Somerville Police Join Critical Incident Stress Management Team

SOMERVILLE, MA – The Somerville Police Department is joining a newly created law enforcement initiative that focuses on officers' resiliency and wellbeing when responding to critical incidents.

SPD is one of eight greater Boston departments to join the Critical Incident Stress Management (CISM) Team, a program founded and facilitated by the Cambridge Police Department.

In addition to the Somerville and Cambridge agencies, officers from Arlington, Belmont, Brookline, Chelsea, Everett and Watertown have signed on to the team. Members of the regional group will serve as peer support officers who may have been affected by critical events.

Each participating department has up to five officers trained in Critical Incident Stress Management acting as liaisons; these officers will attend group crisis interventions, demobilizations and debriefings as needed, help mediate conflicts and provide ongoing support.

"Preparing for critical incidents and their aftermath is an important proactive approach we as a regional police community absolutely needed to take to more effectively support the wellness of our officers," Cambridge Police Commissioner Christopher J. Burke said in a statement. "Present day policing is under a hyper-microscope and, asa result, the stresses officers are facing now are greater than anytime I can recall over my 32 years in law enforcement. I applaud our neighboring communities for their willingness to join us in developing and establishing this valuable resource for all eight jurisdictions."

Image via Somerville Police Twitter