Journal of Community Safety and Well-Being

Reducing mental health stigma with supportive leadership and the right message

2022-09-23T08:23:06-07:00

Brief mindfulness training for Canadian public safety personnel well-being

2022-09-16T08:19:12-07:00

The body of research demonstrating the psychological and physiological benefits of mindfulness-based interventions (MBIs) is robust and spans decades, yet its adaptation for a population at significantly higher-than-average risk of negative health outcomes, operational stress injuries, moral injury, and burnout is in its infancy. Failing to address these risks has costs not just for the well-being of public safety professionals (PSPs), but for their families, their agencies, and their communities. Public safety work requires a high standard of ethical decision-making and compassionate contact with the communities served. The public safety oversight of agency, government, and training institutes must prepare its professionals to deliver exemplary levels of service as well as establish trauma-competent training and support frameworks that are evidence-based to protect PSP well-being. Remedying historically ineffective training with evidence-based models not only addresses the complexity of operational stress injuries (OSIs) but also the needs of social justice reform.
Canada’s contribution to the body of research using evidence-based MBIs for PSP well-being is scarce. This literature review informs leaders, policymakers, change agents, and researchers not only of the need for such critical research in Canada, but of its current state and important considerations for its design. The efficacy of MBI is discussed, evaluating recent quantitative, qualitative, and mixed-methods studies towards charting a brief MBI (bMBI) logistically deliverable, attentive to the PSP cultural context needs and barriers, and which facilitates sustainable skill-building in attention, awareness, and compassion.

Enhancing resilience: An interpretative phenomenological analysis of The Awe Project

2022-09-22T13:01:40-07:00

Awe is a complex emotion often associated with experiencing multiple other positive emotions during a captivating and immersive experience. Engaging in awe experiences contributes to enhancing an individual’s personal resilience and wellbeing. Moreover, the benefits of experiencing awe transcend the individual, as it has been described as a self-transcendent emotion provoking concern beyond the self. Using an Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA) methodology, this exploratory paper evaluates the impact of The Awe Project, an online resilience and well-being program that can be accessed on mobile devices, on a specific cohort of participants. Data analysis consisted of examining participant post-program surveys and comments made during the program. Results indicate the program supported participants’ resilience and well-being through evoking awe and using other mindfulness and resilience practices, such as having a sense of agency, cognitive reappraisal, connectedness, controlled breathing, gratitude and appreciation, meaning and purpose in life, and optimism and prospection.

A meta-analysis of the impact of community policing on crime reduction

2022-09-16T08:19:14-07:00

Over the last few decades, many studies have been conducted to understand whether community policing (CP) has an impact on reducing crime rates. Yet there is still substantial controversy surrounding the question of the impact of CP on crime rates. Despite the broad understanding of CP, various types of measurement of crime statistics have led research- ers to conduct meta-analyses of the phenomenon. This study combines two previous meta-analyses of CP and Turkish and English online searches. We used the Comprehensive Meta-Analysis (CMA 3.0) statistical program to calculate the effect sizes of previous studies. We employed odds ratio (OR) as the effect size, since it is one of the most appropriate methods for proportions. We found no evidence suggesting that CP has an impact on reducing disorders, drug sales, or property crime, but it does have an impact on reducing crimes such as burglary, gun use, drug use, Part I crimes, and robbery, as well as fear of crime. Depending on crime type, CP can be a promising policing strategy to reduce crimes. und a statistically significant, positive impact of CP, despite the limitations of including only Turkish- and English-language studies.

Cost analysis of the Saskatoon Mental Health Strategy (MHS) court

2022-09-16T08:19:16-07:00

Housing inmates, particularly those living with mental health concerns, is a very expensive prospect. Mental health courts (MHCs) are designed to divert justice-involved individuals living with mental health concerns away from the traditional criminal justice system and to mitigate some of the issues commonly seen in these systems. Given this diversion, it would seem that MHCs could reduce costs associated with crimes committed by this population. While intuitive, these cost savings are an untested assumption as there has been very little research examining the costs of these programs, particularly in Canada. Thus, this study presents the findings from a cost analysis of the Saskatoon Mental Health Strategy Court in Saskatchewan, Canada. Results demonstrated that Court costs increased in the first and second year post-Court entry. Most concerningly, a large proportion of these increased costs seem to be attributable to administrative charges applied by the Court. Recommendations for MHC operation and potential impacts of the cost analysis are further explored.

The agony of proposing system-wide change

2022-09-16T08:19:19-07:00

Canadian Association of Chiefs of Police (CACP) Executive Global Studies 2020–2022 cohort members share the challenges, fears, and pride experienced while exploring the future of policing…for police.

Improving community outcomes and social equity through leveraged police leadership – A chapter review

2022-09-16T08:19:07-07:00

Correction to: Implementation of a post-overdose quick response team in the rural Midwest: A team case study

2022-09-16T08:19:00-07:00