Sec. 2. Findings
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Congress finds the following: Public safety officers serve their communities with bravery and distinction in order to keep their communities safe. Public safety officers, including police officers, firefighters, emergency medical technicians, and 911 dispatchers, are on the front lines of dealing with situations that are stressful, graphic, harrowing, and life threatening. The work of public safety officers puts them at risk for developing post-traumatic stress disorder and acute stress disorder.
It is estimated that 30 percent of public safety officers develop behavioral health conditions at some point in their lifetimes, including depression and post-traumatic stress disorder, in comparison to 20 percent of the general population that develops such conditions. Victims of post-traumatic stress disorder and acute stress disorder are at a higher risk of dying by suicide. Firefighters have been reported to have higher suicide attempt and ideation rates than the general population.
It is estimated that between 125 and 300 police officers die by suicide every year. In 2019, pursuant to section 2(b) of the Law Enforcement Mental Health and Wellness Act of 2017 ( Public Law 115–113 ; 131 Stat. 2276), the Director of the Office of Community Oriented Policing Services of the Department of Justice developed a report (referred to in this section as the LEMHWA report ) that expressed that many law enforcement agencies do not have the capacity or local access to the mental health professionals necessary for treating their law enforcement officers.
The LEMHWA report recommended methods for establishing remote access or regional mental health check programs at the State or Federal level. Individual police and fire departments generally do not have the resources to employ full-time mental health experts who are able to treat public safety officers with state-of-the-art techniques for the purpose of treating job-related post-traumatic stress disorder and acute stress disorder.
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