Author: Editor

John Marx was a Police Officer for twenty-three years and served as a Hostage Negotiator for nineteen of those years. He worked as a patrol officer, media liaison officer, crime prevention officer and burglary detective. Also during his career he served as administrator of his city's Community Oriented Governance initiative through the police department's Community Policing project. Today John combines his skills to consult with businesses about improving both their security and their customer service programs. John retired from law enforcement in 2002. When one of his friends, also a former police officer, committed suicide at age 38, John was devastated and began researching the problems that stress creates for police officers. He decided he needed to do something to help change those problems and he wanted to give something back to the profession that gave him so much. He started a project that has evolved into CopsAlive.com. Put simply, the mission of CopsAlive is to save the lives of those who save lives! CopsAlive.com gathers information, strategies and tools to help law enforcement professionals plan for happy, healthy and successful careers, relationships and lives.
No comments

Petition to Support Officers in Newtown and Connecticut Suffering from PTSD

  By

EDITORS NOTE:
I just received an email form Sgt. Sofia Gulino from Norwalk PD, Connecticut asking for our support with a petition to expand workers compensation coverage in Connecticut for workers diagnosed with PTSD. This is your opportunity to help your brother and sister officers in Newtown, all of Connecticut and perhaps set a precedent for making changes in the way we support officers with PTSD around the United States.

Since 12/14/12 Sgt. Gulino has been co-piloting a fund raiser for the Newtown CT police officers that responded to the Sandy Hook Massacre. Some of these Officers have been unable to return to work as a result of PTSD (post traumatic stress disorder). Others show up, but leave when overwhelmed. On the table now is Senate Bill 823 to change the way we support people with PTSD.

If Senate Bill 823 passes, workers compensation coverage would be expanded to cover all individuals diagnosed with PTSD as a result of witnessing the death or maiming of another human being, such as the Officers in Newtown. I believe EVERY officer should sign this bill, as well as their family and friends.

She and I are humbly requesting that you sign or share a petition to support this bill. The town of Newtown is NOT backing the bill or their own officers. We need to be our brothers keepers. Most Officers have no idea that this bill is even on the table. They deserve… Continue reading

7 Comments

A New Credo for Law Enforcement

  By

New Police Credo

I think its time we created a new credo for law enforcement. My suggestion based upon my strong beliefs about officer safety and wellness is: “Work H.A.R.D.; Live H.A.R.D.; Die H.A.R.D.”.

According to the Merriam-Webster Dictionary a Credo is defined as” an idea or set of beliefs that guides the actions of a person or group”

So what do I mean by:
Work H.A.R.D.
Live H.A.R.D.
Die H.A.R.D.

I think the key to a good motto or credo is the deeper meaning that we take out of it that gives us guidance when we need it. In this case I have defined the acronym of H.A.R.D. as:
H = Healthy
A = Altruistic
R = Resilient
D= Dedicated

I believe that a truly skilled and proficient law enforcement professional should… Continue reading

2 Comments

Spiritual Survival For Law Enforcement Course at Natick PD

  By

spiritualsurvivalbookcoverChaplain Cary Friedman will be presenting his excellent program on SPIRITUAL SURVIVAL FOR LAW ENFORCEMENT at the Natick Police Department outside of Boston Massachusetts on Monday February 18, 2013.

CLICK HERE to download a flyer.

If you have not read his book “Spiritual Survival For Law Enforcement” I highly recommend it and it is available in both print and electronic versions from the publishers website CLICK HERE to learn more.

The cost of the program is $99 and you can learn… Continue reading

2 Comments

How is Your Body Mass Index or BMI?

  By

Law enforcement officers need to monitor and maintain their bodies just as they would care for any other piece of tactical equipment like their vehicle or weapon.

Tracking your body mass index is one part of that process.  BMI is a measure of body fat based on height and weight that applies to adult men and women.

You can CLICK HERE to use a quick BMI calculator from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services website.

U.S. Department of Health and Human Services lists the categories for BMI as:

Underweight = <18.5
Normal weight = 18.5–24.9
Overweight = 25–29.9
Obesity = BMI of 30 or greater

Use their quick online calculator to find out where you are by CLICKING HERE to see what your BMI is.

If you work in law enforcement you should know, and monitor your body mass index.

According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control “Body Mass Index (BMI) is a number… Continue reading

7 Comments

Transcendental Meditation Helps Cop With PTSD

  By

PTSD, coupled with our fear and ignorance about it, is becoming one of the most pressing issues in law enforcement. We promise to “take care of our own” and we need to start doing it. Don’t be afraid, and don’t be ignorant about PTSD. Educate yourself about this problem so that we will truly never leave anyone behind!

Our thanks go out again to Deborah Louise Ortiz and her husband Michael for what they are doing to help cops. You might remember CopsAlive.com wrote about them in January as they began fundraising to produce the film “Code 9 Officer Needs Assistance”. They are continuing to work on their film and these two videos are their testimonials on Transcendental Meditation (TM) and about how it has helped them both as Michael manages his Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD).

There are two versions of this excellent… Continue reading

No comments

Buy a Song and Support the NLEOMF

  By

Musician and songwriter Mully has created a song to honor law enforcement officers and if you buy the mp3 download all proceeds from the sale of “hero” will be donated to the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund.

Mully has said that “hero is a tribute to police officers everywhere with a positive and uplifting message. too often the fine men and women who wear a badge to work are taken for granted. this is my way of saying “thank you” for your courage, dedication and… Continue reading

No comments

Matt’s Last Call

  By

I recently had a chance to interview Julie Zielinski about her new book entitled: “Matt’s Last Call: Surviving Our Protectors”. Julie wrote the book after her son, a sheriff’s deputy in Washington state, took his own life. As Julie reflects on the death of her firstborn son, she informs parents and children of the dangers of suicide, the difficulty of coping, the pain of everyday life, and lastly the days that happiness returns, even if just a little bit.

Matt Zielinski was an athlete, a U.S. Marine Corp. Sergeant, and ultimately fulfilled his dream of becoming a law enforcement officer. Matt worked for the Chelan County Sheriff’s Office in Wenatchee, Washington. He loved his work and was due to be appointed to the SWAT Team because… Continue reading

One Comment

To Be An American a Salute to Our Veterans

  By

CopsAlive.com joins the NRA’ Life of Duty Channel in saluting America’s veterans. We recognize that many of our nation’s peace officers are military veterans and to all of you we say “thank you for your service”. This trailer, which is a preview of this months Patriot Profile could also represent those in law enforcement if you didn’t know that he was talking about the military.

This trailer entitled “To be an American” is a preview to this month’s Patriot Profile Feature “Broken & Undone” but it also serves as a tribute to Veterans Day. This piece focuses on… Continue reading

3 Comments

Searching for Best Practices in Mitigating Occupational Stress for Police Officers

  By

EDITORS NOTE: This research project has now closed and we will publish the findings as soon as we have them available. Please keep watching as we will be starting a project to discover and publicize best practices in Agency Wellness Practices in the near future.

CopsAlive.com was asked by Wendy Seiber a graduate student at George Fox University finishing a certificate in Trauma Response Services to post this survey of best practices in mitigating occupational stress for police officers. Please take this very quick survey.

Wendy was asked to design a project examining police stress mitigation compared to best practices. She told us “My project is examining how police departments deal with work related stress and how stress is mitigated. The goal of the project is to raise awareness to the general public, the media, and the government that more funding is needed in order to help reduce the amount of work related stress officers face. By increasing the funding for training, man-power, and stress reduction programs early on, there would be a reduction in the amount spent in early retirement, paid sick leave, loss of man-power, and other related costs in the future.”

Wendy’s project consists of an online survey that should take no more than 10-15 minutes of an officer’s time. The survey is completely anonymous and never asks for names of any identifying information.

To take the survey CLICK HERE

To view the up to the minute results of the survey CLICK HERE (results are instantly uploaded on site)

TO LEARN MORE CLICK TO KEEP READING: Continue reading