Victoria Police Department officers face stress and potential danger on an almost daily basis dealing with calls involving violence or threats. Victoria B次元官网网址 multimedia journalist Nicole Crescenzi, who participated in a version of the Reality Based Training (RBT) given to VicPD officers, talks to veteran Const. Kris Greffard on the subject.
The average day in the life of a police officer isnB次元官网网址檛 all guns and Tasers and high-speed chases, as TV might purport it to be. It is, however, filled with stress.
Victoria Police Department statistics show that in 2017, approximately 99 per cent of the time, when Victoria Police Department officers made an arrest, they did so using nothing more than words.
Of the one per cent, OC spray B次元官网网址� more commonly known as pepper spray B次元官网网址� was used 13 times; batons were used six times and batons displayed with no action, seven times. Tasers were brought out a total of 39 times and used in eight instances.
ItB次元官网网址檚 a job that can be vastly different every day. And itB次元官网网址檚 one that comes with potential perils.
By the halfway point of the year in 2018, nine VicPD officers had been injured or assaulted and sent to hospital, after situations ranging from someone spitting in their faces, to violent physical assaults.
And those are just the cases that have been officially reported.
B次元官网网址淲eB次元官网网址檙e dealing with hands-on people,B次元官网网址� said Const. Kris Greffard, a 10-year VicPD vet. Her role as the departmentB次元官网网址檚 control tactics co-ordinator sees her put fellow officers through various potential scenarios. B次元官网网址淚tB次元官网网址檚 not only physical, but [people use] improvised weapons B次元官网网址� one officer went down when a kickstand was hit across his forehead.B次元官网网址�
Police receive public scrutiny if any weapons such as OC spray, bean bag guns or batons are used, even though less damage would likely result if a suspect could be stopped quickly using such tactics, Greffard noted.
While statistically speaking police arenB次元官网网址檛 facing violent situations all the time, but they need to mentally be prepared for the times when they do.
B次元官网网址淲e donB次元官网网址檛 have the ability to freeze in uniform,B次元官网网址� Greffard said. B次元官网网址淲e have to protect the public and ourselves.B次元官网网址�
So, the department conducts high-stress, reality-based training, which places a large emphasis on the officersB次元官网网址� number one weapon: communication.
Members are drilled in de-escalating potentially bad scenarios and are trained to deal with trauma when situations go sideways.
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Police also partake in peer-to-peer training to try and recognize stress in one another.
B次元官网网址淢aybe theyB次元官网网址檙e on edge, maybe theyB次元官网网址檙e not sleeping at night B次元官网网址� thatB次元官网网址檚 when we need to consider that maybe itB次元官网网址檚 PTSD,B次元官网网址� Greffard said. B次元官网网址淎fter a while, you start to become somewhat desensitized to it yourself, so this training is allowing us to see it in each other.B次元官网网址�
The peer-to-peer training is coupled with a Critical Incident Stress Management team, which includes some police officers specially trained to help officers work through critical incidences.
Greffard said sheB次元官网网址檚 never used the teamB次元官网网址檚 services, but has watched her peers make use of it after working on such traumatic cases as violent car accidents or child abuse scenarios.
A huge factor for all officers is balancing their personal and work lives.
B次元官网网址淎 big asset is weB次元官网网址檙e humans, too. We are susceptible to pain and to bad days, but when we come to work we have to be unbiased, and put our personal conflicts aside,B次元官网网址� she said. B次元官网网址淚f I have a personal argument with my husband that morning, I canB次元官网网址檛 take it out on [someone] at a road stop.B次元官网网址�
In a similar fashion, most officers feel like they canB次元官网网址檛 take their work home with them.
B次元官网网址淚B次元官网网址檝e been married for 13 years and have two children,B次元官网网址� Greffard said. B次元官网网址淔or our kitchen table dinner talk B次元官网网址� thereB次元官网网址檚 some things my family just doesnB次元官网网址檛 need to go through.B次元官网网址�
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The best way to deal with stress, she said, can be as simple as grabbing a beer with a trusted co-worker and talking about the week, working out together, or checking in with each other throughout a shift by grabbing a coffee between calls.
B次元官网网址淲e experience the same emotional responses as the average person does to fear and stress,B次元官网网址� Greffard said. B次元官网网址淚tB次元官网网址檚 just that we train to prepare ourselves to deal with the situations that the average person shouldnB次元官网网址檛 face.B次元官网网址�
When asked how additional messages of public resentment towards police officers B次元官网网址� from Facebook comments to street calls B次元官网网址� affect officersB次元官网网址� stress, she was clear:
B次元官网网址淢ost people donB次元官网网址檛 hate the police and thatB次元官网网址檚 who we fight for. We put on our uniform to protect the public; it doesnB次元官网网址檛 matter if they like us. ThatB次元官网网址檚 what weB次元官网网址檙e born to do.B次元官网网址�
