Law enforcement is one of the most mentally and emotionally taxing occupations that you can have. Thus, it is no surprise that the negative mental health effects associated with the job are significant. Law enforcement professionals contend with long and often rotating shifts, threats of violence, the need for hypervigilance, and a lack of public support that can lead to chronic stress. Not surprisingly, law enforcement professionals suffer from mental health problems at a rate much greater than the general population (Jetelina et al., 2020).
Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is experienced by a significant percentage of law enforcement professionals, but it is not the only mental illness about which they must be concerned. Depression, anxiety, suicidal ideation, and/or self-harm, which typically take longer to manifest than PTSD, also need to be addressed. Unfortunately, these types of mental health issues can lead to negative coping behaviors, such as alcohol and drug abuse, which can further hinder law enforcement resiliency in the wake of traumatic incidents.
For this Assignment, you will assume the role of a forensic psychology consultant tasked with creating an infographic about a specific psychological case study to be presented to either administrative-level law enforcement or line officers.
Review the Learning Resources for this Assignment.
Review the Police Officer Timeline—Richard Walker’s Story media program and consider the major stages in Officer Walker’s life in which he is most vulnerable to psychological risk.
For this Assignment, you will assume the role of a forensic psychology consultant tasked with creating an infographic about Officer Walker’s life for a specific audience.
Select one of the two audiences below on which to focus for this Assignment:
Administrative-level law enforcement
Line officers
Review the Learning Resources addressing how to create an infographic using PowerPoint.
Note: You may use a different tool for your choice to create your infographic, as long as it can be freely shared and uploaded for this Assignment, such as those in the Optional Resources.
Assignment (1-page infographic)
Assume the role of a forensic psychology consultant tasked with creating an infographic about Officer Walker’s life for the audience you selected.
For the administrative-level law enforcement audience, your infographic should address the following:
The major stages in Officer Walker’s lifespan
The potential interventions corresponding to each stage that may have helped him have a better outcome
The psychological issues involved when hiring officers
The implementation strategies for officer wellness programs (e.g., peer support, resiliency training, wellness training, etc.)
For the line officers audience, your infographic should address the following:
The major stages in Officer Walker’s lifespan
The potential interventions corresponding to each stage that may have helped him have a better outcome.
The psychological issue of officer resiliency
The implementation strategies for officer wellness programs (e.g., peer support, resiliency training, wellness training, etc