Title
Resolution to Amend the Fiscal Year 2018 Budget and Appropriate the Byrne/JAG Program Police Officer Safety and Wellness Grant in the Amount of $25,000.00 Awarded by the Commonwealth of Virginia Department of Criminal Justice Services for Use by the City of Hampton Police Division
Purpose
PURPOSE/BACKGROUND:
The Department of Criminal Justice Services has awarded the City of Hampton Police Division grant funding in the amount of $25,000.00 in federal funds with no local match requirement in support of the Police Division's Officer Wellness and Resiliency Project. Day after day, officers witness some of the most horrendous acts humankind has to offer. Accepting the duties and responsibilities of the badge subjects officers to mental and emotional health problems, often considered to be “hazards of the job”. To establish the highest quality of officers, it is important to serve them with the tools they need to protect their health, ensure their well-being, and manage the rigors of this difficult work. The grant funding provided through the Officer Safety and Wellness Grant will take a three-pronged approach to enhance the knowledge, and thereby skills, of the volunteer police chaplains relating to law enforcement stressors, provide valuable training to members of the division’s Critical Incident Stress Management (CISM) and Peer Support team, and provide wellness equipment for officers to maintain physical fitness, which has been proven to improve mental health.
Discussion:
The President's Task Force on 21st Century Policing states, "the wellness and safety of law enforcement officers is critical not only to themselves, their colleagues, and their agencies but also to public safety". Through the use of these grant funds, the Hampton Police Division will be able to offer more resources to officers, civilian employees, and their families, as well as be more prepared for critical stress and traumatic event responses. The project will utilize these grant funds to focus on development in three key areas: the Police Chaplaincy Program, the Crisis Incident Stress Management (CISM) Team, and physical fitness equipment for division employees.
All three volunteer Police Chaplains will attend the 45th annual International Conference of Police Chaplains (ICPC) Training Seminar in Lexington, Kentucky. This five day professional seminar will cover expansive topics like stress management and the recognition of burnout and post shoot trauma in law enforcement officers; responding to a crisis and focusing on effective on-scene and post-event care emotionally, physically, and spiritually; basic responses from family and victims who experience sudden traumatic events; the law enforcement family and how chaplains can effectively minister to them; and line-of-duty deaths and protocols for defusing and debriefing those affected. Instructors for the courses include FBI personnel, retired Police Chiefs, healthcare professionals, faith leaders, and more. Additionally, four members of the division's Critical Incident Stress Management (CISM) and Peer Support Team will be attending an International Critical Incident Stress Foundation (ICISF) regional training to gain further education and insight into comprehensive crisis intervention and disaster behaviorial health services to the emergency response profession. The third and final component will be to outfit the Police Division's physical fitness room with new equipment to replace outdated, and add to existing, equipment.
Impact:
The Byrne/JAG Police Officer Safety and Wellness Grant will greatly improve the Police Division's ability to serve both officers and civilian employees who serve the City of Hampton. It has been proven that physical fitness has a cause and effect role on an officer's longevity, reduces injuries on duty and sick time, and also helps to combat mental stress associated with the emotional and psychological pressures of the job. By developing additional resources such as the Criticial Incident Stress Management (CISM) Team and Police Chaplaincy program, employees of the Police Division will have greater access to professionally trained peer support team members that will be able to assist in combating stressors associated with their positions.
The entirety of the project will be federally funded with no fiscal impact to the City.
Recommendation:
Rec
It is the recommendation of the Hampton Police Division that the City Council of the City of Hampton accepts and appropriates the Byrne/JAG Program Police Officer Safety and Wellness Grant for the implementation of this grant award.
Body
WHEREAS, the City of Hampton Police Division has been awarded the Byrne/JAG Program Police Officer Safety and Wellness Grant in the amount of $25,000.00 in Federal funds with no local match; and
WHEREAS, the grant award covers the period of 01/01/2018 to 09/30/2018;
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the City Council of the City of Hampton, Virginia accepts and appropriates the Byrne/JAG Program Police Officer Safety and Wellness Grant by the Commonwealth of Virginia Department of Criminal Justice Services in the amount of $25,000.00 and amends its Fiscal Year 2018 Council Approved Budget to include and appropriate to the Grant Fund those funds and any supplemental funding awarded by the Commonwealth of Virginia Department of Criminal Justice Services in accordance with the grant agreement.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the City Council of the City of Hampton, Virginia authorizes the City Manager or her designee to take any and all necessary actions to implement this grant award.