Taking care of mental health becoming more important for law enforcement

BEATRICE - A major key to quality of life in today’s society is taking care of your mental health -- and that includes law enforcement. While their main job is serve and protect, it’s just as important.

Beatrice Police Chief Bruce Lang says mental health care for police officers has changed since he began his career over 40 years ago.

“It’s something that over the years has become much more important,” Lang said. “Officers take much better care of themselves now, then they did when I started in the business.”

Lang says some ways officers take care of their mental health comes from within, by taking their badge off and enjoying life.

“That’s a health deal,” Lang said. “They have other interests, other relationships with friends outside of law enforcement, outside of first responder stuff, so I think all those things play into a health relationship.”

However, officers also take the time to discuss things that may be bothersome or traumatic. Departments will also seek out proper care if needed.

“First and foremost we talk a lot about the situations, get it all out on the table, and talk about those things that are super critical to certain individuals,” Lang said. “Then, if someone needs mental health services or needs to talk to someone professionally, we try to get those things hooked up.”

Another important aspect of officers taking care of their mental health is understanding that police officers and first responders are all human and deal with things differently.

“They’re individuals,” Lang said. “What triggers one officer may not trigger another, what may be traumatic to one, may not be traumatic to another and vise-versa.”