9a - Policing mental health in the community - NSW Police officers are called to assist in thousands of incidents each year involving persons experiencing mental health crises. To protect the person experiencing mental illness, along with their friends and family members, NSWPF is committed to delivering officer and recruit training in evidence-based programs designed to reduce the risk of injury to police and the broader community. To ensure that NSWPF continues to respond to mental health incidents in the community using best practice methods, we are interested in research identifying and evaluating new innovations in policing mental health and how collaboration with other specialist agencies may complement existing practices.
NSWPF is particularly interested in research into:
9.1 What national and international innovation and technology exists, or can be explored, to support the future of policing mental health intervention and crises?
9.2 What Coronial (and other independent body) findings and recommendations have been made in the past 10 years across Australia which have ongoing impact on policing mental health crises? What innovation can be applied to ensure a consistent approach and communication across policing jurisdictions in Australia?
9.3 What current or future strategies can be used to reduce the increasing number of mental health/dementia interactions with police?
9.4 Could the NSWPF and community as a whole, benefit from the implementation of highly specific externally delivered training for police in distinguishing community members suffering from mental health problems from those committing intentional crime?
9b - Reducing mental health problems in police officers - Policing is an inherently stressful occupation and police officers have been identified as one of the most at-risk groups for job related mental illness. Police work involves several occupation specific stressors such as frequent exposure to critical and traumatic incidents, extreme public scrutiny, negative community perceptions, limited resources, and the navigation of diverse leadership styles within the policing hierarchy. These unique stressors coupled with more general workplace challenges makes police officers particularly vulnerable to poor mental health and burnout. The NSWPF is highly committed to maximising the health, safety, and mental well-being of their staff, and take a proactive approach to psychological injury prevention. As such, we are currently prioritising research that can be used to inform our current and future well-being support services, processes, and initiatives.
NSWPF is particularly interested in research into:
9.5 What are the main modifiable risk factors of burnout within a policing workforce and what risk management strategies can policing organisations implement to prevent and respond to burnout across the employee career lifecycle?
9.6 Does offering internal wellbeing support services change outcomes in terms of length of sick leave, and return to work versus exiting the organisation?
9.7 What are the most effective strategies for reducing the incidence of mental disorder (e.g., PTSD, depression, anxiety etc.) among frontline law enforcement responders?
9.8 Within law enforcement, is there a link between the physical work environment, employee mindset/engagement, and long-term sick leave?
9.9 Research around the underlying causes of the increase in psychological injuries within law enforcement and the identification of areas of focus for NSWPF well-being programs.
9.10 Research exploring how effective the preventative workplace wellness services and supports are in mitigating the development of psychological conditions that require time off work.
9. 11 Investigate and compare the effectiveness of existing support programs, resources, and services available to police officers during transition out of the police force. Including the identification of factors that contribute to a successful transition to life and employment outside of the police force for officers that have been indicated for medical retirement.
9. 12 Investigate the effectiveness of NSWPF support services in addressing the psychological, social, and emotional impact of medical retirement on a police officer’s sense of identity and purpose.
9.13 Research into the association between short-term pain education strategies and/or psychological intervention on reducing secondary psychological injuries.
9.14 Evaluate the effectiveness of early intervention on long term injury recovery/return to work timeframes.
9.15 Evaluate the effectiveness of physical fitness interventions/testing on the reduction of physical injuries and/or their recovery times.
9. 16 What are the barriers and facilitators to police accessing psychological treatment within (e.g., EAP, Chaplin) and outside the organisation (psychologist/psychiatrist)?