Annapolis Officers Receive New Peer Support Training
Starting Monday, December 12, officers with the Annapolis Police Department began the First Responder Trauma Program with the ITR Training Institute. This program is based on Instinctual Trauma Response (ITR), a method that builds resilience and resolves traumatic stress symptoms.
Annapolis Police Chief Edward Jackson brought this innovative and effective support program to the department. Enhancing first responder peer support is a big initiative in Maryland for 2023.
Chief Jackson knows this effort will assist Annapolis officers and the community we serve. The President’s Task Force on 21 st Century Policing (2015) recognized officer safety and wellness as
one of the six pillars that are key to building trust between police officers and communities.
In the training, officers were taught methods to provide peer support to fellow officers who may need help with stress management and resilience. The Annapolis Police Department already has officers trained to provide peer support, but this training adds to their skills and knowledge.
Every officer will receive a one day training, the ITR Peer Support Program 101, which will give them skills to be trauma effective and supportive at work and in social settings. Some officers will receive a longer training, the ITR Clinical Program. Officers who attend this training are taught the ITR methods to reduce and resolve post-traumatic stress symptoms.
Representatives from law enforcement agencies inside and outside Maryland also joined the training, held at Annapolis Police Headquarters. Chief Jackson plans to have every officer and most of the department’s civilian employees attend this training. The training was made possible by a Police Accountability, Community, and Transparency (PACT) grant from Governor’s Office of Crime Prevention, Youth, and Victim Services.
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