Contact with Police May Be Detrimental to Your Health & Well-Being

Although an effective police presence is widely regarded as critical to public safety, studies show that contact with police may be detrimental to the health and well-being of individuals interacting with law enforcement. This is especially true for Black youth and other marginalized populations - such as the homeless. The physical and mental impact of contact with police can be especially detrimental when dealing with agencies that engage continuous patterns of misconduct.

When we take to the streets to protest against police and state brutality and social control, we are often putting ourselves at considerable risk. Police brutality and government repression is not only physical but also psychological. Government forces frequently use tactics of fear: they hurt one to terrify thousands.

In her book, Spying on Democracy, Heidi Boghosian, the former director of the National Lawyers’ Guild, wrote about the Military Police / Directorate of Emergency Services at Joint Base Lewis-McChord, WA saying: “In the words of the government agencies involved, they aimed to neutralize PMR [Port Militarization Resistance, a political / activist group that opposed the war in Iraq] through a pattern of false arrests and detentions, attacks on homes and friendships, and attempting to impede members from peacefully assembling and demonstrating anywhere, at any time. Harassment was systematic and pervasive... The case revealed that today’s military has continued to engage in COINTELPRO-type operations and shows the extent to which the lines between the military and civilian law enforcement have blurred. Forces now used against ordinary people engaged in free speech and protest include, increasingly, weapons and tactics used by the U.S. military for combat missions. The drift from passive intelligence gathering to offensive counterintelligence is one manifestation of the difference between civilian law enforcement principles and the military’s exclusive focus on defeating perceived enemies through combat, propaganda, and covert operations... The role of civilian law enforcement, in theory, is to protect the public and the Constitution whereas the role of the military is to identify the enemy and neutralize them... When the military starts identifying peaceful dissenters here as the enemy, God help us all.” (https://pnwstreetmedics.blogspot.com/2023/08/personal-protection-for-pnw-street.html)

Calling the police can frequently do more harm than good, and other options should be considered whenever possible. The Huffington Post has a series of articles called "Should I Call The Police If...?" (https://www.huffpost.com/entry/police-violence-alternatives_n_5f2316d9c5b68fbfc8808bd9) that discusses why calling the police to report anything but the most urgent, severe threats has a significant chance of making things worse.

The Physical and Mental Impact of Contact With Police (https://magazine.jhsph.edu/2022/physical-and-mental-impact-contact-police)

Study Shows Contact with Police May Be Detrimental to Health, Well-Being of Black Youth (https://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/news/newsroom/news-releases/study-shows-contact-with-police-may-be-detrimental-to-health-well-being-of-black-youth)

The emotional impacts of violence and repression can be serious and it is important that we are aware of those impacts and work together to deal with them.

Looking after ourselves and our friends or affinity groups does not end when the action ends! As Street Medics we should be versed in psychological first aid.

Basic training in psychological first aid is available from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, a branch of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Psychological First Aid (PFA) Online is an interactive course in which the participant learns about PFA by taking on the role of a provider after a disaster. The course includes expert tips, videos, and activities in support of learning. The course is available free of charge. (https://www.samhsa.gov/resource/dbhis/psychological-first-aid-online)

Psychological First Aid (PFA) and Skills for Psychological Recovery (SPR) were developed by the National Center for PTSD and the National Child Traumatic Stress Network, as well as other individuals involved in coordinating and participating in disaster response and recovery.

PFA and SPR intervention strategies are intended for use with children, adolescents, parents and caretakers, families, and adults who are survivors or witnesses exposed to disaster or terrorism. PFA and SPR can also be provided to first responders and other disaster relief workers.

While grounded in the same foundations of disaster response and recovery, there are several differences between PFA and SPR.

Psychological First Aid (PFA) Online is 5-hour interactive online course that helps participants learn the core actions of PFA and describes ways to apply them in different post-disaster scenarios and with different survivor needs. This course also covers provider well-being before, during, and after disasters. This course is relevant for new providers who are wanting to be oriented to PFA, as well as for seasoned practitioners who want a review of the PFA concepts.

Skills for Psychological Recovery (SPR) is a 5-hour interactive course designed for providers to help survivors gain skills to manage distress and cope with post-disaster stress and adversity. This course is for individuals who want to learn about using SPR, learning the goals and rationale of each core skill, delivering SPR, and supporting survivors in the aftermath of a disaster or traumatic event.