Sean Riley, founder and executive director of SafeCallNow.org, has seen encouraging signs for addicted officers. His organization lives by the golden law of self-disclosure as the first and best step for an officer who needs help.
“Getting the problem out front and dealing with it is the best hope for an officer to get better and return to full duty,” he says.
SafeCallNow.org has partnered with the FBI National Academy Associates to help educate its members, police executives who have attended the FBI National Academy, on how best to work with addicted officers seeking treatment. Police executives are learning that an officer’s self-disclosure of the problem is a good thing. It’s better for officers to seek help before getting into situations that jeopardize their careers or lives. In doing so, federal Health Insurance Portability and Accountability (HIPAA) and Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) laws kick in to guarantee their privacy and their jobs after they get treated and are able to return to work.
So what is a chemically dependent officer to do when faced with a crumbling life, career and health? The first step is to admit the problem and realize that it’s not a sign of weakness but a necessary step to getting better. Once they choose to self-disclose, the officers’ primary concern is that they are allowed to keep their treatment private and to keep their job when they’re better.
Many officers now realize they don’t necessarily need to ask their departments for help. A better option may be to seek help through peer support groups, unions and employee organizations. These groups may be just enough of a buffer between the addicted officers and their departments to get them comfortable with the idea of seeking help.
Treatment Programs Can Help
Preserving their privacy is the number one concern for most officers seeking help for chemical dependency. That is the primary mission of SafeCallNow.org, a confidential, comprehensive, 24-hour crisis referral service for public safety employees, all emergency services personnel and their family members nationwide.
Safe Call Now is not connected with a specific treatment facility. It offers a trained counselor and fellow public safety employee for the officer to talk to. They assess the situation and assist the officer in getting help.
Having someone to call can be a lifeline for an officer in crisis. Addicted officers can hit a wall where they don’t know what to do and don’t want to be found out by their departments. Safe Call Now is completely confidential; no one on the other end of the line will ask for a name or department. According to Safe Call Now’s founder and executive director Riley, the officer’s identity is not important; identifying the crisis and getting help is the only important thing.
One treatment option for the chemically dependent officer is the First Responders Addiction Treatment (FRAT) Program sponsored by Livengrin Foundation in Bensalem, Pa. The FRAT program is finely tuned for first responders seeking chemical dependency help.
Keith Mason, spokesman for Livengrin, says the FRAT program offers help from counselors who have a personal experience in law enforcement and with addiction. Many of the FRAT counselors such as Andy Callaghan are working police officers who are able to understand the unique circumstances faced by an addicted officer. The program offers inpatient and outpatient treatment as well as peer support groups to fit any level of care needed. It is one of the few programs aimed specifically at first responders.
Safe Call Now and Livengrin are financed by donations and through training conferences. Safe Call Now does not get paid for referrals to treatment centers and finds that treatment is usually paid through the officer’s insurance carrier. According to Mason, intervention services through Livengrin’s FRAT program are available free of charge. They do not want t
o turn away any officer because he or she can’t afford to get into the program.
Thankfully, officers needing help with chemical dependency, PTSD or mental health crises now have resources to help them get better. There are fellow officers who have survived addiction and are offering their time and experience to help officers end their dependency. These peer counselors and treatment centers can also help the treated officer return to work and maintain a healthy career, family, and life.
Mark W. Clark is a 27-year veteran police sergeant. He has served as public information officer, training officer, and as supervisor for various detective and patrol squads.
