Law Enforcement Family Resources
The job of a law enforcement officer is often stressful, demanding, and dangerous. The lifestyle and culture of law enforcement affects more than just the officers. Spouses, partners, parents, children, and companions of law enforcement officers play an integral role in an officer’s health and wellness.
Supporting Officer Safety Through Family Wellness: Estate Planning
Preparing personal and family estates are important for law enforcement personnel. They can bring peace of mind to families given that law enforcement is routinely…
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Employee and Family Wellness Guide
To assist officers and their families, the IACP has developed a comprehensive Employee and Family Wellness Guide encompassing wellness resources on a variety of topics…
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Supporting Officer Safety Through Family Wellness: Discussing Your Job with Your Teen
Teenagers of law enforcement families are sometimes faced with unique challenges, especially when it comes to navigating different views of the policing profession from their…
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Supporting Officer Safety Through Family Wellness: Helping Your Child Understand Your Job
A law enforcement officer’s job may be difficult to explain to young children.
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How to Start a Law Enforcement Family Support Group
The IACP and the COPS office are pleased to announce the release of the "How to Start a Law Enforcement Family Support Group: Insights and…
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Supporting Officer Safety Through Family Wellness: The Effects of Sleep Deprivation
While sleep deprivation is not exclusive to law enforcement, it is often amplified due to the unique stressors of the job and shift work.
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Supporting Officer Safety Through Family Wellness: Injury Reduction
Being a law enforcement officer has routinely been ranked as one of the most dangerous jobs. On average, officers sustain 30,900 injuries a year that…
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Supporting Officer Safety Through Family Wellness: Nutritional Needs
Proper nutrition is an important factor in the job performance of law enforcement officers.
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Supporting Officer Safety Through Family Wellness: Helping Your Child Understand Your Job
A law enforcement officer’s job may be difficult to explain to young children.
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Family Wellness Blogs
Reducing Stress Through Mindfulness
Guest Blogger: Deputy Chief Hector R. Garcia (ret.), Ed. D, Miami, FL IACP’s Juvenile Justice & Child Protection Committee “Whenever we get too caught up…
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Surviving the Professional/Personal Identity Rollercoaster in Law Enforcement
Guest Blogger: Detective Sergeant Jennifer Pintar, Michigan State Police Many law enforcement officers are in a great space when coming out of the academy. They…
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Investing in the Families of Law Enforcement Officers
Guest Blogger: Chief Harry Earle, Gloucester Township, New Jersey Police Department, New Jersey Over my last 32 years of service with Gloucester Township, New Jersey…
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The Law Enforcement Marriage: Knowing When It's Time to Get Help
Healthy marriages and relationships have the potential to provide law enforcement officers a great degree of support. Officers tend to work long non-traditional hours and…
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The Difficulties of Maintaining Law Enforcement Spousal Support Groups
I once overheard an officer talking about the Huntington Beach Police Department Support for Officers’ Spouses (S.O.S) group. He said, “My wife is tough; she…
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10 Steps to Building Your Department’s Spouse Support Group
As a spouse of a law enforcement officer, you constantly worry about their safety and if they are going to be home after their shift…
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Five Ways to Support Those Who Support Law Enforcement
At the 2017 IACP Annual Conference in Philadelphia, PA, the IACP Institute for Community and Police Relations convened a group of law enforcement officers and…
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Five Tips for Positive Law Enforcement Family Relationships
The lifestyle and culture of law enforcement affects more than just the officers. Companions and family of law enforcement officers play an integral role in…
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The Unspoken Role of a Police Chief’s Spouse
The lifestyle and culture of law enforcement affects more than just the officers. Spouses, partners, parents, children, and companions of law enforcement officers play an…
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Law Enforcement Spouse and Family Support Resources
- National Alliance for Law Enforcement Support (formerly known as Wives Behind the Badge, Inc.)
- Non-profit organization dedicated to providing resources and emotional support to law enforcement officers and their families, and serving as a positive voice for law enforcement in the community.
- Provides blog posts, programs, events, and forums to individuals.
- NALES has social media including Facebook that individuals can access to support each other.
- Concerns of Police Survivors (C.O.P.S.)
- Non-profit organization providing support and resources for family members of officers killed in the line of duty.
- Hosts a National Police Survivors Conference during Police Week each May.
- Provides peer support, counseling, retreats for family, trial and parole support, and other various assistance programs.
- C.O.P.S. has various social media accounts including Facebook and Twitter.
- National Suicide Prevention Lifeline
- Provides 24/7, free and confidential support for people in distress, prevention and crisis resources for you or your loved ones, and best practices for professionals.
- Provides resources for helping one’s self, someone else, and suicide prevention.
- The National Suicide Prevention Lifeline has social media including Facebook and Twitter that individuals can access to support each other.
- Marriage Today
- While not specific to law enforcement marriages, many of the messages are applicable to typical obstacles law enforcement spouses face.
- Find a marriage conference near you to attend.
Police Wives
- National Police Wives Association
- Non-profit organization that supports law enforcement spouses and families and provides resources to those new to the law enforcement community. NPWA is dedicated to helping individuals face the daily struggles of being in a law enforcement relationship.
- Provides online forums ranging in various topics with over 800 members worldwide. There is a 24-hour moderation to maintain a safe online environment to make friends and support one another.
- Provides additional resources that are located on their website for anyone to use, including other websites or organizations that support officer companions and families.
- NPWA has social media including Twitter and Facebook that members can access and support each other.
- Wives of Police Officers Community Group
- Forum and support group for wives of police officers and their families to relate and support one another.
- Provides an ability for police wives to share their stories and struggles, as well as an opportunity to receive advice and support from others who understand and have been in similar situations.
- Police Wives of America
- Non-profit organization established as a result of many tragedies that families of law enforcement officers experience. With a mission to support an encourage spouses of law enforcement, this group consists of over 800 law enforcement wives throughout the U.S.
- Provides Crisis Response Team, home support, a critical incident kit, mentoring, support groups, and help with fundraising for your local spousal support group.
- With a blog, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and Pinterest there are numerous ways to interact with this group of law enforcement spouses.
Children of Law Enforcement
- Child Care Aware
- Child Care Aware® helps families learn more about quality child care and how to locate programs in their communities.
- Provides types of child care, quality of child care, health and safety in child care, financial resources, and additional printable materials that parents can use.
- First Responders Children's Foundation (formerly known as the National Law Enforcement and Firefighters Children's Foundation)
- Foundation created to aid family members of injured or slain first responders.
- Provides numerous scholarship opportunities for children of first responders.
- Sign up to receive the newsletter, or visit the NLEAFCF on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, or their blog.
- Concerns of Police Survivors (C.O.P.S.)
- C.O.P.S. has numerous programmatic efforts dedicated to children of law enforcement officers killed in the line of duty.
- Scholarships are also available for children of officers.
Additional Resources for Officers and Family
Officer Safety and Wellness
Explore the collection of IACP resources that support the safety, health, and wellness of every officer, and use these resources when developing comprehensive officer safety...
Health and Nutrition
Eating right, maintaining a healthy weight, and exercising are key to overall well being and are particularly important for officers given the demands of the...
Injury Reduction
No injury or death to a law enforcement officer is acceptable, and the IACP is committed to helping instill a culture of safety in every…
Officer Resilience Training Program
The Officer Resilience Training Program is designed to equip officers with empirically validated skills of resilience. The program is offered as a one-day in-person training.
Contact
For more information or to write a blog for the IACP please email the Institute for Community Police Relations (ICPR) at ICPR@theIACP.org.