Abstract

Law enforcement and public safety occupations are demanding and often traumatic; they place officers and related personnel in stressful situations. Protecting those who protect others requires careful strategies to ensure their confidence remains intact while ensuring they have available avenues for support. This article reviews the current and relevant literature to build a case for why employee assistance programs (EAPs) need to be a budgetary priority in law enforcement agencies and should be as comprehensive as possible. Future research will continue to build upon this study to examine the number of implemented EAPs in the United States police agencies as well as the outcomes and effectiveness.