Lessons from the San Diego Police Department

Law enforcement agencies around the country are recognizing the importance of monitoring and tending to employees’ physical and mental health and wellness.

In 2016, the Police Executive Research Forum (PERF) entered into a cooperative agreement with the Department of Justice’s Office of Community Oriented Policing Services to conduct a case study of the San Diego (California) Police Department (SDPD) wellness program.

The goal of this case study was to identify recommendations and lessons that will help other law enforcement agencies across the country create their own successful wellness initiatives.

The full case study discusses the establishment and operation of a dedicated unit at the SDPD with the goal of promoting a department-wide culture of wellness. The identified lessons learned and recommendations not only will help the department better serve its community, but also can act as a guide for other local agencies that may be interested in setting up similar programs.

The executive summary highlights the high-level overview of the PERF report Building and Sustaining an Officer Wellness Program: Lessons from the San Diego Police Department and outlines promising practices for other agencies to use in creating their own wellness initiatives that are tailored to their specific needs and resources.

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Risk Management in Law Enforcement: Discussions on Identifying and Mitigating Risk for Officers, Departments, and the Public

This new publication describes the discussions of a forum on identifying and minimizing the risks of costly lawsuits by officers and community members for claims of misconduct, harm, or violation of rights. The forum included representatives of labor unions, local government, law enforcement agencies, and the community, and covered all aspects of this critical subject, including departmental leadership's role, recruitment policies, and police-community relations. Readers will also find tools for sharing risk management and a description of the roles and responsibilities of government, risk managers, insurers, unions, and the community in this effort. The appendices provide a summary of the forum's recommendations and a list of resources for risk management.

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