BEEN RATED A TOP PRIORITY ACTIVITY FOR ALL TYPES AND
SIZES OF STATE AND LOCAL LAW ENFORCEMENT A3ENCIES.

THE PROBLEM OF HELPING OFFICERS RESOLVE STRESS IS VERYREAL.

EVENTS OCCURRING IN THE LIVES OF POLICE OFFICERS OFTEN

AFFECT FAMILY MEMBERS AS OFFICERS BRING THEIR JOBS HOME, ALBEIT
SILENTLY.

AS QUESTIONED IN THE BOOK, macs_mmung,"HOW DOES AN OFFICER WHO HAS WITNESSED VIOLENCE,
BRUTALITY, AND EVEN DEATH, COME HOME AND BE WARM,SENSITIVE, AND LOVING?

SOCIETY EXPECTS POLICE

OFFICERS TO BE ABLE TO TURN THEIR EMOTIONS ON AND
OFF AT WILL."WE IN LAW ENFORCEMENT HAVE BECOME VERY ADEPT AT TURNING88

OUR EMOTIONS OFF.
F/ND.

IT IS THE "ON" SWITCH THAT MANY OF US CANNOTTO EXPAND ON THIS, THE GREATEST BARRIER TO CHANGE IN A LAWENFORCEMENT OFFICER, AND THAT WHICH HAS THE GREATEST IMPACT UPONTHE FAM/LY, IS WHAT IS TERMED "IMAGE ARMOR."

THIS IMAGE ARMORHAS AS INHERENT CHARACTERISTICS THE NEED TO ALWAYS LOOK IN
CONTROL, TO ALWAYS BE THE AUTHORITY, TO NEVER ADM/T MISTAKES, TO"TAKE CHARGE," AND, CONSEQUENTLY, TO REPRESS TRUE EMOTIONS.
WHY DOES ONE OFFICER HAVE A WONDERFUL, FULFILLINGCAREER WHILE HIS PARTNER, SITTING NEXT TO HIM OR HER IN A
CRUISER, "FALLS TO PIECES?"

STRESS MANAGEMENT IS A CHOICE.

THE

MAJOR FACTOR WHICH SETS HUMANS APART FROM ANIMALS IS THEIRABILITY TO CHOOSE.
BECOME.

EACH OF US, AT SOME LEVEL, CHOOSES WHAT TO

BECOMING A POLICE OFFICER IS A CHOICETOO OFTEN MADEWITHOUT KNOWING THE TOLL IT MAY TAKE ON PERSONAL AND FAMILY LIFE.
POLICE OFFICERS MAY HEAR FROM THEIR SPOUSES, "YOU'RE
DIFFERENT," "YOU'VE CHANGED," YOU'VE BECOME COLD, CALLOUS, AND
UNFEELING," ammia HAPPENED TO THE PERSON I MARRIED?"FAMILIESSHOULD BE EDUCkDED TO IDENTIFY THE EARLY WARNING SIGNS OF

MALWAPTATION TO STRESS, FOR THEY ARE IN A POSITION TO SEE
CHANGES IN ATTITUDE IN THEIR LAW ENFORCEMENT SPOUSE OR PARENT AS
THEY OCCUR.

THESE CHANGES MAY BE MANIFEST IN HARDENED ATTITUDES,

INCREASING DIFFICULTY TO RELATE TO FAMILY MEMBERS, OR THE USE OF
IMAGE ARMOR.

THE INTEGRITY OF THE FAMILY IS AFFECTED WHEN SYMPTOMSOF STRESS BECOME APPARENT.

BOTH POLICE OFFICERS AND THEIR

DEPARTMENTS NEED TO BE EDUCATED IN WAYS TO HELP AFFECTED OFFICERS89
PRESERVE THEIR INTEGRITY.

IN THESE SITUATIONS, IT IS IMPORTANT

THAT THE POLICE FAMILY BE REGARDED AS A WHOLE UNIT OR SUPPORTSYSTEM.

ALL MEMBERS USE THE FAMILY UNIT AS A RESOURCE POOL FoR

SUPPORT AND STRENGTHENING, SINCE CHANGES IN STATUS oF ANY FAMILYMEMBER ALTERS THE BALANCE OF THE WHoLE UNIT.

WHEN AN OFFICER

EXPERIENCES sTRESS ON THE JOB, THE FAMILY MAY BECOME VICARIOUS
VICTIMS or THIS STRESS AND EVERYONE SUFFERS.

THS MANY SIDES OF POLIcE WoRKTERRIBLE SITUATIONS,TRAUMATIZED VICTIMS, SHIFT WORK, IRREGULAR COURT APPEARANCES,
UNSCHEDULED OVERTIME, LAW SUITS, AND THE THREAT or PHYSICALDANGER -- CAN CAUSE OVERWHELMING STRESS.

A pOLICE OFFICER MUSTCONSIDER EsTABLISHING PRIORITIES IN HIS OR HER LIFE.

DOES THEFAMILY SUPPORT THE JOB, oR DOES THE JOB SUPPORT THE FAMILY?
THERE MUST BE A PROPER BALANCE BETWEEN CAREER AND FAMILY.

I

SUGGEST THESE As PRIORITIES: 1) SPIRITUAL WELLNESS, 2) FAMILIAL

WELLNESS, 3) PERSoNAL WELLNESS, AND 4) OCCUPATIoNAL WELLNESS.

IT

IS LOGICAL TO AsSUME THAT, IF AN oFFICER HAS HIS SPIRITUAL,
FAMILY, AND PERSoNAL LIFE IN oRDER, HE WILL PROBABLY FUNCTION

WELL ON THE JOB, RETURNING HoME WITH HIS PRIORITIES IN LINE.
PARAMoUNT TO MY REMARKS IS THE FACT THAT pOLICEAGENCIES MUST EclUcATE oFFICERS AND THEIR FAMILIES ABOUT THE

IMPACT oF THIS DEMANDING PROFESSION UPoN THEIR LIVES.

NO oNE IS

ASKING THAT ANY POLICE OFFICER ABANDON GOD, FAMILY, oR A PERSONALLIFE.

STRESS MANAGEMENT CAN BE LEARNED.

ESTABLISH YoUR

PRIORITIES; MAKE APPROPRIATE CHANGES; GET YOUR LIFE IN ORDER.

IFYOU DO, YOUR STRESS WILL BE REDUcED WHILE YoUR EFFICIENCY WITHIN

I4

so
YOUR ORGANIZATION WILL BE INCREASED.

THIS NATION'S LhW

ENFORCEMENT OFFICERS AND THE AGENCIES THEY REPRESENT CAN ALL GAIN
AS A RESULT.

91

Chairwoman SCHROEDER. I thank you very much. I want to ask
one quick question before I yield to everyone else, and if you dofeel you need to go for a plane, please do.
Dr. REESE. Thank you.
Chairwoman SCHROEDER. But as I listen to all of this, one of thethings we heard is that a lot of the psychological counseling thatthe different services have is really just prescreening.

Secondly, as I listened to Officer King, you told me that you

really thought you were totally prepared for this. I mean, you had
a Master's in Psychology, your dad was a police officer, and I takeit that what you are talking about, Dr. Reese, is that you can neverreally test fornone of us know how we are going to react after

continued stress. Is that correct? Even though we do prescreening

and we know some things that are healthy indicators. There isnothing that is totally predictable, is there?
Dr. REESE. No, ma'am, I think your statement is very accurate.
We in training, as we have seen through the years, have tried toenact scenarios that pretend to represent the feelings that an officer has during trauma, and the interesting thing about the humandilemma is that we are all individuals and will react differently.
One man's poison is totally ineffective to another man's training.

Notwithstanding, the priorities in the officer's life also have agreat dealthe baggage they bring in, the pre-morbid behavior,
what his/her life was like before it happened It is totally unpredictable.
Chairwoman SCHROEDER. You could do all tne pre-screening in

the world and say, we are going to screen out people who can't
handle it, and you are telling me you still need psychological services?
Dr. REESE. Screening is how we got involved in law enforcement.

In 1916 in California they screened police officers, and that has
evolved into where we are today. So police mental health has been
an evolutionary process, and I would bow to any of my colleagues
to add to that.
Mr. ZAVARAS. I think we certainly don't want to abandon screen-

ing because I think it does something useful.
The other thing that Dr. Reese also alluded to is we enact scenarios and we find that even in a training situation the same officer
will react differently on different occasions. So there is no 100 percilnt. I think we are basically on the right track.
Ms. ANDERSON. Even if you have somzone who is emotionallyhealthy, I wonder about that statement. The fact that police officers are exposed on a day-to-day basis to killing, assaulting, dying,children being abused, if you are within the category of humanbeing that has to affect you.
This brings me to an issue that was raised in the previous panel.
Lots of people believe that the number one stressor for police officers is the department and the internal politics and the problems. I
disagree. That is what 3000 police officers have told me in 15 years.
My interest is the effects of trauma on people. When we havebeen traumatized, it is inherent to need to articulate what is thereason, why is it that I am feeling the way I do? When we articulate it, we focus in on external factors, not on the pain we feel. Be-

92cause if we talk about emotional pain, we don't have a way to deal
with it without outside help.
No matter how healthy you are, when you are exposed to humanpain and suffering, when you feel out of controlremember, we
who sit here, other than the police officers, we read about humantragedy in The Washington Post. It is not so close to us as to police
officers, and I think that that is the critical difference.
Mr. KING. We had the most shooting groups inthe police officers, therapists and officers who have been involved in shooting incidents. When we gr .4) a homicide to talk to an officer he always
wants to tell the investigator or management person I'm fine, thisis necessary for an officer to feel fine. But when we get him alone
we don't concentrate on what the event was. We conceutrate on
how he felt about it. That is normally when they get real. Before
they can harden up.
Chairwoman SCHROEDER. Congressman Riggs.
Mr. FRANK RIGGS. I like that expression, get real.
Chairwoman SCHROEDER. We need some of that here, too.
Mr. FRANK RIGGS. Yes.

I want to ask a question of the entire panel, starting with Dr.
Reese and moving clown the table. This notion that the criminal

justice system has a revolving door on the front and how thatmight contribute to police job stress.

In my case, in July, 1982, after having gathered up all my gearfrom the patrol car and walking into the police department, where
I was employed at the time, a disgruntled city employee, irate at
the fact that his personal automobile had just been towed earlier inthe day as abandoned from a city street, fired seven or eightrounds over my head into the police building to express his disgruntlement. And after a short pursuit and arrest at gunpoint, he

was taken into custody.
Maybe two and a half weeks later, as I was working an evening
shift driving down an alley way behind a bar, I happened to spot a
man between automobiles relieving himself. And as I put the spot-

light on him realized it was the same individual who had fired in
my general direction into the police building. And he had alreadypled to a wobbler crime, shooting at an occupied or inhabiteddwelling, as opposed to a more serious offense.
At that time, I was also going through what is safe to say sort ofa badge-heavy period, the John Wayne syndrome psychologists

refer to it as. My-on-the job stress began to grow in leaps andbounds as I became thoroughly disillusioned with the criminal justice system which didn't seem to work, didn't seem to sanction unacceptable behavior.
How is that notion of a revolving door at the front of the criminal justice system contributing tx) police job stress today?
Dr. REESE. By revolving door you mean people that come in andleave prior to retirement?
Mr. FRANK RIGGS. No; in terms of sentencing practices, pleading
crimes, charging and pleading and sentencing crimes.
Dr. REESE. I can only relate to it lightly, and it is something wetry to focus on in our training. That is, your job is to get the individual to the criminal justice system and then your job is to cutloose. That is difficult when they are in their car before you are

f) 7

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and you are still doing the paperwork. It is a choice that has to be
made.

Going back to education, you are not going to change the way
the system functions. It is amazing how people are so busy trying
to change humanity they don't think about changing themselves.
We teach people that the system works that way and teach them toaccept it.

Mr. ZAVARAS. What you talk about is very, very true. I am a
product of the system. By way of background, I have almost 26
years with the Denver Police Department, worked through theranks, worked undercover, narcotics. I have done it all.
A lot of times that leads to deviant behavior. That issue we have

had severe problems with. Sometimes officers will feel that they
are going to cure the problem by themselves, and it leads to somereally deviant behavior.

It is another area that we have had some success with in ourpeer support program. Obviously, our program is voluntary, confidential. We had a very highly publicized case that one officer did
ultimately seek counseling and is kind of back on track.
So it is a factor, but one of many.
Mr. FRANK RIGGS. What is the experience in the metropolitan

police department since all of us who are avid readers of The

PostI would love to go on a ride along at some time.
Ms. ANDERSON. I require that all our counselors do that quarterly. I have exempted the program administrator because the lasttime I went on a ride-along I found myself at 11:00 at night in analley with one way out, and when the officer responded to thebreak and entering I found myself alone in the police car and de-cided that it was good I was not a police officer and won't return.
Our experience has been that officers who personalize it, internaIL a this, who get angry about it, I think, do less well. One 22year veteran said, "I look at it this way. It is the criminal's job description to commit crime, and it is my job description to apprehend that person. And it ends there."This is a person who hos not suffered any noticeable stress-related problems. His family hat; been intact, and he is doing quite well.
So I would have to look at his expertise.
Mr. KING. If a partner gets hurt or if the threat is directed atyouI know guys in the shooting group, walking the dog and carrying a gun or walking in the mall and running into someone who
was involved in an incident, they automatically try to protect theirfamily. A lot of times people say, I know where you live. So it
makes you more hypervigilent, and you tend to get more than ahealthy police paranoia. You start to become something else.
Mr. FRANK RIGGS. I want to ask a little bit about training methods and the type of police academy as it may relate to police job
stress, the police academy environment.
I say that having gone to a high-stress military-style academy insouthern California. The majority of the instructors were LAPD/
LASO. I was right out of the military and I am still convinced that
one of the reasons I was hired for my first job was because all of
my classmates or all the new hirees in my particular law enforcement agency were recent veterans of the military service.

f)8

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Therefore, we were able to acclimate ourselves to this militaryenvironment.
I wonder, however, at the high-stress academies and the empha-

sis on a military discipline, whether or not that spills over or howthat spills over into the performance of your day-to-day responsibilities as a line officer. I wonder if, in fact, that is one of the underlying contributing causes of the Rodney King incident. That shocked

me to read that in the news and to see the videotape because I
have the highest respect for the Los Angeles Police Department,
having been associated with a lot of their officers, and yet in theback of my mind I wc idered at the time if, in fact, their training
methods and this mum asis on a paramilitary structure and envi-

ronment wasn't one of tie contributing causes.
How do the training methods, the academy environment, contribute to police job stress?
Mr. ZAVARAS. Our academy is kind of a mix. It is not a live-in
academy. You have to push control, respect for orders, that sort ofthing. But you also want to encourage the ability to think. They

are decision makers. They have tremendous amounts of discretion.
I think just a high-stress atmosphere could very easily lead to problems at the other ends, and it is one of the reasons that our academy operates the way it does.
We give the classic demerits for improper behavior, but it is nothigh stress the way some other academies are, one of which you
referred to.
Mr. FRANK RIGGS. Dr. Reese, have you been able to compare themore collegiate style academies with the high-stress military style?
Dr. REESE. I have had the privilege of lecturing at police academies worldwide.

FBI trainingwithin the first week of their time in the FBI

Academy, we provide them with three to four hours of stress management training, behavioral science training, and critical incident
care training. We are trying to do inoculation training, not a foregone conclusion. We are not trying to have a self-fulfilling prophecy, as we have been accused of in law enforcement. If you teachthem post-shooting trauma, then they will know what they are supposed to have. I don't believe that any more than some would say I

can't talk to a psychologist who is not a police officer or I don't
want anybody to treat me with this heart attack unless they haveone. At some time you have to rely on the expertise of others, although some people do get treated for being policemen or policewomen. We get treated for professional paranoia and hypervigilence.

In our training we try to provide goal setting. One of the things
we find works the best is that when law enforcement officers enter
the job, one of the things I try to tell them is that it is a job. It is
hard work. We are going to pay you to do it. If it were a hobby, it
would be fun, and you would do it for free. You have to establish
your priorities. We cannot make choices for you.
We try to treat them like adults, educate them. They are tested,
but the emphasis is the fact thrit this job is a continuinif portion ofyour life; that it is in place to support you and your family.
We let them know, based on my service in the U.S. military, that
if you choose to serve your country, it is a rewarding and honora-

95

ble job, but it is not without hazards, and we mention those tothem so it doesn't come as e surprise.

I have rarely spoken to a law enforcement organization thatsomeone didn't ask the question to rookies, how many of you haveheard this job has a high rate of alcoholism, and all the hands goup; high divorce rate, and all the hands go up; high suicide rate,
and all the hands go up. I say, based upon that, "you are telling me
you would like to do this for a living," and they laugh.

Myths are beliefs which never were true and always will be.
These things are either true or they are not, and, as mentioned in
the initial panel, there needs to be not only a great deal more research, but a central clearinghouse so the right hand knows what
the left is doing so we don't sit here learning about this research,based on your invitation.
Mr. FRANK RIGGS. I like the idea of a central clearinghouse. Do
you believe or can you give a knowledgeable informed opinion as towhether or not the academy environment and the type of training
methods employed there might breed police job stress, might createa police personality and the situations down the road that, in

effect, caused the officers problems?
Dr. REESE. I would have to yield un that.
Mr. FRANK RIGGS. It would look like the representatives-Ms. ANDERSON. I think the job creates the police personality, andyou see changes. I saw a change in my husband who went fromwhite collar crime to a drug task force. Even the way he talked,
until we had a little desensitization training in my house, changed.
I think that the whole issue of training is a life-long issue. The
academy says you people are the critical people, you start with therecruits, which is what we do with the peer counselor as well as aclinical person. We talk to a family members to begin with. That isno time to abandon it.
From there, we do all of the new sergeant schools. We have twodays a month where we train the captains, and lieutenants on recognizing stress, what are the symptoms to look for. How do you
know when you have an officer who is going to get into trouble?
What are the things that you look for?

Another important aspect is allowing for supervisors to makemandatory referrals, and that is as an officer you don't have a

choice about going te the employee assistance program. You willreport there, and this is the time that you will go.
We oftentimes get an officer who is not happy to see us initiallybut the rate that we keep officers involved in counseling, we have
had some officers there for two years.
Mr. FRANK RIGGS. That would not be considered a disciplinary
action?
Ms. ANDERSON. Some disciplinary actions we do get. The mostimportant thing is that it is ongoing. You don't get stress training
in the beginning, and that is the end of it.
The other thing is the mandatory post-critical incident debriefing. You must report to six sections and meet with a counselor individually.

The other aspect is making those services available to family
members. Oftentimes we will reach an officer because a spousecalls and tells us there has been family violence.

96

Mr. FRANK RIGGs. No one ever prepared me forin my police ex-perience that I found most stressfulthat was to give death notification to families.

I can remember going to deliver a death notification on New
Year's Eve in 1979. A plane accident had occurred and one of thefatalities was a fellow police officer. I can remember pulling up in
the driveway at one of the families. There was a New Year's Eve

party going on, and for some reason the parents of one of theyoung ladies who perished in the accident had a premonition why I
was there, and she broke down on the sidewalk.

I had three to give. As I drove to the other one I was literally
trembling. It was perhaps the only time I ever prayed out loud inthe course of my police duty--prayed from one house to the otherhouse asking the good Lord just to get me through that experience.
I think about how woefully unprepared and ill trained I was tohandle that circumstance, not only to identify my feelings but to beeffective in helping the family in dealing with their feelings.
MS. ANDERSON. And unless you deal with your own pain you
really are not equipped to deal with anybody else's.
Mr. FRANK RIGGs. Thank you.
Chairwoman SCHROEDER. Congressman Barrett.
Mr. BARRETT. Thank you, Madam Chair.

With regard to Dr. Reese and Mr. Daniels, because of your travel
schedules, let me give you a couple of questions.
You talked in your testimony about the nationwide law enforce-

ment training needs assessment, that comprehensive study by the
FBI of state and local law enforcement training needs throughout
the U.S. You have identified stress as being the number one, without question. Wha would some of the additional or following problems be?
Dr. REESE. Operational.
Mr. BARRETT. The bureaucracy again inside?
Dr. REESE. The message is clear in four separate surveys that you

have pretty much taught us everything we know to do this job. You

have not told us how we take care of ourselves in the process. I
think that is the overriding thing there.
Mr. BARRETT. What kind of training do your assessment people
take or your coordinators within the agency?
Dr. REESE. The Critical Incident program is the one I can relate
to from the Behavioral Science Unit.
If and when someone is involved in a critical incident, we offer
training. Critical incident is a derivation of the term post-shooting.
At one point post-shooting was a better term because police officers
were allowed to suffer from post-shooting; it wasn't something thegeneral population could have. Now we are finding out critical incidents, responding to an auto accident where children are maimed
or anything that might impact on you, are personalized as to whatcritical incidents are, so we don't define it. We let them.
We offer an in-service program to agents in the FBI and employees who have experienced a critical incident. That employee might

be the dispatcher who receives the call that an agent has been
shot. They would return to the FBI academy at Quantico where
they go through a week in-service course at which time they aredebriefed. We do respond to the scene of incidents and do our ini-

ici

97

tial debriefing there as well as having consulting psychiatrists
available.

They are brought back to Quantico voluntarily if they choose tocome back. I don't know of any who haven't. Then they are debriefed and provided information concerning counseling skills,
what post-traumatic syndrome is, and they then are interviewed todetermine their willingness to serve as a peer counselor much likemy distinguished colleague on the panel. If you have "been there,"sometimes you have something very worthwhile to say to someone
who is experiencing what you have experienced.
We also interview them to determine their worthiness to do thisin terms of their own psychological state. It is important for them
to work through their problems before they assist others. That is a
judgment call on our part. Then they decide whether they would

like to or not, at which time they leave and go back as a criticalincident employee coordinator.

Any time something happens, they are first responders on thescene until such time as Behavioral Science people, the Bureau, orConsulting psychiatrists or others can come on board.
Their main purpose is to stabilize and provide information andcomfort. But another function is referrals to psychologists, psychiatrists, etc.

We have a chaplains' program we are trying to institute. Perhaps going somewhat against the grain of the comments on religion earlier. I would like to see the research, and I am sure that it
is extremely accurate and valid. But we are trying to build thattraining in because we have started to find out that people often
say "I don't need psychological help, I need to get into it with myLord because I just took life."

The Director of the FBI has a policy in place now which mandates the type of after care that will be provided. It is in place anddone, with repercussions if it is not.
Mr. BARRETT. You have led me to the next question with regard
to your remarks earlier about spiritual life, and Dr. Bou lin Johnson in the previous panel had interesting comments on that subject.

What additional training do your chaplains take beyond the seminary?
Dr. REESE. They are chaplains at large
Mr. BARRETT. You had mentioned your chaplains earlier, did younot?

Dr. REESE. Yes. They work in our field divisions. What we try totell them about is the police personality, the hypervigilence. A
police officer can't go to a shopping center like anyone else. My
wife is not allowed to park near vans, for example. I tell her vans

open sideways. It is an easy snatch. Don't park near a van. "Gee, I
never thought of that," she said.
We have rooms full of license numbers. We don't know what
they go to. We jot down plates of suspicious cars. So we tell people
what we have become based on job survival. This is not a weakness. This is a strength. We need it for our job.
As I mentioned in my prepared remarks, it is the ability to turnthe switch off when you get home, to quit being a cop and start
being a husband or father, a mother or a wife.

1

2

98

My daughter was asked in the third grade what her father did
for a living. She said, "He is a teacher for IBM." She knew there
were three initials, and she knew I did lecturing. I try not to gohome and play FBI.
Some don't do what I do for a living, and their job is very stress-ful. It is a 10-hour day wrapped into 6. And when they finally gethome 12 hours are gone. There is no turnaround room. That iswhere the fears come in, why psychological services come in. We
try to teach that counseling is a strength, not a weakness. And ourchaplains come back. and we try to tell them that very thing.

Mr. BARRETT. I am zo very very excited about the testimony fromall of you, both panels, but I have noticed that you are primarily
from metropolitan areas. What can you tell me about the availability of stress counseling in the rural areas, where I come from? Anycomments from any of you?
Mr. ZAVARAS. Real briefly, I think it is prettyI should not say
nonexistent, but it is minimal.

One of the reasons I say that is we have provided some of ourpeer counselors to other jurisdictions, the more rural areas of theStates. I think that is one of the places where it is really sadly
lacking.

Mr. DANIEI13. What it boils down to is a resource issue. In yoursmaller departments, and as we mentioned in our statement, themission of the law enforcement organization is very obvious. And
to take away from that mission just a lot of departments in theareas that you mention don't have the resources, and that is what
it boils down to.
Mr. BARRETT. Thank you very much.

Chairwoman SCHROEDER. Congressman Smith.

Mr. &Am I, too, have found the panel very enlightening.
Since I did arrive while Dr. Reese was testifying, let me start byasking him a couple of questions. Forgive me if I ask questions already answered. I do like your four wellnesses approach, or wholenees approach that includes the spiritual, occupational, the personal and the family.
Let me ask this 'question to any panelists who might have the information. We talked about the police work as being very stressful.
How does it compare to other occupations? What are some of thecomparable occupations that are equally as stressful? Do we haveany studies on that or pot?
Dr. REESE. There are dll kinds of scattered research and hypoth-eses. The late Dr. Hans Se lye, the father of stress research has
been quoted as saying, this job is more stressful even than that of
air traffic controllers.

The problem isI date it back to Dr. Ellen Scrivner, a distin-

guished colleague of mine for the past 10 or 12 yearsstress is notdefinable per se other than the psychological bodily functions. How
I respond to stress may be totally different from how someone else
responds to stress.
Mr. SMITH. I was trying to get an idea of how police work compared to other occupations. What are the unique causes of stress inpolice departments? I am looking for something that would be in-ternal and unique to police work. It may be arresting someone. It
may be discharging a firearm or something like that.

99

MS. ANDERSON. I think that there are four nukjor ones that wesee, and these actually are occupational stressors that were identified within the Fortune 500 companies years ago, and thet is overload versus stagnation. Overload means as a police officer the ro-tating shifts, the midnight schedules, the court work. It means
being hypervigilent.
Mr. SMITH. I am looking for something unique to police work.
There are a lot of occupations where you work late or have lots of
responsibilities and lots of pressure.
Ms. ANDERSON. Let's talk about role conflict. Jim talked about

this. How do you be commanding, ordering and directing by day
how do you hide your emotions, hide that you are afraid? Police
officers become good liars, just by occupation. How do you be that
person for 12 hours and then open the door and, hi, honey, I'mhome?

It is very difficult to do, especially when it is difficult for the offi-

cer to even articulate that that is going on, the image armor, theClint Eastwood story.

People think that that is what it is like to be a police officer. I
think that probably is the primary one along with the unpredictability of doing this job.
There is a certain amount of predictability to your job. You havea calendar--Mr. SMITH. I would disagree with that.
Ms. ANDERSON. At least you know you are going to be around fora period of time. Maybc it is more stressful to be a Congressman.
Mr. SMITH. In a year of redistr; Ainglet me push you a little biton that. So far you have not said anything unique to police. You
talk about jobs where one is used to commanding and ordering andthen coming home and saying, "hi, honey."There are a lot ofjobs, military or something else, where one gives orders during the$:lay and comes home, and one needs to change roles. There are certainly a lot of jobs where one is forced to not always tell the truth,and I leave that alone as far as what we do.
Ms. ANDERSON. In terms of exposure to trauma, on a daily basis
seeing people who have been assaulted, who have been raped, children who have been abused and the feeling that there is very, very
little that you can do about it, the human condition being what itis, he doesn't know what to do with that, especially if it is someone
not educated or trained ar.d who doesn't have permission to talkabout how much it hurts to do that.
I am still working with police officers who worked with the Air
Florida aftermath. One officer talks about how he watched an 18month-old baby being pulled from the icy waters of the Potomac.
That is not something that you forget quickly, and it is not something that most of us are exposed to.
Mr. SMITH. I agree. I have a friend in San Antonio who is a juvenile district judge, and there is a lot of trauma there.

No one mentioned the things that I thought you would havementioned, arresting someone, discharging a weapon, maybe arriving at the scene of an accident.
Mr. KING. One thing I found is that while one thing could be thestraw that broke the back, it could be a combination of otherthings that caused it. Once I had a guy die in my arms. I looked at

104

100

him and said, who shot you, man? And he called me a dirty name.
To me that was normal. When something like that becomes normal
behavior that is a clue that something is wrong.
We had a woman hit by a bus coming across the street. We were

all sitting at McDonald's. And the guy whose beat it was said,"damnI have to take the report." That is not normal to say whensomebody just got splattered all over New York Avenue. To me,

those are the things that become normal to you that aren't.
Mr. SMITH. What percentage of policemen and women during thecourse of an entire year are involved with arrest? Is it close to 100
percent?
Mr. KING. If they are on the street. In D.C. even if they are notbecause off duty you can get involved in a lot of things.
Mr. SMITH. Would it be close to 100 percent that arrive at thescene of an accident where there has been serious injury?
Mr. KING. Yes.

Mr. SMITH. What percentage would discharge their weapons overa year's time?
Mr. KING. In D.C. it might be a little higher than normal.
Mr. SMITH. Any idea as to what that might be nationwide?
Mr. ZAVARAS. That is a small percentage. I have no idea. It
would be 'way down in the single digits.
Mr. SMITH. Dr. Reese mentioned a clearinghouse or proposed aclearinghouse on critical evidence for stress programs. I thoughtsuch a clearinghouse already existed. Was he proposing something
new?
Mr. ZAVARAS. I know of no clearinghouse that does exist. Some of

the first panel's statistics I found really interesting, and I wish that
there was some sort of a panel. If there is, I don't know about it.
In reference to your last question about the particular kinds ofstress, I don't think any of us are saying that police work has acorner on the stress market because that is certainly not the case.

There is stress in every occupation. I think a little of what we were

trying to emphasize is when you have an occupation at one extreme end you have the legal authority to take someone's life,

stresses can be a big factor and have to be addressed.
Mr. SMITH. Let me go to solutions. I think those of us who aremembers of Congress and you as panelists have an obligation to do

more than simply agree that police work is a high strew occupation. It seems to me that we have an obligation to try to dispel fear
or give hope. What are your suggestions as far as successful strategies that have worked in the past or what we might do? And it
might be legislative or not. It might be more community-oriented
or family-oriented. What are some of the solutions to reducing
stress?
Mr. ANDERSON. Our experience has beenand I am very muchcommitted to thisproviding psychological services, counseling topolice officers and their family members as well, and training. So
counseling and training.
Ms. KING. I would agree, continuing education is a must. Likeme, no matter how prepared you think you are, it changes.
Mr. ZAVARAS. I think overall making services availablelots ofwhich was hereavaila: le to all police officers. Because when you

101have that deviant behavior, when you have problems, it affects us

all.

Mr. SMITH. Dr. Reese talked about the idea of the four well-nesses. One was addressed by you all as far as having various services available, at the department or whatever it might be. How important do you think that the personal, the family, and the spiritual are?
Mr. ZAVARAS. I think that they are important. We have a wellness program within the department. In fact, we have a mandated
physical fitness standard now for all new hires. We are in the process of working the old hires into it.
We have a Chaplains' Program. In reference to a question con-cerning that, our chaplains are a cross-section of the communi-ty--

Mr. SMITH. So on-the-job training is not the whole answer?
Mr. ZAVARAS. No.

Mr. SMITH. Thank you, Madam Chairwoman.
Chainvoman SCHROEDER. Thank you.

One of the things that came up in the first panel, someone mentioned about having a family advisory board that could look atpolice regulations and so forth and talk about how that was going
to impact on family lifedo we know of any police departmentsthat have those?

Mr. ZAVARAS. Some departments have many academies. We haverun many academies where we bring in spouses and family members. We have a Cops Committee which is a committee of police officers representing all areas of the department. I meet with tham
on a monthly basis, and we discuss issues of the department. We
are in the process of extending it to the nonsworn employees of thedepartment.
What may also be advantageous is to set a committee that wascomposed of family members so they also could have input. I think
it is a tremendous idea.
Chairwoman SCHROEDER. Do you know of anything, Ms. Ander-son?
Ms. ANDERSON. No, I don't.

Chairwoman SCHROEDER. I wanted to ask you about your adolescent support group, which you said was so successful. Is that voluntary?
Ms. ANDERSON. Yes. And it is children of officials and sworn indi-viduals and police officers who come together, 10 of them atpresent. I know they have fun in there. It is unbelievable.
Chairwoman SCHROEDER. And they don't want to quit?

Ms. ANDERSON. No. As a matter of fact, they want to have a retreat the way that the married couples did so we are going to haveto talk about that.
Chairwoman SCHROEDER. I tell you, I thank all of you so muchfor giving so generously of your time. We do want to make it veryclear that the record is open for two more weeks so any ideas thatpeople get we would appreciate. I think it is historic. I don't think
the Federal Government has focused on this before. We are finding
an incredible lack of information. I don't think there is anyone collecting this data for police forces, so you have as many different
approaches as you do police forces in the country.

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We are so fortunate to have the Riggs family here as consultants.
If people want to submit testimony or any ideas that could be helpful, at least we can get that out to people as a beginning of consolidation of some data going on.
Thank you very much, and, with that, we adjourn the hearing.
[Whereupon, at 12:05 p.m., the committee adjourned.;
PREPARED STATEMENT OF HON. GEORGE MILLER, A REPRESENTATIVE IN CONGRESSFROM THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA

In the 1990s, there is hardly an American family that does not endure the dailystress of balancing work and family. Day in and day out, families struggle to go towork, earn a living, and spend quality time with their childrenmost often without
the flexibility or support from employers that would ease their burden.
For families who are increasingly isolated and vulnerable, family violence, substance abuse, or divorce strike frequently and harshly.
Those who work in occupations where the stress level is unusually high may
suffer the most severe consequences. We are here today to explore how one groupon the frontlinespolice officers and their familiescope with the most extreme

form ofjob stress,
The uncertainty and danger, the frequent violence, even the grueling work hours
most police must endure, would send many people over the edge. But we have done
little to study the effects of police stress on family well-being, let alone to help or
support the families who must bear the tension.
Today the Select Committee heard new evidence confirming our worst fearsthat
domestic violence among families of police officers is exceptionally and tragicallyhigh.
Police departments are reluctant to acknowledge the problem, and the stigma associated with job stress and family conflict is overwhelming for the officer involved.
The failure to recognize the problem has resulted in a failure to act. As a result, inmost communities there is no place to turn for help.

Fortunately, there are a few efforts around the country that suggest we knowwhat to do and how to do it.
The police department in San Jose, California, has had an in-service counselingprogram since 1971. Eight out of ten officers seek and are provided help for maritalor family problems.

And I am pleased that the Select Committee is putting the record togetkr toidentify innovative support groups for teen children of police officers in Washington,
D.C., and bold efforts to address family problems among police officers in Prince
Georges County, Maryland, and Denver, Colorado.
Counseling and family support services are critical, but training for new recruits
as well as veteran officers and their families can prevent serious problems from surfacing in the first place. The need for training to reduce and manage stress has been
identified as the highest priority among police officers themselves. The Peace Offi.
cers Research Association of California is calling for more training to reduce burnout levels, inform supervisore how to recognize stress, and instruct officers in stressmanagement.
But when states are strapped for resources, training is the first to go. In California, there is a move to use the limited funds currently earmarked for law enforcement training to balance the state budget.
Those who risk their lives everyday to protect our families and our communities

must have the opportunity to protect and support their own families. Training,counseling, and support services must be readily available to police and their families across the country.
This hearing begins to tear away the shroud of silence. I welcome the testimony
and look forward to working with our witnesses and my colleagues on the Select Committee to find the solutions.
PREPARED STATEMENT OF FRANK R. WOLF, A REPRESENTATIVE IN CONGRESS FROM THE
STATE OF VIRGINIA, AND RANKING MINORITY MEMBER, HOUSE SELECT COMMrITEE
C CHILDREN, YOUTH, AND FAMILIES

I would like to commend Chairwoman Schroeder for holding this very importanthearing and I regret not being able to attend.

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I understand how difficult the lives of police officers and their families can be,because I grew up the son of a police officer. My father spent 20 years as a Philadel-phia policeman, so the issues involved are of special interest to me. I believe thestresses and difficulties that our nation's police familiee face every day are often
overlooked.

Police officers who commit their lives to protecting America's citizens deserve our
deepest respect and appreciation as do their spouses and children. It takes a special
type of dedication and conviction to be a police officer. The extremely difficult work,
demanding hours, and course toward which a police officer steers in order to succeed, can at times make developing a strong family life a real struggle.
The combination of stresses involved in police work today are astounding. Some ofthese stresses include dealing with crime and traumatized victims, alternative shift
work schedules, court appearances, unscheduled overtime, law suits, and working
under the threat of physical danger. Often this environment can result in extreme
pressure on both the officers and their families.
Along with the inherent stresses involved in everyday police work, police officers
must deal with increasingly volatile situations on our nation's streets. 13etween 1985
and 1989, our nation's murder arrest rate rose by 16 percent while the percent ofarrests made for aggravated assault rose by 32 percent.
Police families cope in a variety of ways. According to Peter Maynard, author of"Stress in Police Families: Some Policy Implications," the coping patterns related as
most heipful to police families were: Doing things together as a family unit, adapting, developing strong interpersonal relationships, and self-reliance. A high level oftrust was also very important.
When police families are experiencing difficulty in developing coping strategies,
there ihould be avenues by which the police officer and their families can develop
strategies to more successfully deal with this stress. Police academies could act asvital sources of support by training rookies to prepare for the future tension they
will experience between job and famay. Community-based peer support groups, individual counseling, critical incident management and employee assistance programs

are important tools for assisting officers and their families. Police chaplainsthroughout the nation also provide invaluable services to police officers and theirfamilies.

Working with police officers and their families to strike a balance between professional and family life should be important goals of both the officers and their police
departments. Because police officers and their families are made up of individuals,
we need to recognize that not every program or tool will work to alleviate stress andkeep the family unit intact. Participating in peer group counseiing may be the best
tool for one family, while visiting with the police chaplain may be the best option
for another family.
Every day our nation's police officers are out on the streets defending us, trying

to cope with increasingly violent and difficult situations. We are indebted to thepolice officers and the services they perform and we owe it to them to do whatever
we can to help them successfully meet the many challenges they face.

I look forward to working in the future to further support our nation's police

forces and their families and enabling them to carry out the services we ai a nation
depend so much on.
'POLICE STRESS AND PAMILY WELL-BEING"
I. POLICE WORK: A DIFFICULT JOB AT BEST

Many sources of police stress such as the constant threat to an racers' healthand safety, responsibility for protecting the lives of others, continual exposure to
distressful situations, the need to be in control in explosive situations, and monthly
shift rotations, are inherent in the nature of police work itself. (National Institute ofJustice, "Coping with Police Stress," 1985, p. 4-5)
II. WHERE POLICE JOB &TREMORS ORIGINATE

Monthly shift rotations from day Go "swing" or "graveyard" shifts not only requires biological adjustment, but also complicates an officer's personal life. (Copingwith Police Stress, National Institute of Justice, 1985, p. 4)
Lack of consideration by the courts in scheduling police officers for court appearances which often interfere with officers' work assignments, their personal time andeven sleeping schedules. (Coping with Police Stress, National Institute of Justice,
1985, p. 5).

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Officers sometimes see themselves as having fewer rights than the criminals they
apprehend. "The rigid requirements of the legal system force the police officer intoa narrow path of procedures which must be performed flawlessly. Police families
know that the accused is not really on trial, but rather the job performance of thepolice officer. (Kennedy, "Police Marriages: Hazardous Duty?" Law and Order, 6/86,
p. 55)

Between 1985 and 1989: Murder arrest rate rose by 16 percent; forcible rape raterose by 7 percent; robbery offenses rose by 16 percent; and aggravated =auk oPfenses rose by 32 percent. (Uniform Crime Reports, "Crime in the United States",
U.S. Department of Justice, 8/5/90.)
While the number of crimes has increased, a Justice Department study showedthat big-city police departmentt; employed about 2.3 officers per 1,000 residents in
1987 compared with 2.4 a decade earlier. (U.S. News & World Report, "Cops Under
Fire," 12/3/90)

There are more violent criminals, armed with more potent weaponry, showing
more contempt for police. "Increasingly, police feel trapped between rising crime
rates and an angry citizenry demanding immediate solutions to intractable problems. The FBI says reported violent crime rose 5 percent in 1989, even as law-enforcement officers made 7 percent more arrests than in 1988." (U.S. News & World
Report, "Cope Under Fire

12/3/90, p. 34)

III. HOW SUCCESSFUL POLICE FAMILIES COPE

Both husbands and wives in police families have very similar coping patterns. The
coping patterns rated as most helpful were: Doing things together as a family unit,
adapting, developing strong interpersonal relationships, and self-reliance. For police
muples to stay together seems to call for a high level of trust and a large amount ofadapting behavior. The police officers' coping style heavily emphasized family life.
(Maynard, Journal of Police Science and Administration, Vol. 10, No. 3, 1982,"Stress in Police Families: Some Policy Implications," p. 310)
"Since the police family lifestyle is atypical; it is probably that there will be moreadjustment necessary for family members and more areas of conflict to resolve. If,
during the early years in the relationship, a process for dealing with conflict is notmaturely developed, anx:..., and discomfort mount. The parties of the relationshipmust work discomfort mount. The parties of the relationship must work out deveP
opmental tasks which were not adoiressed at an earlier, more appropriate time."("High-Risk Lifestyle: The Police Family," by Special Agent, Roger L. Depue, FBI
Law Enforcement Bulletin, August 1981, p. 11)

The need for balance among occupational, family and individual needs is ofutmost importance for the police family. The potential dominance of the police roleis a clear challenge to this delicate balance. FBI Agent, Robert DePue states, "Thejob does not take precedence over the family, the job takes its place in the totalbalanced developmental scheme." ("A Police Wife's Guide to Survival," Law andOrder, July 1986, p. 23)
IV. HOW COMMUNITIES CAN SUPPORT OUR POLICE FAMILIES

Peer support groups and family seminars such as "Family Life Seminars" in

Rockfin:d Illinois involve officers and their spouses in discussing the components ofpolice work that typically cause stress and strain in family life. (William Wentink,
Police Chaplain, Rockford, Illinois)

Police Chaplains are a primary means of support for many police officers andtheir families. The International Conference of Police Chaplains has over one thousand members nationwide who service officers and their families and there are hundreds of other chaplains working with police families nationwide. (International
Conference of Police Chaplains, Livingston, Texas)"The greatest life the nation could give its police is the promise that when they
do their jobs well, it will amount to something . . . Currently for every 100 felonyarrests, 43 are typically dismissed or not prosecuted. Of the remaining 57, 54 aredispoeed of by a guilty plea. Only 3 go to triaL of those, 1 is acquitted and 2 arefound guilty. And of the 56 convicted, 22 typically get probation, 21 are sentenced toa year or less of prison and only 13 are sentenced to prison for more than a year."(U.S. News & World Report, "Cops Under Fire," 12/3/90, p. 44)[Article entitled: "High-Risk Lifestyle: The Police Family" from FBI Law Enforcement Bulletin vol. 50, dated August 1981, by Roger L. Depue, special agent, Behavioral Science Unit FBI Academy, (Ruantico, VA, is retlined in committee files.][Article entitled: "Cops Under Fire" from U.S. News & World Report, December 3,
1990, by Gordon Witkin, et. al, is retained in committee files.]

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PREPARED STATEMENT OF SUZANNE F. SAWYER, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR,

Poucz SURVIVORS, UPPER MAMORO, MD

CONCERNS OF

Honorable committee chair and members, I au delighted to have

my testimony included as part of the record on this SelectCommittee on Children, Youth and Families investigating police
stress and family well-being.
I am married to a 20-year veteranof the Prince George's County, Maryland, Police Department and havebeen active in local,
state,and national police support
organization activities for 18 years. In 1981, following myelection as National Secretary of the Fraternal Order of Police
Auxiliary, I proposed that our organization sponsor the Annual
National Peace Officers' Memorial Day Service. I have coordinatedthat activity since its inception. I served as National President

for the FOP Auxiliary from 1985-1989 and was responsible fororganizing Concerns of Police Survivors, Inc., a national, peersupport organization comprised of the surviving families of law
enforcement officers who were killed in the line of duty. I havealso served as Executive Director of COPS since its inception in
1984. I have talked with thousands of law enforcement officers andthousands of police spouses involved with many of the functioning
law enforcement organizations. I feel my years of involvement withlaw enforcement family support groups gives me the credentials to
speak in behalf of law enforcement families nationwide.

We have all heard the psychologists and researchers talk of
the need for psychological services to be readily available to law
enforcement families and that police families need to be more awareof the signs and symptoms of unresolved stress and trauma in their
loved one who serves law enforcement. I wholeheartedly agree withthese experts.
But I also know the number one obstacle to any

family involvement in resolving the issues will come from theofficers themselves.

Some officers have actually forbidden theirspouses to become involved in support organization work.
Theylabel these support groups as "hen parties", "coffee-clutches".
And as long as spouse support groups are willing to servo cookies
at police department and police organization functions, thesespouse groups are acceptable, bearable. Family support groups know
the issues----substance abuse within law enforcement, spouse andchild abuse, extra marital affairs, the need for the family to knowwhat their officers confront on the streets----and we know theyneed to be addressed. But we are kept from addressingthese issues
because mere mention of them will only bring more criticism to bearon our organizations.
And that criticism will actually come fromthe officers themselves!

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Police spouses need to be educated about the signs of alcoholand drug abuse. Trust me, we know when the abuse is there; we just
don't know where to find the help. We need to be educated on how
we can help our officer following a traumatic incident. We findpolice spouses Cut out of the support role when the "buddies" stepin to help the officer through the tough times by taking theofficer to "choir practice" their way of dealing with stress.
We're treated like we aren't a part of it all---yet it effects ourfamilies severely. We need to know about the changes officers go
through during their career. We need to know how to bridge that
And, should ourcommunications gap once it begins developing.

spouse abuse us or our children, we need to know where to findhelp.

I remember years ago being approached by two police wives that
They stated they
had been physically abused by their husbands.
wanted to file charges and were discouraged by their husband'scommanding officers because "they really didn't want to hurt his
career". They asked for help and I didn't know where to send them.
I didn't know what psychological services were available to themthrough their department or how they could bring charges against
their spouse. I know now wh3re to send them and wouldn't hesitate
to encourage them to take action.

Over my 18 years of involvement with law enforcement, I haveseen hundreds of marriages dissolve. The following statement is
so true: "1 know more police officers that have left their spouses
for the job than police officers that have left the job for theirspouses."

It is my belief that over the years we have stressed theimportance of the job in officer training and we have forgotten
Law enforcement is now
that the police family even exists.
We need the family to be part ofsuffering the effects of that.
this law enforcement community. Officers cry for support from thecommunity; yet they choose to keep their families in the dark about
the real issues of law enforcement. And these families should betheir number one source of support!

I remember years ago going to an orientation for police wives

One young wife
when my husband was coming on the department.
asked,"If something happens to him...if he's killed...what
benefits are available?" The instructor responded, "Don't worry,
In my years of working with
You'll be a rich widow!"
honey.
Concerns of Police Survivors, I find that statement to be a myth.
Because benefits paid to families depend on HOW an officer dies.
And many times, those benefits aren't anywhere near what people
think they are. Ask any young widow with children today. She'll
tell you that she may have a pension of $1,400 per month tax free
coming in each month. And then she'll tell you that she's paying

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And the health care falls
nearly $400 a month for health care.
far short of meeting the expense of psychological counseling she
and her children may need following the line-of-duty death of their
loved one. And that's for a line-of-duty death---a hero's death.
What about the families whose officer dies of a heart attack or
suicide? The benefits are worse because there are no state andFederal line-of-duty death benefits paid to that surviving family.
A few years ago an officer was killed by a mentally deranged
man that had met all members of the officer's family. The young
son was institutionalized over the tragedy and counseling fees of$9,000 had to be paid out of pocket by the family. COPS, througha grant from Ronald McDonald Children's Charities, is developing

a program to extend financial assistance to police survivingfamilies whose children need psychological counseling. But we've
not overcome the stigma involved with seeking counseling---thatpolice stigma even effects surviving families. And one the program
takes off, our monies will fall far short of the need. But why arethese surviving families having to pay for this counseling at all?
Didn't their officer die in the line of duty? Shouldn't the agency
or the governmental unit be providing the care? I think so!

In a study done by Concerns of Police Survivors in 1985, wefound that 59% of our police surviving widows showed symptoms of
But only a third of the
post-traumatic stress disorder.
departments that had psychological services units provided
counseling to the surviving family. Agencies that did not provide
counseling said the deceased officer was no longer "an employee ofthe department" that contracted for this counseling service. A sad
With an average of 150-160 law
commentary for law enforcement!
enforcement officers dying in the line of duty each year, can't weprovide something in the way of fully-paid counseling services for
And are the effected co-workers
these traumatized families?
receiving the counseling they need? Often not! There simply are
not enough departments with psychologists nor peer-support groups
nor critical incident stress de-briefers available to handle the
COPS is receiving more and more requests to findworkload.
psychological support for departments following a line-of-duty
And we're very lucky that we've 1-een able to makedeath.
referrals.
Concerns of Police Survivors has published a 16-page handbook,"Support Services to Surviving Families of Line-of-Duty Death",
which encourages agencies to develop general orders addressing the
The handbook begins with death
handling of line-of-duty death.
notification and ends with suggestions on continuing follow-up with
Nearly 25,000 copies ofthe family even years after the death.
that handbook are in circulation. The Fraternal Order of Police
Auxiliary has developed a "Critical Incident Handbook" which helps
police families organize their personal affairs. It suggests

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talking about funeral plans, tc., just in case.
Auxiliary lacks the funding the publish the handbook.

But the FOP
We feel it

is vitally important for police families to know the benefits
available to them and to prepare for the worst law enforcement
We believe each family should know the benefits
might bring.

available to them for retirement, line-of-duty death, or permanentlatedisability. Unfortunately, police families find out much too
And they are no where near what thewhat benefits actually are.
officers themselves believe them to be.
Psychological counsaing for police officers and theirfamilies? Yes, a must! Psychological counseling for the surviving
spouses and children? Yes, a must! De-briefing for officers andfamilies following a critical incident? Yes, a must. De-briefing
for fear-stricken spouses of officers still working the streets
Yes, afollowing a critical incident or a line-of-duty death?
How can these families continue to send their officer out
must.
on the street when their fear is of paramount concern? Education
for police spouses on the issues that lead to abuse, emotional
distress, burn-out, and police brutality? Yes, a must! Educationand counseling for police families on how to deal with traumatic
incidents their officer has been involved with? Yes, a must! Once

we address the issues that really make a difference in police
officers' lives, we will see a difference in law enforcement andI truly believe the rate oflaw enforcement officers' lives.

divorce will go down, along with the suicide rate. Humanizing ourdepartments by letting officers be in touch with their emotions
will also, I believe, decrease the incidents of brutality that we
These committee hearings are asking law enforcement tohear of.
do a difficult thing: to admit that law enforcement officers aro
only imperfect humans, doing one of the most difficult peop)a iobs
But we need to admit to the citizens we serve thatin the world.
cops are people, too!

It's been the frustration of the job, the criminal injusticesystem, the tending to more heinous crimes than ever before, theslaughter on our streets, the growing evidence that crime does gay,and the lack of respect for a difficult job that has brought law
Trauma and degradation has
enforcement to these troubled times.
been inflicted on America's law enforcement officers by fellow
How can America
Americans. So now the question must be asked:

help us cure our Ws?

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PREPARED STATEMENT OF POLICE CHIEF WILLIAM K. STOVER, ARLINGTON COUNTYPOLICE DEPT. ARLINGTON, VA
The Arlington County Police Department has taken severM steps to reduce stress amongits polies officers and their families. 1 would like to take this opportunity to outline thestress management training that is provided to our officers at various levels of theircareers.

Newly hired officers receive eight (8) hours of stress management training as a part oftheir recruit training at the Northern Virginia Criminal Justice Academy (NVCJA). This
training covers conflicts that could affect the new officer and his/her family.

Four (4) different forty(40) hour courses are available to officers as they gain
experience. These courses are available through the NVCJA and attendance can be used
to satisfy the Virginia State certification requirement that officers receive forty (40)hours of training every two (2) years. These courses deal with stress In a variety offorms, but all help in managing the personal and job-related stress of the law
enforcement officer.
One of these courses is designed to assist pre-retirees in successfully planning for postretirement life. This course helps to prepare officers for this very stressful life-stylechange.

To help officers recover as quickly as possible from the stress of critical incidents ourdepartment has formed a Critical Incident Stress Debriefing (C:3D) Team. The CISDTeam consists of police officers, personnel from our Emergency Communications Center,and local mental health counselors. C1SD Team members have received special training
regarding critical incident stress and its effects on public safety personnel. The Team isprepared to respond to the soene of an incident or as follow up shortly after an Incident
has ended, By speaking and, more importantly, by listening to those who haveexperieneed the stress of an incident, the CISD Team can help to defuse the anxieties
and tensions that are normally produced through involvement in critical incidents.
l'ollow-up sessions can be set up to counsel employees once the crisis Is over. The
families of the employees are not forgotten: they too can participate In dthriefing
sessions conducted by the Team. In these family sessions attention is focused on helping
the family understand what their loved one has been through, and how to best hnnele
emotional problems that inay arise.
In rebruary 1901, the spouses Lind "significant others" of our SWAT team mcmi)ers cot
together on an informal basis to learn more about how our SWAT tenni functions nod
what the role of the C1SD Team will be in the event the SWAT team inernhers are
involved In a critical incident, fly providing this information before it was needed. :Ne
found that stres.s among the spouses and "significant others" of SWAT tenm members wns

significantly reduced. We are now considering offering this type of "troinin" to fnmily
members of any interested employee of the Police Department.
A NATIONALLY ACCREDITED LAW ENFORCEMENT AGENCY

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To help officers and their famlii;:s deal with stress more effectivsly, In 1984 ourdepartment hired a pollee psychologist. Dr..lack Kitaef, Who has served In that position
since its Inception, has provided the following commentin
Pollee officers are different from the average citizenry in many respects.
As symbols of law and order in society, police officers are charged withvery profound duties and responsibilities and are placed under very uniquekinds of streu. Some of these would Include: the duty to enforce the law
under all circumstances; the responsibility for protecting the lives andproperty of others; the constant presenee of a gun; continual exposure topeople in pain and distress; and the need to always control one's emotions,even when provoked. These are but a few of the charaoteristics whichmake police work and pollee officers 'different' and 'set apart' from theiverage person. These are also some of the reasons for the high stresslevels associated with pollee work. These stressors and demands on
officers do not seem to stop with the officers themselves but extend totheir families as well. The result can be a double dose of stress in that not
only does the nature of pollee work tend to alienate and isolate the officer
from his family, but the officer is simultaneously in much need of family
support and nurturance.
Being conetently aware of the possible negative effects of police work on
police families and the concurrent need of family support by police officers
is essential for police departments in general and for the pollee
psychologist in particular.

The Arlington County Police Department ls continually concerned withboth minimizing any negative effects of pollee work on the pollee family
and in keeping the pollee family intact, strong, and emotionally healthy.
The departmental psychologist regularly contributes to this effort by (1)psychologically screening police applicants and selecting candidates who
would be least affected by the rigors of pollee work and who are most
likely to make a positive and constructive contribution to the department,
the family, and the public good; (2) providing counseling to any police
officer experiencing difficulty on the Job (or at home) or to any officer
requesting assistance at any time; () by keeping the welfare of the entire
pollee family unit in mind during any counseling sessions; and (4) byproviding individual, marital, and family counseling and therapy for tho
officer and hisfher family at any time.
Two other resources arc available from the Arlington County govornmcnt for officers
who need assistance in dealing with stress. The first is the Employee Assistance ProgramlEAP). fly contacting the EAP coordinator, an employee con be counseled directly or
referred to any number of programs tailored to meet the employee's individual needs.

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The second resource is available from the County's Department of Human Services
MM. DHS routinely provides a number of Emergency Mental Health Counselors who
are available 24 hours a day to respond to various situations in Arlington, often at tho
request of the pollee. These Emergency Mental Health Counselors have been invaluable
in providing on-the-spot treatment for those in need.

Arlington County police officers have also benefited from the DHS program. Often,
when not on calls, the Emergency Mental Health Counselors will ride along with officiateon their patrols. During conversations between the officer and counselor, the officer has
the chance to ventilate his/her frustrations about the job to someone who has experiencein the field. At the same time, the counselor can help the officer overcome any unusual
stress and guide the officer to outside resources, if necessary.

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RESPONSE FROM LEANOR BOMAN JOHNSON, PH.D., TO REQUEST FROM CHAIRWOMANPATRICIA SCHROEDER

I have two major suggestions in response to Chairwoman schroeder'srequest for policy relevant ideas. First, to overcome the spouses
perception of the department's insensitivity to the needs of policefamilies, the police department should establish a family advisoryboard similar to the Family Liaison Office instituted in 1981 by
the U.S. Army. Such a board would provide male and female spouses
with an official
policy voice for addressing family issues
proactively.
Concurrently, it would minimize the presently
ineffective
policies
reactivespouseresponses
towhich
unintentionally and adversely affect police families.
Second for fear of hurting the police officers career or tarnishingthe image of the police profession, the officers, police spouses
and children in trouble (domestic violence, alcoholism, suicide,etc.), too frequently suppress their needs until it is too late.
Thus, they do not receive the help they need from the agencies thatcan best serve them. What is needed is a nationwide hot line forpolice families which will provide immediate help while protecting
their need to keep their problems within the police community.