Happier and Healthier Officers Create More Fulfilled Officers

Happier and Healthier Officers Create More Fulfilled Officers
By: Monica Crawford

Police recruiting and retention is the hot button topic plaguing police departments across the country. People will pay thousands of dollars for conferences to get the “edge” in recruiting, improving staffing levels and keeping officers around longer.

Where these conferences often miss the mark lies in providing education on how to invest more in the officers we already have from a departmental and organizational level.

We often get so jaded and pulled down by the negative aspects of the job that we forget that the people who we already work with are our biggest supporters and assets. We should be investing more into their professional and personal lives, along with their overall health and wellbeing.

Here’s how …

Invest in the health and wellness of the individual by providing nutrition, fitness, mindset and mental health resources that educate the employee and help create a system to help guide and implement it continuously throughout a 20-30 year career.

It starts from application and it continues through the entirety of your officers’ careers.

During the application process, make communication easy. Pull back the curtains and explain every step of the process. Provide an email or phone number for a direct point of contact.  The agency should be easily approachable and welcoming to questions and concerns.

Create a fair and applicable written test and physical test. When it comes to drafting a fitness test for hire, choose movements and tests that mimic what police officers need to be able to do on a day-to-day basis.  For instance, being able to deadlift 200 pounds, perform a dummy drag or a 100-meter sprint to simulate a short foot pursuit. Provide guidance in training for the physical test and also how to prepare for the upcoming academy.

Throughout the academy, use a sound physical fitness program that will work to improve upon those initial physical fitness tests, thus improving strength, cardio and fitness throughout, instead of creating injuries, punishment and discontent. Educate trainees on nutrition, fitness, mindset and mental health. Create a mentorship program. Make new officers feel welcomed and a part of the family, rather than rookies who should be seen and not heard.

Create a department-level Officer Longevity Unit.  This should be an actual unit dedicated to the longevity, happiness and fulfillment of your officers, where officers can go to for help with nutrition, physical fitness and mental health resources. This will ensure your officers are mentally and physically fit, always safe on the job and always go home to their families.

Investing in the health, wellness, fulfillment and longevity of your officers ensures success in their careers and success of your department's mission. It creates happy officers who want to go out and do your recruiting for you, telling others how great their job is and how they are cared for and routinely invested in. It also means your officers will be so happy they will never leave.

I have created the Five-0 Fierce and Fit Officer Longevity Program which includes a fair and applicable entry physical test, police academy fitness programming and police academy nutrition and fitness education.  I aspire to work with department administrators to implement this program in hopes of creating a positive impact on police culture and improving how officers show up to work every single day, ultimately creating a much larger impact on the communities we serve. 

If you’d like more information, please contact Monica at: monica@five0fierceandfit.com 

Monica Crawford is a former law enforcement officer, the author of, “Thriving Inside the Thin Blue Line,” a public speaker, nutrition and fitness coach, and owner of Five-0 Fierce and Fit.  Through Five-0 Fierce and Fit, Monica creates online nutrition, fitness and mindset programs to help female first responders lose fat, gain strength, take back their confidence and get Fit For Duty. Monica aspires to validate the challenges commonly faced in the first responder fields and provide education, motivation and inspiration to chase what truly matters to you in your life and career.  You’re one decision away from a totally different life.  Follow Monica on Instagram: @five0.fierce.and.fit