VALOR Officer Safety and Wellness Training and Technical Assistance

The FY 2016 Officer Safety and Wellness Initiative -- VALOR Program -- focuses on five (5) distinct national initiatives to improve immediate and long-term health, wellness, and safety of law enforcement professionals: (1) identifying a training and technical assistance (TTA) provider to continue, and enhance, the Preventing Violence Against Law Enforcement and Ensuring Officer Resilience and Survivability Program; (2) identifying a TTA provider to deliver tactical support, on a national level to state and local law enforcement officers responding to an active shooter event; (3) identifying an organization to identify, recognize, and increase awareness of officer safety and wellness best practices and programs at a national level; (4) identifying a national director/coordinator to implement and oversee the creation of an officer safety and wellness pilot research and evaluation program that will develop three pilot research and evaluation sites; and (5) identifying a TTA provider to deliver evidence-based de-escalation training and technical assistance to educate and protect state, local, and tribal law enforcement officers and improve outcomes and relationships between officers and the communities they serve. The Institute for Intergovernmental Research (IIR) will serve as the Training and Technical Assistance Provider for the VALOR Officer Safety and Wellness Program. IIR will work with a number of partners, including the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund and the Police Foundation, as well as other providers selected for new VALOR Programs, to help advance officer safety and to work toward improving the overall functioning of the criminal justice system efforts across the nation. Using a multidimensional strategy based upon expertise and experience in supporting national-level training and technical assistance delivery, IIR will coordinate and deliver on-site training events and technical assistance, will support ongoing research to identify trends related to officer health, wellness, and safety, and will develop and distribute print, video, and Web-based resources including Web training and digital aids to those who cannot readily attend on-site training. Fundamental to this effort will be the provision of training and tools that will help law enforcement address threats and challenges in the safest way possible. This will be achieved through a holistic approach to officer safety by encompassing awareness, tactical techniques, health and wellness routines, and community concerns regarding law enforcement legitimacy and respect for citizens’ rights. CA/NCF