Funded by the Bureau of Justice Assistance and published in partnership between the National Police Foundation (NPF) and the Preventing Violence Against Law Enforcement and Ensuring Officer Resilience and Survivability (VALOR) Program, Staying Healthy in the Fray – The Impact of Crowd Management on Officers in the Context of Civil Unrest discusses the challenges of high stress police operations like crowd management. Crowd management often challenges officers to push their bodies beyond normal limits, leading to poor performance, fatigue, insomnia, and injury. In the summer of 2020, many officers repeatedly worked shifts that, at times, exceeded 12 hours, for ten to 12 days straight, leaving little time for appropriate nutrition, rest, exercise, recovery, or sleep. In light of the current environment, the NPF has developed this brief guide for law enforcement agencies on ways to recognize and protect the physical and mental well-being of officers during responses to intense and protracted protests and demonstrations. This guide offers educational information and practice considerations for sworn officers of all ranks, particularly frontline officers and mid-level supervisors, as well as their families, to better protect officers’ mental and physical well-being during times of heightened stress.
A copy of the guidebook can be downloaded at https://tinyurl.com/dhwbcsjr
