Yesterday at the Annual Training Seminar sponsored by the International Conference of Police Chaplains, I sat through four different workshops - each running approximately an hour and a half. The first, taught by a police Sgt. who is also a licensed psychologist discussed the problem of burnout among law enforcement officers. The second workshop addressed the topic of an officer being killed or injured and the steps chaplains could take to help fellow officers in the department cope. The two afternoon sessions dealt with the process of death notifications and the unique challenges police officers face on the home front. All in all it was quite an enlightening day.
As depressing as these topics were, they had to be discussed. Why? Because police officers burn out, suffer injuries (some are fatal), are responsible to make death notifications and often run into problems at home (I heard one instructor state that the divorce rate for police officers is well over 70%!). After sitting through the six hours of training yesterday, I emerged with a new appreciation for our law enforcement personnel. They sacrifice a lot to keep average Joe and Mary citizen like you and me safe. When you count your blessings today - please thank God for the men and women in blue (or black) who patrol our streets. They are the "thin blue line" that stands between us and chaos.
Thanks for listening,
pj
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