VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. — The Virginia Beach Police Department (VBPD) has hired a new police Wellness Coordinator to give officers a clinical professional to talk to if something is impacting their mental health.
"I hope having this support here and immediately accessible does address that because that is the ultimate concern," Jessica Huffman who is taking on the new role said.
According to the CDC law enforcement officers are more likely to die by suicide than in the line of duty.
Data gathered by the FBI shows between 2022 and July of this year there were 52 deaths by suicide among law enforcement officials nationwide.
That number is likely underreported being that it came from only a small number of agencies who provided data to the new program that started collecting in 2022.
The report highlights potential contributing factors in some cases like burnout, depression, and Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD).
Huffman, who has a background in clinical mental health counseling, has been with VBPD in her new role for a few weeks now.
She said her goal is to offer resources to officers outside of work when it comes to mental health, as well as always having an open door for them.
"I know the big stigma is 'well if I start these words are my gun and badge going to be taken away'," Huffman said. " That's synonymous with identity and purpose for a lot of people and we don't want to take that away we don't want it to make is seem like it's a punishment to start having these conversations."
Huffman will also help oversee the department's peer support teams.
She said she is hoping to take what she knows to help make sure officer do not have to rely on each other when it comes to mental health.
"Nobody really knows what they're going through but them right," Huffman said. "At the same time they are already the ones that everybody calls on for the worst days, the worst of the worst. So I want to take what I can to help so they don't have to keep being their own resources."
The police department also hopes having this position will help in retention and recruitment of new police officers.
