New Hampshire Police Officials Focus on Helping Officers Manage Job's Mental Burden

As suicide rates and mental health incidents in first responders continue to climb, department heads are keying in on the needs of police officers, dispatchers, firefighters and EMS personnel.

Police departments in Plaistow and Pelham, along with their peers nationwide, are implementing wellness hours, peer-to-peer support groups, on-call psychologists and bi-annual mental health and wellness training for employees.

“Officers face high stress calls and that could mean many things like traumatic incidents, people with severe mental health problems, suicides, homicides, severe injuries and death to children,” said Plaistow Police Chief John Santoro. “It’s very difficult for a lot of officers to process.”

When Santoro began work in law enforcement 36 years ago, it was commonplace for police officers to internalize the trauma of the job and chalk it up to what they signed up for, he said.

But as the demand on police has shifted and calls for service have not only increased in volume but increased in severity, the burden on many becomes too much to bear.

As a result, Santoro plans to bring in additional support and wellness training for officers as of April 28, with a training led by Amy Carter, the Director of Officer Wellness for the Haverhill Police Department. She is also a member of the International Association of Chiefs of Police’s suicide prevention committee.

“My hope is to be able to help our officers deal with whatever they are struggling with themselves and with the public they’re interacting with,” Santoro said. “If I can help an officer from hurting themselves or help them get any type of help they need beyond what they’re initially getting on their own. ... I think that’s a goal of mine.”

Blue H.E.L.P., a charity that supports the families of law enforcement officers who died by suicide, reports that 10 New Hampshire first responders have committed suicide since 2018, 80% of whom were male police officers over the age of 40.

Nationally, 1,405 first responders were reported to have committed suicide since 2018, 75% of which were male police officers over the age of 40.

This year alone, 36 suicides have been reported, most notably the death of four current and former deputies from the same department in Houston, Texas, who died by suicide over the course of six weeks.

“Now more than ever, reducing (eliminating) the stigma of mental health issues within our ranks, recognizing the importance of officer wellness, developing resiliency in our officers and providing safe and culturally competent support networks where officers can seek help are all vitally important to our profession,” said John Scippa, director of the New Hampshire Police Standards and Training Council.

The state plans to launch a 24/7 online program at the end of the year to help first responders who might need additional support outside of what their departments offer, and to help retirees transition to their lives outside of law enforcement, Scippa said. The program will target current and retired police officers, corrections officers, firefighters, EMS personnel and dispatchers.

“A lifelong dedication to public service is a vocation and not a job,” said Pelham Police Chief Anne Perriello. “For many who retire, there is a degree of loss regarding that sense of purpose and identity, with some experiencing more profound loss than others.”

Training at the academy and these newer services available to first responders have helped break the stigma of mental health and asking for help, Perriello said. A lot of departments are conducting regular wellness checks, requiring annual psychiatric evaluations and promoting work-life balance.

“We see a lot more people reaching out, getting assistance and taking care of themselves, but it’s also brought people’s families into the perspective of taking care of the whole team,” Perriello said. “It’s sad, but we are not educating people’s families for things to look for.”

At home, an increase in substance use, isolation and behavioral changes could be indicative of an ongoing mental health struggle, she continued.

“Just identifying and talking about something for a short amount of time might be the only thing you need to put things back in place,” Perriello said.

Mental health resources for families and first responders can be found at copline.org or bluehelp.org. The 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline is available 24/7.

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