Wellness Program

Taking Care of Ourselves So We Can Take Care of Others

The Westfield Police Department recognizes the importance of both the physical and psychological wellness of our employees. We understand that the law enforcement profession has historically created certain conditions that have led to poor general health. Past documentation and studies indicate that police officers experience a higher rate of heart disease, strokes, cancer, and back injuries than other professions. Officers also exhibit a higher mortality rate from diabetes, colon cancer, and cardiovascular disease. Experts also recognize that stress in policing is a real problem. Continued exposure to traumatic incidents, such as dealing with loss of life and experiencing life-threatening incidents, contributes to high levels of psychological stress for officers, which can result in mental and physical health problems. As a result, officers must better understand how to mitigate and manage stress before it hurts them. The Westfield Police Department is dedicated in identifying challenges employees face when trying to lead healthy lifestyles. We will provide practical solutions that make optimal fitness and health achievable, and create a workplace culture that is supportive of health.

The department has established the following programs to assist employee in achieving quality health:

  • Physical Fitness Incentive Program
  • Chaplain Program
  • CISM - Critical Incident Stress Management Program
  • Peer Support Program
  • Employee Assistance Program
  • Education and Training
  • ProTeam Mental Health Services

Both the CISM and Peer Support programs have mentors available for the department.

Chaplaincy Program

With a growing city comes an increase in Critical Incident and Stress Management for the Westfield Police Department and also a rise in the frequency of crisis moments that community members face. The chaplaincy program is tasked with caring both for the officers and staff as they handle daily policing, as well as ministering to families of the community going through various crises.

Our chaplains are tasked, as their primary role, to aid our police officers with emotional, spiritual, and familial needs. Secondly, they assist our officers as they interact with the civilian population when these citizens are experiencing a crisis during a time of police response or action.

Our chaplains have responded and will continue to respond at all hours of the day and night to help provide counseling to officers and to assist on the scene as support as the Westfield Police Department seeks to provide excellence in service. They are likely to be seen walking around the building to check in on our officers and staff or participating in ride-a-longs. They assist with calls to the community, such as death notifications or grief counseling for those who have lost loved ones. Every situation is different, but they stand ready to help in any way needed when called upon.

Physical Fitness Incentive Program

Law Enforcement can be a physically tough and demanding profession involving long and sometimes stressful hours, standing and sitting for long periods, driving at high speeds, running in a variety of terrains, overcoming obstacles and subduing a combative or resisting subject. Failure on the part of officers to prepare for such activities or complete such tasks can be dangerous and could result in injury, property damage, and/or the loss of life. The decline of health and fitness among those in the law enforcement community is an indisputable fact. Due to these factors, the Westfield Police Department implemented a voluntary physical fitness incentive program in 2010.

The goal of the voluntary physical fitness incentive program is for sworn members to always maintain a minimum level of physical fitness for duty-related tasks, improve work performance, and enjoy a healthier lifestyle and successful career. The program serves the interests of the agency, its officers, and the community it serves.

A law enforcement voluntary physical fitness incentive program helps ensure that:

  • Officers have the requisite fitness to perform their duties;
  • Officers lifestyle habits will decrease health risks and improve quality of life; and
  • Agencies reduce their liability by ensuring officers' physical readiness to perform while controlling risk and its associated costs.

The physical fitness tests are conducted in the Spring and Fall of each year consisting of push-ups, sit-ups, vertical jump, 300m run, and 1.5-mile run. For an officer to pass the tests, they must meet or exceed the minimum standards for each event as set by the Indiana Law Enforcement Academy Exit-Standards.