REXBURG, Idaho (KIFI) – Madison County, Fremont County, Firefighters, dispatchers, and the Rexburg Police Department are prioritizing and taking charge of their mental health through emotional survival training.
People, on average, will witness something traumatic twice in their lifetimes. But first responders say they witness traumatic events on a regular basis, which can take a toll on a person emotionally.
Since 2016, there have been over 1,200 reports of police suicides across the country, according to a report by News Nation. That number comes from families who reported the deaths; nationwide, police believe this number is much higher.
The emotional survival training is designed to give first responders and law enforcement the tools to keep them safe emotionally.
“Because sometimes we get a little jaded. We don’t, you know, kind of see reality, how it should be. We see it through a different lens. And sometimes, it’s good to remember that you’re not alone. Things are hard, and it’s okay to ask for help,” said Jasmon Reeves, a Dispatcher for Madison County Sheriff’s office.
Currently, law-enforcement agencies are losing more officers to suicide than out on the field.
Rick Morrison, Consultant and founder of Inspired Policing Solutions, says he would like to prevent our local officers from adding to those numbers.
“Having more self-awareness of what the job and the stresses and the demands can do, there’s better ways of handle those stresses to make you a better public safety professional, but even more important, a better husband or wife or a better member of the family by creating an emotional, resilient plan to overcome some of the stresses and demands that these professionals experience on a daily basis,” said Morrison.
The class also touched on the subject of police brutality and what triggers a person to act out in that way.
Inspired Policing Solutions believes using a tactical emotional detachment plan will help officers in the future from handling a situation to those extremes.
