Law Enforcement Training

Concerns of Police Survivors, Inc. wants every agency to be prepared to handle the trauma of law enforcement death. Sessions can be as brief as a four-hour in-service training to as in-depth as a three-day session. No registration fees are charged for law enforcement-oriented participants at COPS training sessions that are funded by the Bureau of Justice Assistance.

COPS' four-hour training covers such topics as:

Myths vs. facts about coping with the loss of a law enforcement officer.
Support issues for the surviving family, the agency, agency personnel and their families.
Being prepared with a General Orders for line-of-duty death.
Individual officer/family needs in a high-risk profession.
Regular up-dating of family information and beneficiary cards.
Discussion of state/local benefits.
Organizing financial matters.
Officer safety issues.
Symptoms of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder.
Psychological/critical incident stress debriefing teams to address the needs of effected co-workers and co-workers' families.
Spouse seminars and employee assistance programs.
The survivors' perspective.

Geared toward officers who deal with the survivors, COPS' all-day session includes the above topics as well as:

Death notification: injury vs. critical injury vs. death.
Assisting the family at the hospital.
Support for the family during the wake and funeral.
Cultural differences that influence law enforcement funerals.
Providing information and assistance on benefits to the surviving family.
Continued follow-up with the family.
Department support for the surviving family awaiting trial.
National Police Week activities.
Individual officer/family issues the agency should address.

Through special grants from the Bureau of Justice Assistance, U.S. Department of Justice, COPS is able to present The Traumas of Law Enforcement in regional settings across the country. These three-day sessions include all the above topics as well as:

Police victimization.
Research Findings from agencies and survivors.
Police suicide.
Disabled officers.
The stages of grieving.
Male grief vs. female grief.
The trauma of losing a co-worker.
The role of CISD.
Diffusing and debriefing.
Support programs/organizations.

"I attended this training in Columbus, Ohio in 1997 when I was with the Richmond PD. It still stands today as one of the very best seminars I have ever attended on any subject in and out of law enforcement. I have already registered. We can send in applications for three more and they can put others on stand-by. This is one of the most informative and moving trainings out there. If you are interested in helping families of officers killed and injured in the line of duty, this is a training you will want to attend."

David Pence
Basic Evaluation Section
Department of Criminal Justice Training
Richmond, Kentucky

Surviving co-workers are encouraged to attend the National Police Survivors' Conference held each May in Washington, DC.

If you belong to a community service organization and are in need of a presenter for your meeting, COPS has several speakers who would love to let your membership know about Concerns of Police Survivors, Inc. Contact the COPS National Office.

DISCLOSURE: If you would like to help our organization by doing a fundraiser using our name, acronym, trademark or logo, or if you are with another organization and want to reference your support of COPS in your organization’s materials, please keep the following in mind: Our organization has developed a proprietary interest in its name, acronym, trademark and logo, and all uses of same require our prior approval. Please submit your proposals or requests in writing to our national office to the attention of: Suzie Sawyer, Executive Director, Concerns of Police Survivors, Inc., P.O. Box 3199, Camdenton, MO 65020. Any unauthorized use of our name, acronym, trademark or logo can result in legal action. Only our national office can give consent, so please receive permission first.