“The delicate balance between serving the needs of the employee and the goals and objectives of the employer is one of the most difficult challenges the EAP professional faces. If not handled effectively it can negatively affect the trust relationship between the professional and the employee.”    John Darr, LCSW CSADC

Employee assistance programs, better known as EAP’s have been around since the 1940s. These employer-provided programs focus on employee addiction and workplace performance issues. However, a growing mistrust of these programs by law enforcement personnel suggests they are underutilized. This mistrust forces many officers to suffer silently. In turn, their issues go unaddressed and untreated, increasing the risk of departmental liability when job performance problems arise.

These in-house programs operate formally and informally, and are provided at no cost to employees (Leadership Today, 2007). The EAP professional’s relationship is with the employee as well as the employer. However, all information is considered confidential.  Meaning information about what services were used is not relayed to HR or the officer’s department. This would be a direct violation of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA). In order to warrant use of the EAP, HR only tracks “… how often the EAP services were used” (Singh, 2010, p. 2).

This “dual client relationship” presents a unique challenge to the EAP professional in that in order to be effective they must balance the needs of the employee with the goals and objectives of the employer. EAP’s offer at-risk employees alternatives to termination. These alternatives provide “win-win” situations for employers and employees. EAP’s provide employees a chance at rehabilitation, while encouraging productivity as obstacles are overcome.

This is not to suggest employees are always willing to participate in such programs. In fact, EAP’s are sometimes used in conjunction with disciplinary measures. It should also be noted “Participation in the EAP will not give employees preferential treatment or protection from discipline, including discharge” (Leadership Today, 2007, p. 5). Certain circumstances dictate the need for disciplinary actions, either to encourage participation in the EAP or another outside agency, before termination is considered a viable option.

Participation in the EAP is NOT mandatory. Employees can refuse to participate (Leadership Today, 2007). Regardless of employee participation, employers have a legal obligation to provide a safe working environment for all employees. Those employees refusing mandatory EAP referrals may give employers no other option, than to terminate employment.

Time, energy, and resources are spent on EAP’s, because they are beneficial to employers and employees. Costs associated with hiring, firing, and training are not always economical. It is often more cost-effective to retain current employees than to hire and train new ones. Not to mention the costs associated with unproductive employees who could ultimately be helped by EAP’s. EAP’s are also cost-effect, when compared to the liability incurred from increased sick time, tardiness, accidents, and time spent counseling unproductive/problematic employees. The idea here is to assist employees deemed salvageable.

Over the past 70 plus years, EAP’s have evolved and expanded to address the current needs of today’s workforce. With the rise in divorce rates, increases in drug and alcohol abuse, and the surge in mental health concerns, there appears to be a real need for EAP’s. In fact, EAP’s now address a wide array of issues, to include: “…personal or family problems, including mental health, substance abuse, various addictions, marital problems, parenting problems, emotional problems, or financial or legal concerns” (Employee Assistance Society of North America [EASNA], 2012). With all this being said, it must be asked: Are EAP’s cost-effective, obsolete, or merely untapped resources?

Cost Effectiveness

An EAP’s overall effectiveness is measured by the return on investment (ROI). However, effectiveness should also be measured by asking why some choose to use EAP’s and why some choose not to. Valuable information may be found in just asking someone his or her thoughts on the value of EAP.

EAP ROI calculators determine the value of EAP’s and determine if the “value” is quantifiable (HR.com, 2005). The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (USDHHS, n.d.), explained that the majority of organizations (i.e., large or small) experienced a ROI. ROI’s are calculated monetarily through the loss or gain in the event of: tardiness, absenteeism, job-related accidents, medical expenditures, lost productivity, turnover, termination, low morale, and disability claims (The Wellness Corporation, n.d.). By all accounts, EAP’s are cost-effective. In fact, every dollar invested into EAP’s, produces a ROI ranging from $3-16 (HR.com, 2005). However, even with this excellent ROI, are EAP’s being used to their full capacity? More specifically, are law enforcement personnel utilizing these programs or have these EAP’s become obsolete for this group?

Obsolete or Untapped Resources

After looking at the ROI for EAP’s, these programs do not appear to be obsolete. So why are many law enforcement professionals not utilizing these valuable resources. I have personally asked countless officers if they have used EAP’s and not once have I ever-heard “yes”. Why are they not using these resources? The only answer given is that officers did not believe confidentiality would be maintained. Officers feared sharing intimate details with a provider, not knowing if that information would be relayed back to their departments. It was not just if this information would be relayed back, but if what they revealed could cost them their guns, badges, and careers. This seems understandable, but is there merit to their perceptions?

After conducting some research, an EAP provider was located who agreed to discuss the ins and outs of EAP’s. He discussed issues of patient-provider trust, and the often unwillingness of law enforcement personnel to use these employer-provided services. The provider explained cops have trust issues, and sometimes understandably so. Distrust often stems out of the nature of the beast. Cops are lied to, in-turn they do not believe anyone is being truthful. Police culture centers on trust and solidarity. Trust is not something given freely to others, especially those seen as outsiders (e.g., EAP providers).

So how can perceptions be adequately addressed? Darr (2012) explained officers are a unique and challenging group. Officer perceptions or misperceptions about EAP’s could be addressed, by merely meeting them on their turf (2012). The idea is to build a relationship before assistance is needed.

Dr. Olivia Johnson holds a master’s in Criminology and Criminal Justice from the University of Missouri, St. Louis and a doctorate in Organizational Leadership Management from the University of Phoenix – School of Advanced Studies. Perseverance in raising awareness to officer wellness resulted in her being named the Illinois State Representative for the National P.O.L.I.C.E. Suicide Foundation. This role led to her being invited to speak at the FBI’s Behavioral Science Unit’s 2010 – Beyond Survival Toward Officer Wellness (BeSTOW) Symposium. Dr. Johnson is a veteran of the United States Air Force and a former police officer. She collaborates with several journals regarding law enforcement and military issues and is the expert in police leadership issues writer for Law Enforcement Today. Her services are contracted out by Crisis Systems Management to train military personnel worldwide on Critical Incident Peer Support (CIPS).

Learn more about this article here:

Employee Assistance Society of North America. (2012). EAP best practices. Retrieved

April 27, 2012, from http://www.easna.org/category/eap-best-practice/

HR.com (2005). ROI calculator reveals the savings of EAP success. Retrieved April 27,

2012, from: http://www.hr.com/en/communities/benefits/roi-calculator-reveals-the-

savings-of-eap-success_ead2xtge.html

J.W. Darr (personal communication, May 2, 2012)

Leadership Today. (2007). The value of EAP. Retrieved April 28, 2012, from

http://www.foh.dhhs.gov/whatwedo/eap/leadershiptoday/leadershipspring07.pdf

Sharar, D., & Lennox, R. (2009). A new measure of EAP success. Retrieved April 27,

2012, from: http://www.shrm.org/hrdisciplines/benefits/Articles/Pages/

EAPmetrics.aspx

Singh, J. (2010). An employee assistance program (EAP) is a confidential, low-cost

avenue for therapy. Retrieved May 11, 2012, from http://ezinearticles.com/?An-

Employee-Assistance-Program-(EAP)-Is-a-Confidential,-Low-Cost-Avenue-For-

Therapy&id=4119646

The Wellness Corporation. (n.d.). Employee assistance program. Retrieved April 28,

2012, from http://www.wellnesscorp.com/eap-services.html

During Police Week, I am pondering some of life’s great questions such as the “why’s”?  Why do we do what do we do?  Or at least, why did we do what we did for those of us who have moved on to different positions.  We are one of the last noble professions.  We serve when others dare not.  We are called to a higher calling, to a vocation.  We are just like our brothers and sisters working in the fire and EMS services, and those serving in the United States Armed Services.

But we are not supermen or women; we are normal people who take on extraordinary duties and challenges.  We face danger when others walk or run away.  Why do so many of our brothers and sisters die too early?

I am faced with the reality that there is true evil in the world.  How do we as law enforcement professionals fight evil?  We “stand in the gap.”  We do what others will not and would not, but dare I say, you are supermen and superwomen.  So this article is a tribute to all of you brave men and women working in blue, brown, green or white.

Truth

As law enforcement officers we are seekers of truth.  We protect, and serve, investigate, and respond to calls of help.  We stand fast, when others flee.  The truth is something that we look for, when we conduct a criminal investigation, a compliance check, or a traffic stop.  We sit with victims and suspects alike and treat them with respect to seek the truth.

Justice

What is justice?  Is justice what is handed down by a police officer when they arrest the suspect?  Is there justice when the courts hand down a punishment for the arrest by the police officers?  Or does justice occur when judgment happens on your death bed?   Law enforcement officers work, live and even play hard.  In reality, justice is knowing that you are keeping your community safe, that you are protecting your fellow brothers and sisters in blue.

In looking at the officers that have paid the ultimate sacrifice, what is justice for them?  Justice is honoring them, acknowledging them, telling their stories (good and bad).  Working hard to keep the streets safe, justice is what you do on a daily basis.  You do justice whether that be on a lonely highway, county road, or busy metro area.  We honor those that were killed in the line by doing our best, because they did their best, every time they put on their uniform.

American Way

We all know that superman’s catch phrase ended with the “American Way” but what does that mean?  In looking into law enforcement, no other country polices in the same way we do.  We all run into fires, into crumbling buildings, we stand and fight the good fight.  Why?  That is the way it has always been done, from Wyatt Earp, to Chattanooga Police Officer Lorin Johnston who was just honored at White House for being 2012’s “Top Cop,” this is what will always happen:  officers stand and fight when others want to retreat.  The American Way…so we must honor those who stood their ground and gone to a better place,  They now police a beat where there is no crime and no need to worry because they are home.

I must tip my hat to all of you still working in law enforcement, you are true heroes.  No one understands what it is like to be a law enforcement officer, the stress, the friendships that are developed, the tears that are shed, the mud that is fought in.  Stay strong, keep your chin up, and honor those who have left too early, reflect, tell their stories, but do not forget to make some new stories.  Hug your kids, wife, mother, father, brother, and sister.  Stay safe and watch your six.

Each May we stop to honor our fallen police brothers and sisters who have been taken from us as they performed their duties.  For the most part this week is somber and tearful for many of us.  Most sworn officers probably have buried friends and co-workers who have died bravely in the line of duty.

In Chicago the first Sunday of May is the annual St. Jude’s Memorial March honoring fallen Chicago police officers.  The last few years we have added far too many names to the list.  Officers, in their dress uniforms, gather early on Sunday morning.  Usually the weather is threatening but seems to hold off till later in the day.  Perhaps out of respect.

They then march, by unit, past the Chicago Police Memorial.  Located at the Chicago lakefront, it is a beautiful scene.  Police families gather to line the street.  The Gold Star Families gather in the stands and are saluted as we pass in review.   It brings a tear to my eye as I think about it right now.

Unfortunately, few people in Chicago are ever aware this march ever occurred.

While it may be a sad reason that brings us together, I have always gone home feeling good after seeing old friends.  I also go home hoping that I have learned something from this.

Like most police officers I have always wanted to dissect all the details every time an officer is killed.  It isn’t just morbid curiosity.  It is the desire to make sure that this never happens to me.  It is the desire to learn from this terrible event to make sure that my sons do not get the opportunity to join the Gold Star Families in the stands.

In most cases I either learn something or reinforce knowledge that I already had.  Many of the things I have learned are the result of events that occurred immediately after an officer’s death.  An example I remember clearly is an officer had been shot and killed by a man barricaded inside his home who was firing from his first floor front window.  The officer who had been killed never stood a chance as the offender sniped at him.  The officer’s partners were pinned down under fire and quickly ran out of ammunition.  They were only carrying the department required twelve rounds, (this was in 1985 and we were all required to carry revolvers).

Responding officers quickly tossed up speed loaders with ammunition to these officers.  Had responding officer not arrived so quickly or had the offender rushed these two officers once they were out of ammunition, the death toll for the day could have been much worse.  After that day I always had a second gun and at least fifty rounds of ammunition on me at all times.

I am sure that everyone has a similar story.  We learn from these events even if we don’t realize it.  As the story gets retold over and over in the station or after work over a couple beers it gets dissected thoroughly by everyone.  Sometimes it is clinically and analytically examined and many times it is with a sense of disbelief.  Feeling of how could this happen to this fine officer, your friend?  He or she had trained with you, possibly ridden with you.  Could you have done something different or would the same have happened to you if you were there instead?

This is where the real learning that saves lives really takes place.  It is at this moment that officers realize that they are human.  Officers come on the police force. As their experience grows their courage and skills grow too.  The situations that they can now handle are far greater then they have ever imagined.  There is nothing they might walk into that they cannot imagine not being able to handle.  Unless they are exposed to something extremely traumatic, they begin to feel they are immune to anything bad that could happen to them.  I have seen this happen to officers with about three years experience.

Unless exposed earlier, a three-year officer is at a time in his career when he has overcome the mechanical difficulties of the job.  In other words, he knows what reports to prepare, what charges to place, who to notify, and how your department operates.  That fear is gone.  He has handled domestic disturbances, locked up drunk drivers, been in car and foot chases, broken up fights and been in a few.  Up to this point in time he has probably done all this with out more than just a scratch.  It would be a surprise if the officer did not feel invincible after this.  He has learned how to talk to people so that they listen and do what he tells them to do.  He has learned to overcome his fears.

Unfortunately, at this time he becomes the most vulnerable.  This is when he steps up and gets in the face of the emotionally disturbed person with no fear at all and no real care if he lives or dies.  He walks into the domestic where someone has just snapped.  He walks into the situation that he is not really prepared for and all his prior experience just will not help.  His courage under duress might work against him.

It is at this time when an officer is killed in the line of duty that the lessons learned that day might save this three-year officer.  When he first sees his friend in a coffin, he realizes there isn’t much difference between him and the dead officer.  It is at this time when this young officer might sit back and realize he is human after all.  He realizes he could be injured or killed.

It is also hoped at this time that this young officer stops and looks at what he has learned over the course of his career.  He has to retain his courage and his bravado, but has to learn to temper it with wisdom that comes only with experience.  This wisdom is earned the hard way through experiences like the loss of a friend and coworker.  He now has to learn the importance of discretion, as well, and place it in his tool bag.

Obviously this does not happen to everyone.  Military veterans with combat experience tend to come to the job with this knowledge already ingrained in their system, but not always.

For me, I was a pallbearer for a classmate killed in the line of duty a year and a half after we were hired.  Some officers never seem to learn and go through their career as if their star were large enough to shield them from every danger that might come their way.  Unfortunately it isn’t.

During this somber week, honor your fallen friends and co workers by learning from their experience..  Remember you are human and as such are susceptible to injury and error like any other human.  Don’t let it scare you but instead let it make you smarter.  Thank those fallen officers for helping you gain the knowledge that may help you reach retirement.  Honor them by being smart enough to learn.

Lt. Robert Weisskopf is a 30-year veteran of the Chicago Police Department.  Lt. Weisskopf comes from a law enforcement family, including two uncles, a nephew, and his father.  Weisskopf wears his father’s lieutenant’s star.  Lt. Weisskopf is a graduate of Lewis University with a degree in criminal justice. He currently serves as commanding officer of the Chicago Police Department’s Alternate Response Section, which has approximately 200 officers, a unit bigger than most police departments in the United States. Weisskopf is an expert in collaborative leadership and informally mentoring younger officers.  He enjoys the constant challenge of policing and problem solving.   He just finished a five-year term as President of the Chicago Police Lieutenants Association, the collective bargaining organization for the Chicago Police Department’s lieutenants and was chief negotiator of the current contract.

The Jump Out Boys are members of a secret Los Angeles gang that can be identified by matching tattoos depicting a bandana-wrapped skull, glowing red eyes, and a gun. When a gang member is involved in a shooting, smoke is added to the gun tattoo. The existence of yet another LA secret gang is hardly a surprise: Gangs are such a serious problem that the LAPD has formed an elite Gang Enforcement Team to work in neighborhoods where gang violence is high.

But the Jump Out Boys are no ordinary gang: Its members are deputies from the Gang Enforcement Team. The secret came out recently when a supervisor discovered a gang-related pamphlet in an officer’s vehicle. An internal investigation has begun, and one deputy has already come forward and identified six other members.

All of this is bad news for the LAPD, which has a history of internal problems and was the target of much negative publicity when another police force gang, the Ramparts, flourished in the 1990s. 

Steve Whitmore, spokesman for Sheriff Lee Baca, told reporters he could not discuss the Jump Out Boys because the investigation is ongoing. But he insisted that the LAPD is committed to “take this very seriously. This is absolutely no joke whatsoever.”

Not everyone is worried about the Jump Out Boys, however. So far there is no evidence gang members have been involved in improper shootings or other misconduct. Some observers say that “cliques” is a more appropriate word than “gangs,” and they argue that tattoos and gang-like behavior can strengthen loyalty and morale. Others, however, worry that cliques and gangs create group pressure that can trump individual decision-making—a phenomenon that has created serious problems for the LAPD in the past.

Are the Jump Out Boys an asset to the LAPD, or does membership weaken adherence to department policies and practices? It remains to be seen what the internal investigation will discover about the inner workings of this police group.

Jean Reynolds, Ph. D. is Professor Emeritus of English at Polk State College, where she taught report writing and communication skills in the criminal justice program. She is the author of seven books, including Police Talk (Pearson), co-written with the late Mary Mariani. Visit her website at www. YourPoliceWrite. com for free report writing resources. Go to www.Amazon.com for a free preview of her book The Criminal Justice Report Writing Guide for Officers.