View From the Legislature

Like many jobs, the role of police officer has become more difficult in the recent past as a number of challenges impact society. In particular, increasing occurrences of drug addiction and deterioration of mental health have made the job of policing not only more difficult, but in many cases more dangerous.

Today’s police officers face regular scrutiny over their actions or interactions with the public, often resulting in second guessing of operational decisions that are made in both real time and very difficult circumstances. Over the past two years Canadians have seen an unprecedented level of violence against police officers which has, tragically, resulted in several officers losing their life in the line of duty.

These are the very public tragedies of what is privately an increasingly difficult job. Not as well reported are the high instances of post traumatic stress disorder reported among those in the policing profession and the increased rate of suicide. Without doubt, it is very difficult if not impossible for police officers to simply leave the job at work. Much of the emotional and human trauma that they witness and experience is carried with them beyond the office or patrol car.

Police officers often report having difficulty seeking support to find relief from the job. It isn’t always easy to confide in people about the nature of police work. That is why many police agencies have embraced the concept of having a police chaplain that is either part of the compliment of officers or perhaps is a spiritual leader in the local community.

Last week I was honoured to provide a keynote address to the Canadian Police Chaplain Association who were having their annual training meeting in Winnipeg. In addition to police chaplains from across Canada, there were also representatives from the United States.

At the national meeting, chaplains heard from a number of presenters each speaking about a different aspect of policing that might benefit their work as chaplains. I was pleased to be able to share my experience as Minister of Justice and how I saw the nature of policing changing and how chaplains play an integral and important role in helping to support those who protect us.

Many of the chaplains that I was able to speak with explained the connections they make with law enforcement and with their families. Supporting the families of police officers is a critically important part of the job of police chaplain. During my presentation I spoke of the important role that chaplains can also play in helping to build bridges between police officers and the community as a whole to help alleviate the feeling of separation that law enforcement sometimes experience from the community in which they live.

It is important to remember that those who are tasked to protect our communities, are also very much a part of the community itself as citizens. Offering police officers support, through chaplains or simply through a grateful community, is important to ensuring those who protect our community find strength and resiliency to do a job that is critically important to our society.