Crisis Intervention for Police Officers

Recently I had the pleasure of interviewing Sean Riley the Founder and President of Safe Call Now, a crisis intervention program for law enforcement personnel located in the Seattle area of Washington State here in the U.S..

Safe Call Now works with over 400 volunteers to help law enforcement officers, fire fighters and other emergency service workers navigate through any crisis that might challenge their lives and careers.

The program has a very notable board of directors and has the backing of many state, local and federal organizations.

According to Washington State Lt. Governor Brad Owen
“the program was set up to help officers and their families through difficult circumstances. This confidential service… is staffed by professionals who care. I would encourage any public safety officer or family member who is undergoing tough times to give Safe Call Now a call right away.”

Sean Riley started his law enforcement career as a San Diego County Deputy Sheriff in 1987 but relocated to Washington and spent over 16 years with the Kirkland Police Department. Sean’s many accomplishments include being a member of the International Homicide Investigator’s Association, D.A.R.E Officer, Certified Trainer, and Homicide and Sexual Assault Detective. He is also credited with solving one of the first ever elder abuse homicide cases in the nation.

Sean’s prominent career in law enforcement ended in 2005 when he could no longer hide his “secret” behind the badge.  Sean was abusing both alcohol and pain killers and he knew that he had to fix his problem before it completely ruined his life.

As the President of Safe Call Now, Sean travels throughout the United States to share his inspirational story in a non-traditional, interactive format. Safe Call Now provides public safety employees (at the local, state and federal levels) with a simple and confidential way to ask for help. Staffed by officers, former law enforcement officers, and public safety professionals; Safe Call Now is a safe place to turn to get help from individuals who understand the demands of a law enforcement career.

Some of Safe Call Now’s key supporters and board members include:

Washington State Lt. Governor Brad Owen
US Marshal Joe Hawe
Scott Blonien, Assistant Secretary for Government, DOC
Sheriff John Lovick, Snohomish County Sheriff’s Office
Chief Colleen Wilson, Port of Seattle Police Department, President WASPC
Doug Allen (Retired Director), Department of Social and Health Services, Health and Recovery Services Administration, Division of Alcohol and Substance Abuse
Mike Brown, Executive Director & Lobbyist for the Washington Fire Chiefs
Bill Peare, Former Kent Police Officer/Philanthropist

Congressman Dave Reichert (former King County Sheriff )
Former Safe Call Now Board Member, Chief Gil Kerlikowske Heads The Office of National Drug Control Policy For The Obama Administration

Special Agent in Charge Kelvin Crenshaw, ATF
Assistant Chef Nick Metz – Seattle PD
Brian Wurts, Lakewood PD Union President
Deputy Chief US Pretrial Services Connie Smith

Safe Call Now Hotline (206) 459-3020

If you would like to listen to our interview please click the replay button below or RIGHT CLICK HERE (that’s CONTROL CLICK if you use a Mac) to download (SAVE LINK AS…) a copy of the mp3 file.

You can learn more about Safe Call Now by visiting their website at:
http://www.safecallnow.org/

The motto of Safe Call Now is:
“Saving the lives of those who protect us”

The motto of CopsAlive is:
“Saving the Lives of the People Who Save Lives”

It’s obvious that we are all working in the same direction to help cops and other emergency service workers survive these very demanding careers.

Safe Safe and Take Care of Each Other!

CopsAlive.com was founded to provide information and strategies to help police officers successfully survive their careers.  We help law enforcement officers and their agencies prepare for the risks that threaten their existence.  We do this by Helping Law Enforcement professionals plan for happy, healthy and successful lives on the job and beyond.  We think the best strategy is for each officer to create a tactical plan for their own life and career.

About 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.
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