Greater Boston Law Enforcement
CISM Team

It is widely known and accepted that, during the course of their careers, police officers will confront more traumatic and stressful events than the average citizen.  There is very specific evidence showing that unmanaged stress can lead to anxiety, depression, and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).  There are a number of factors that already exist within the work environment alone that pre-dispose people to stress, such as abnormal sleeping patterns, increasing demands and criticism leveled at the police, work patterns, and abnormal levels of social engagements.  

Given the nature of policing many of these factors are not likely to change in the foreseeable future.  It is for these reasons that police administrators have the added responsibility of identifying methods to confront, and when possible, mitigate stressful events.  It is also for these reasons that the Chief Executive Officers from the eight participating departments have banded together in establishing the Greater Boston Critical Incident Stress Management (CISM) Team. 

The Greater Boston CISM Team is a group of specially trained police officers working along side mental health professionals and spiritual leaders to provide support to officers in the Greater Boston area after having experienced a traumatic event or loss. The team is certified in the International Critical Incident Stress Foundation's Group & Individual Training and receives additional training yearly.  On a monthly basis, the team debriefs recent activations and conducts training to maintain and improve the services delivered to those in need.

The CISM Team has been established for the purpose of providing assistance to police officers who have dealt with a traumatic event or incident, and to allow them to talk about the incident when it happens without judgment or criticism.  This initiative is peer-driven and facilitated by trained officers.  The interventions are strictly confidential; the only caveat to this is if the facilitators doing the intervention determine that the person(s) being helped is a danger to him/herself or to others.  The emphasis is always on keeping officers safe and returning them quickly to more “normal levels” of functioning. The Greater Boston Critical Incident Stress Management (CISM) Team is a mutually agreed upon intervention team that has been established by the Chief Executives of the Arlington, Belmont, Brookline, Cambridge, Chelsea, Everett, Somerville, and Watertown Police Departments.  The Critical Incident Stress Management Operating Guidelines provide an organized approach to the management of stress responses for personnel having been exposed to a traumatic event in the line of duty, or an event outside of the workplace that has created a stressful situation for members within one of the participating police departments.  

The team's goal is to provide emotional support to officers who have experienced a traumatic event or loss. The team does not conduct legal inquiries or investigations, or place blame.  Instead, their focus is on supporting the personal emotional responses of those effected by a specific event.  During team activations, no notes are taken and recording devices are not allowed to protect the privacy of discussions.  Members of the team are expected to maintain strict confidentiality, except in cases where someone may be a danger to themselves or others.

The establishment of these procedures does not prevent an employee from seeking individual consultation or follow-up through the Employee Assistance Program or informal discussion with a trained Peer Support Team member.  The Greater Boston Critical Incident Stress Management Team is comprised of trained members from each of the participating police departments.  The Greater Boston CISM Team represents an integrated multicomponent crisis intervention system.  This systems approach underscores the importance of using multiple interventions combined in such a manner as to yield impact to achieve the goal of crisis stabilization and symptom mitigation. 

Greater Boston Law Enforcement CISM Team

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