Officer Safety and Wellness (OSW) Group Meeting Summary: Officer Safety and Wellness Forum

• NCJ Number: 255897
• Date Published: March 2016
• Length: 28 pages
• Agencies: BJA
• Publication Type: Report (Technical Assistance); Report (Grant Sponsored); Program/Project Description; Legislation/Policy Analysis; Instructional Material; Conference Material

Annotation

Following an overview of the Officer Safety and Wellness (OSW) Group, this report summarizes the proceedings of the OSW Group meeting on March 14, 2016, which focused on four major topics: 1) perception, training, and policy; 2) firearms assaults; 3) benefits and drawbacks of two-person patrols; and 4) effect of morale on officer safety and wellness.

Abstract

This report suggests that meeting participants acted as a steering group to assist in establishing the OSW Group agenda for 2016 while also examining critical issues that required immediate attention. The report's section on "Perception, Training, and Policy," addresses safety and injury prevention, mental and emotional health, and the effects of using de-escalation. The section on "Understanding Trends in Firearms Assaults Against Officers" contains meeting discussions of officer discretion or tactical decisionmaking, strategies for reducing risk, seatbelt and vest policies, and how body-worn cameras can increase officer safety. The report's section on "Ambushes: What We Know and What Lessons We Can Learn" considers what constitutes an ambush, the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department's ambush after-action report, and the influence of anti-government rhetoric. In another section of the report, research to practice on two-person police patrols is discussed. The report's section on the relationship between police morale and officer safety and wellness includes a discussion of the effects of poor morale and officer suicide. The report concludes with a review of issues of officer safety and wellness discussed by the President's Task Force on 21st Century Policing.