Can Police Change Their Mindset from Warriors to Guardians? [thecrimereport.org]

This is terrific news, Becky. Please keep us posted!

Thanks for sharing!  Great articles!  Since I oversee crime reduction programs as a staff member of a police department, I have had such a desire to provide training for our officers to learn how to be more trauma-responsive.  In the past two-years, I have co-led a large ACEs training effort aimed towards creating a Trauma-Informed System of Care among our community partners which has been so well received that it's now literally created more of a "movement" in our region!  But still there had been no opportunity to train police.  Last year I was able to do a 2-hour in-service for our SRO's and then we implemented the Handle With Care program in partnership with the local public schools.  At the first of this year I asked my supervisor if I could create a "Trauma-Informed Policing" training and finally received the green flag to do so!  I have developed a 3 hour training for officers that I'm applying to receive POST Certification for as currently nothing of its kind exists in our state for officer training.  It will include:  "Recognizing trauma, how trauma affects brain development, symptoms = adaptations to trauma, ACEs science, the prevalence of trauma, examples of trauma-informed policing, tactical breathing and other trauma-responsive approaches and officer self-care."  I know how rigorous our officers are trained to prepare them as guardians of our community and I'm most hopeful this will add to their menu of training in order to better strengthen their responses in the field.