Hello Boulder!
I hope everyone had a great July. It’s hard to believe that summer is in full swing and flying by. I hope you’ve been able to enjoy time outdoors, travel, spend time with family, or do whatever you love to do during summer. Summer is a busy time for us here at BPD.
As I type this, we have multiple fires burning around Colorado, many of which are in our county. If you are affected by these fires, I hope you are doing okay. We have been assisting with the fires and putting in some long days. Speaking of, we have a lot of friendly banter with our brothers and sisters in the fire service, but they are amazing and truly doing incredible work this month. I don’t envy the tasks at hand for them in this heat. Please join me in thanking our firefighters!
It has been a hectic time for us in Boulder, and I have had several people ask me what we do to keep our staff healthy, both mentally and physically. With the daily incidents we respond to as well as the critical incidents that seem to be occurring more frequently, this topic is at the forefront of our minds. Based on my own experiences, I know what a toll this profession can take on those willing to engage in this work.
We owe it to ourselves to make sure they are well. We have multiple ways we are doing this. We have a robust mental health (EAP) program and have truly broken the stigma of talking to a professional. We also have a robust peer support program and are doing things like family nights, department BBQs, and other fun events to bring our folks together and help them engage with services. In addition, we have amazing chaplains and have been sending our staff to training on resiliency and related topics.
Employee wellness is a Top 3 priority for me personally and I’m proud to say it’s also one priority of our Reimagine Policing plan. We are having great successes implementing aspects of our Reimagine Policing plan and we love seeing the results. However, we can have the best strategies and programs in the world, but they are only as good as the people implementing them. If our staff do not come to work mentally and physically well, it can have disastrous consequences.
The community can play an important role in this too!Community engagement continues to be another top priority for us, and this summer we have been all over Boulder meeting with and engaging with you, our community.
One ask I have for all of you is to let our amazing staff know how much you appreciate them. A small gesture like thanking one of our officers for their service can mean more than you know, and it lets them know that their work doesn’t go unnoticed. While we see people in the worst moments of their lives at times, we also know majority of our community truly values the hard work and sacrifices our staff makes daily. Letting them know you see them and appreciate their work can go a long way in keeping them going when things get tough.
Thank you for all of the great community engagement, feedback, and partnership that we’ve seen over the summer. We’re looking forward to a fun August welcoming students back, watching our CU football team get ready to play, and hopefully cooler temps! We are here if you need us.
In partnership,
Steve Redfearn, interim police chief
