Peer-Reviewed Research Published in the Journal of Community Safety & Well-Being Shows Scientifically Proven Benefits of Council-Based Programs for Police Officers
Currently Expanding Nationwide, POWER Enhances Officer Wellbeing And Improves Police-Community Relations, Transforming The Approach To Managing Stress In Policing.
View Complete Research Paper HERE
Los Angeles, California, September 26, 2024 – A groundbreaking study published by the Journal of Community Safety & Well-Being has shown that Beyond Us & Them’s Peace Officer Wellness, Empathy & Resilience (POWER) training significantly enhances the mental, physical, and relational well-being of law enforcement officers. This 12-week, council-based program, developed by the Los Angeles-based nonprofit, is the first of its kind to provide peer-reviewed, scientific data demonstrating improvements in autonomic health, mindfulness, and social connection. Across the country, officers who have participated in the program are seeing lowered blood pressure, improved sleep, reduced relationship difficulties at home, and an increase in positive interactions in the workplace, as well as with the public they serve. As the leading nonprofit focused on promoting empathy, wellbeing and social connection, Beyond Us & Them is now advocating for state and federal legislators to continue expanding the POWER program nationwide, aiming to extend its benefits to health, mindfulness, and improved police-community relations.
For years, headlines have documented the impact of stress on police officers—ranging from high suicide rates to public incidents of excessive force. The lesser-known impacts include early death from heart disease, stroke, onset of diabetes, as well as increased incidence of substance abuse and domestic violence within officers’ families. Additionally, the accumulation of stress due to dysfunctional agency culture and heightened national attention on police-community tensions has led to poor health outcomes for officers. Now, backed by this research, Beyond Us & Them offers a proactive solution.
POWER is a nationally-certified 12-week program, designed to help officers improve their well-being with a 4-pronged approach, addressing physical, mental, emotional, and relational health. The research paper, authored by Dr. Ann Seide, MD and Ranjeeta S. Basu, PhD, at California State University San Marcos, shows how this program significantly improves key health metrics, including:
- Improved Autonomic Health: Participants showed measurable improvements in heart rate variability (HRV), which is linked to a reduced risk of cardiovascular disease and early mortality.
- Increased Mindfulness and Empathy: The study found statistically significant improvements in mindfulness and empathy, critical to improving police-community relations.
- Enhanced Social Connection: Statistically significant increases in social connection between participants were demonstrated, as well as an increase in HRV coherence (which may be the physiologic state of social connection).
“Policing is one of the most stressful professions in the world, leading to severe health outcomes such as early death from all causes, increased incidence of heart disease, early-onset dementia, and higher rates of suicide than the general public,” says Dr. Ann Seide, co-author of the paper. “Our research demonstrates that council-based programs like POWER can make a measurable difference, providing the tools officers need to reduce stress and improve well-being.”
“This research is a major step forward for us. For a long time, we’ve relied on testimonials and surveys to assess the success of our council-based programs and the profound impact of social connection on well-being,” said Jared Seide, Beyond Us & Them founder and Executive Director. “This study is the first one of its kind to report biometric data that supports the idea that participants in these programs experience significant improvements in their health and well-being.”
For the past decade, Beyond Us & Them has been at the forefront of delivering compassion-based programming to schools, community based organizations, and correctional facilities. The advent of the POWER program, first rolled out with over 150 LAPD officers in 2019, brought the benefits of council-based training into a sector of society in great need of resources and care. Beyond Us & Them’s initiatives have positively impacted thousands of system-impacted individuals and their families, demonstrating the far-reaching impact of this work. POWER’s current expansion to law enforcement agencies around the country is a timely response to the widespread need for resources that combat isolation and overwhelm.
Read the full journal article HERE
Read more about POWER HERE
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