8/13/2019 Is The DWI Of Off-DutylawEnforcement A Blue WaIl of Silence Or a Iob Related Stress Issue?

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THE \7'ESTCHESTER GUARDIAN THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 4, 2O1O PAGEIs The DWI Of Off-DutylawEnforcement A

Blue WaIl of Silence Or a Iob Related Stress Issue?By Damon K. lonesThe Newsl2 report entitledBIue Wall of Silence wasmisleading to the communi-ties of WestchesterCounty. The viewerswere left to assumethat the four off-dutylaw enforcement pro-fessionals had beenstopped by an officer,then let go, to later getin an automobile ac-cident. These officerswho had accidents,are accused of DWIand, like any citizen, are entitledto have their day in court.The pressures of the badgeput officers at risk for high bloodpressure, insomnia, increased lev-els of destructive stress hormones'heart problems, Post-Traumatic$lr*ss Disorder (IITSD), suicideand alcoholism.

By no means are we trying tosay that the off-duty law enforce-ment professionals in recent acci-dents are alcoholics. We also cantallow the public to assume thatthe majority of off-duty law en-forcement professionals are driv-ing under the influence, and theircomrades are turning a blind eyeand endangering the rest of thepublic. When these tragedies likedrinking and driving do happenwithin the law enforcement com-munity, we have continued topoke fingers at the efect and notlook for the true solutions.Nobody can deny that law en-forcement professionals have oneof the most stressful jobs in theorld and it tends to be regarded

as inherently stressful because ofthe personal risk of exposure toconfrontation and violence andthe day-to-day involvement in avariety of traumaticincidents. It is appar-ent that some officershave used alcohol asa way to numb thepain of work-relatedstresses.

Law enforcementmanagement can-not wait until officers'drinking problemslead to an automo-bile accident, domestic violence

situation, or a citizen's complaint.To deal with such situations, po-lice agencies must adopt a strat-egy of getting help for ofhcers atthe first sign of problems.

The FBI has found that agen-cies often use a late-stage treat-ment strategy because policemanagers sometimes lack faith inearly detection approaches andview them as ineffective. Yet, ifagencies intervene before officersget into trouble, they can help of-ficers onto the road to recovery,avoiding damage to both theirpersonal and professional lives.The FBI also recommendsnumerous strategies for early in-tervention for law enforcementdepartments:. Help to improve the fitnessand well-being of officers;. Provide education on life-style rather than on alcohol itself;. Initiate stress managementprograms;. Shift the responsibility ofdetection to individuals other

than the affected officer.In closing, the law enforce-ment officer is the key to safetyand order in our society. There-fore, it is imperative for unionpresidents to speak out on themental and heath issues of lawenforcement professionals. Th.ymust hold our elected officialsand law enforcement manage-ment more accountable to theofficer and the community by en-hancing policies and proceduresand by creating a better work-place that gives the communitya better, more efficient, healthy,well trained officer that will givebetter service to the needs ofthecommunity.

The National Black Police As-

sociation has been in existesince 1972 nationally with Ctered organizations in the UnKingdom, Canada and BermuThe principal concerns of thetional Black Police Associaare the promotion of justice,ness, and effectiveness in lawforcement issues and the effecthose issues upon the total cmunityIn Unity and PeaceDamon K. Jones,North East Region Preside

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