Reducing Psychosocial Risks in Law Enforcement: Training as a means to Wellbeing

In a previous project involving the participation of Law Enforcement agencies in Portugal, Romania, Spain and The Netherlands, interviews were conducted with operatives in order to understand their needs in terms of training to address people with mental health problems in interventions. From these interviews a major point was stressed and it was that they themselves needed training in this area to better manage the overwhelming stress they live daily in the exercise of their profession. Having into account these inputs from Project TRUST, several Law Enforcement agencies from Europe combined efforts to provide the context for providing this support and improving the well-being of their operatives, within the context of this application. The European Union has highlighted psychosocial factors as a priority (EU-OSHA,2000). When addressing particularly stressing professions, like Law Enforcement, it is even of outmost importance to enhance the protective factors and reduce the effect of the psychosocial risks, that can contribute to the development of psychological health problems at work, having an impact on the individual, family and the organization.

The partnership aimed at an holistic approach to the individual, improving Life Quality of the Law Enforcement operatives and a general increased well-being in organizational terms, the improvement of skills in managing stress reductors and the enhancement of knowledge on identifying those stressors and use the correct strategies to reduce high levels of suffering and preventing illness. Some of these are results based in the principles of inclusion and tolerance and transcend the tangible results of the project. The project PROTECT targeted: Enhancing life quality of Law Enforcement agents; Promoting inclusion and equity in Law Enforcement agents regarding access to training programs; Enhancing self-strategies to manage stressors in the performance of their professional activity; Augment the agents health knowledge and behaviours and Developing VET tailored answers, related to real needs and in job necessities.