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Community
Policing and
Teen Suicide Prevention
A Review
by Elaine Leader, Ph.D.
Executive Director, TEEN LINE
310 / 423-3401 Phone
310 / 423-0456 FAX
drleader@earthlink.net
Email
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Teen
suicide in the U.S. has quadrupled since 1950. Every 90 minutes
one teenager commits suicide and every 78 seconds another makes
an attempt. A national study of nearly 12,000 high school students
in 2000 by the Center for Disease Control revealed that:
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3.6
million youth nationwide considered suicide |
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2.1
million devised a plan, and |
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1
million made an attempt |
These
youth came from every socioeconomic, cultural and ethnic background.
Adolescents who are considered particularly high risk for suicide
include gay and lesbian youth, HIV positive teens, chemically dependent
youth, and runaways/throwaways, particularly those who have been
physically and sexually abused. Suicide is the third leading cause
of death among youth 15-24 years of age. Most disturbing of all,
the national suicide rate among 10-14 year olds increased 120% since
1980 - the biggest jump of any age group. (National Network for
Youth; Center for Disease Control and Prevention)
In 1996, TEEN LINE, the Los Angeles-based teen-to-teen hotline,
inaugurated a community policing alliance with local law enforcement
to prevent teen suicide. The goal of TEEN LINE's Los Angeles Police
Department Teen Suicide Training Project was to improve police
handling of teen suicide victims and their families, and to sensitize
police officers to the needs of suicidal adolescents. This
was to be accomplished by the development of a training approach
that incorporated didactic, audio visual and experiential components.
A key element was the utilization of suicide survivors as panelists
who relate their personal experience of suicide, thus putting a
face to teen suicide. The distribution of materials including TEEN
LINE's Youth Yellow Pages, a resource handbook for
youth, is part of the educational effort.
LAPD and TEEN LINE
TEEN LINE's first efforts involved instructing officers who attend
the Los Angeles Police Department's Juvenile Procedures School and
this continues to be a mainstay of our community policing teen suicide
prevention project. The Juvenile Procedures School is mandatory
continuing education for juvenile officers within the LAPD. Officers
attend four days of seminars, all of which, except two, are taught
by law enforcement personnel. The School is offered eight times
a year, with each class consisting of between 25-40 experienced
officers.
In addition to participation as Instructors at the LAPD Juvenile
Procedures School, the Team has developed customized, specialized
training to meet the specific needs of varied law enforcement settings,
ranging from Police Explorers, to D.A.R.E officers to SWAT team
members, the Los Angeles Unified School District Police Officers,
the California Hostage Negotiators, the Sheriff's Department, and
other local Police Departments. Some of the most important classes
are those attended by young Police Explorers who themselves may
be experiencing some of the warning signs of depression and suicide
being discussed.
D.A.R.E.
California D.A.R.E officers receive the teen suicide prevention
instruction while attending their annual Training Seminars. As 400
officers rotate through the classes, this entails offering the class
three or four times a day for three days - a feat that can be quite
draining for the suicide survivors who staff the instructor panel.
Nonetheless, this experience has been profoundly rewarding for officers
and panelists alike. Some of the D.A.R.E. officers come from very
small communities throughout the state and are frequently the only
resource for troubled youth in their communities.
The Team
Diane Keane works as a dispatcher for the Los Angeles Sheriff's
Department, but as a teen suicide prevention instructor, Diane speaks
as the mother of Alyssia - a beautiful young lady who took her own
life. Diane's recounting of her daughter's struggle with depression
is often painful to hear but is profoundly moving.
Karen Jett's daughter committed suicide two years ago by
tying weights to her body and drowning herself in the family's swimming
pool. She had made two previous attempts, had been hospitalized
and was on anti-depressant medication when she took her life. Karen's
description of the impact on her family is powerful testimony to
the destructive effects on the family after a child commits suicide.
* Sandra was 15 when she made two serious attempts. Sandra
describes the early history that underlay her depression and later
runaway and drug abuse behavior. She credits "turning her life around"
to the intervention of a police officer and the intensive help she
received at a residential treatment facility. When Sandra tells
the class, with tears in her eyes, that she wants them to remember
that the troubled youth they encounter are usually just scared little
kids inside, the officers really take note.
* Carla was 16 when she tried to kill herself. With an alcoholic
stepfather and sickly younger sister, Carla had felt ignored and
verbally abused at home. She left home to live with a roommate while
going to school and working full time. Carla fell apart when her
first love rejected her. She took a bunch of pills but fortunately
survived. Now 21, but still struggling with depression, Carla shares
her story of the loneliness and hopelessness she felt in the past.
* Vera was 15 when she found out she was pregnant. Jilted
by her boyfriend she felt she had nowhere to turn. Coming from a
dysfunctional family with a father and brother in and out of jail
for drug offenses, Vera felt she could not deal with her daily life.
Her grades had dropped from As to Fs. She decided to kill herself,
telling a friend at school what she planned to do. She stood in
the hallway downing the pills as other students walked by. Later,
she threw up the pills and survived. She describes the moment that
she was falling asleep as the scariest of her life - not wanting
to die, but not wanting to face all her problems. Today Vera is
with Americorps, helping others, and she is applying to graduate
school in social work.
* Jessica was 14 when she realized she was attracted to other
girls. From a Latino family she was afraid of being thrown out if
her parents found out her sexual orientation. She became depressed,
contemplating suicide. She even went so far as to acquire a gun.
Fortunately, she had received a copy of TEEN LINE's Youth
Yellow Pages in school. She picked up the phone and called
the hotline - for the first time someone listened to her without
judgment or bias. She felt understood and less scared of her suicidal
thoughts, enough to carry on.
* John is a female to male transgender youth who at age 11
became seriously depressed. Hospitalized, he was introduced to drugs
and ended up addicted to heroin. He replaced this addiction with
other drugs, primarily speed, as he tried to cope with his confusing
gender identity. This parasuicidal behavior continued until he found
support through TEEN LINE's outreach services. No longer suicidal,
he still fights turning to drugs, but he has future goals, is doing
well in school, holds an after-school job, and is seeing a counselor
while receiving hormone treatments.
Dr. Elaine Leader, Co-founder and Executive Director of TEEN
LINE, coordinates and trains the Team. She also presents the didactic
material that includes the warning signs of suicide. She leads the
classroom discussion, encouraging officers to share their own experiences
with teen suicide, either personal or professional. This is an important
part of the learning process. In fact, it has been cathartic for
several officers, as they have recalled earlier traumatic events
in their own lives. Dr. Leader sets the tone of the class by sharing
a poem, written by a 16-year-old, and two suicide notes. One note
has a positive outcome. The writer, an 18 year old, with intensive
therapy overcame her depression to become a successful professional
in the community. While Alyssia, who wrote the other note that Dr.
Leader reads to the class, died.
At the conclusion of each training session officers are asked to
complete a brief evaluation form. The form asks officers to state
what they will do as a result of their participation in the training
both in their professional and personal lives. It evaluates knowledge
gain and usefulness on a five-point scale. The form also asks officers
which information was found to be most helpful and if there were
questions that were not addressed in the training. An overall assessment
of the training on a five-point scale completes the form along with
a space for written comments.
Some of the officers we train are responsible for Explorer groups
in their communities. The Explorers are youth between 14 and 22
years old who participate in after-school programs sponsored by
law enforcement. The organization is part of the Boy/Girl Scouts
of America. One goal of the Explorer program is to prepare youth
for possible careers as peace officers. Most of the youth come from
low-income families and are predominantly Latino or African American.
We have been invited by several officers to also speak to their
Explorer groups and this has been an important addition to our community
policing efforts. Sometimes, we are faced with youth that, despite
their involvement in a productive after-school activity such as
the Explorers, are themselves depressed. Officers are particularly
sensitive to this as five years ago, one of the Explorers took an
officer's gun and committed suicide at Hollenbeck police station.
Sometimes the officers themselves have alerted us to pay attention
to a youth that they are concerned about. Other times, we have used
the evaluation forms that the Explorers complete to earmark youth
that we consider as possibly vulnerable to depression. In fact,
some comments have clearly indicated current or previous suicidal
ideation. We are then able to alert their supervising officer to
the need for professional help in these instances.
EVALUATION
As mentioned, we ask officers and Explorers to complete a brief
evaluation form at the completion of the training. Not all of the
officers complete the forms but many do, and these give us a good
assessment of how relevant the training is. In addition, the LAPD
Juvenile Procedures School conducts its own training evaluation
and our class is consistently rated the highest and most valued
by juvenile officers. From 1997 - January 2003 404 officers completed
the evaluation form and 152 Explorers for a total of 556.
For the purposes of this paper I separated the Explorers' evaluations
from the police officers since they are not actually law enforcement
personnel. However, I am including the results from both groups.
The following are the results from evaluation forms completed by
404 officers and 152 Explorers.
EXPLORERS
Knowledge
gain:
Of 147 responses, 114 checked "A Considerable Amount" or "A great
Deal"
Usefulness:
Of 152 responses, 123 checked "will be considerably useful" or "Will
be extremely useful"
Overall Assessment:
Of 152 responses 132 rated the training Very Satisfied, 19 Moderately
satisfied, and only 1 somewhat dissatisfied. All of the comments
indicate that the youth benefited from the training as the following
examples show:
What will you do as a result of your participation in the training?
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I
would tell an adult if one of my friends is suicidal |
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Look
for signs of depression or changes that can lead to suicide |
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Give
options |
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I
will try to be a good listener to my friends and family |
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Get
professional help |
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I
tried to commit suicide because I had problems, I now know warning
signs. |
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I
would call the hotline |
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Now
that I learned stuff about teenage conflicts, I know what to
do with my friend Kimberly. She's 16, does marijuana, drinks
and has many problems. Not long ago she tried to kill herself
and I'm afraid she might do it again. |
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I
will try to be less aggressive with my family |
What information did you find most helpful?
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That
you need to pay attention when someone tells you they want to
die. |
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Not
to give suicidal people advice but give options. |
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Warning
signs |
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Never
keep it secret |
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The
life stories |
List any questions that may not have been covered that you would
have liked addressed?
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Do
people fake it? |
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What
if a friend that wants to commit suicide tells you that if you
tell, he/she will kill you? |
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What
if you tried but it didn't work, should you still get help? |
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How
do you join the hotline? |
Comments:
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I
think it is a great program. Thank you for helping people who
need help. |
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This
was a great way of informing young people. |
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You
made me think of the signs my friends give out. |
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Thank
you for bringing these things to my attention. I appreciate
it. |
POLICE
OFFICERS
Surprisingly,
many officers wrote quite lengthy comments most of which were very
thoughtful and revealed a real understanding of the concepts we
impart in the training. Almost all of the respondents mentioned
the value of the personal stories and the resources TEEN LINE provides
them, particularly the hotline number and the Youth Yellow Pages.
Knowledge gain:
Of 404 respondents, 298 rated this as "A Considerable amount" or
"A great deal"
Usefulness:
Of 404 respondents, 338 said the training "Will be Considerably
Useful or "Extremely Useful".
Overall Assessment:
Of 404 respondents, 360 were "Very Satisfied" or "Extremely Satisfied".
In reviewing the forms it was apparent that some of the officers
taking the training marked down on Knowledge Gain because they had
already had some suicide prevention training or did not have contact
with juveniles. Nonetheless, most of these officers gave the overall
training high marks. The officer comments were very important to
our program since it is important that the training remain relevant
and meets their needs. These are some of those comments:
1. What will you do as a result of your participation in the teen
suicide training with regard to?
A. Your professional role:
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Keep
information available for school staff and parents. Increase
classroom presentations with students on "Keeping the door open-Talk". |
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Utilize
Teen Line for at risk youth. Educate those in need of it. |
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Teach
my class (Jeopardy program) and refer kids to Teen Line |
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Show
genuine concern and care when investigating suicides or attempts.
Not reveal shock when hearing subjects reasoning as to why. |
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This
was a real eye opener as far as dealing with and having helpful
information and additional assistance for the troubled teen. |
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When
coming in contact with troubled teens, I can serve as a guide
in getting them some type of counseling or help. |
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Provide
handouts related to teen suicide. |
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As
a detective, I will be more compassionate and understanding
towards a teen victim, witness and even a suspect. |
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I
am often asked to speak to the community concerning gang-related
concerns. Many of the underlying factors which make youth susceptible
to gang induction are present in suicidal teens. I can present
this information during my presentations. |
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Try
to understand rather than judge. Listen, have compassion. |
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Detective:
two weeks ago I investigated an incident involving a subject
whose recent behavior was very indicative of a child needing
help. As a result of this class I will go back to the subject's
parents and advise them of the new information I now possess. |
B. Your organization
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Suggest
ongoing training for staff and have YYPs available |
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Educate
others with the organization to the advantages of the Teen Line |
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Incorporate
into Jeopardy program |
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Pass
on the important and beneficial information to fellow officers
and the community regarding Teen Line and its functions. |
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Discuss
warning signs with other officers. |
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Recently
there has been several officers commit suicide. The same indicators
that teens display, adults and co-workers might also. |
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Will
help with radio calls of this type. |
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LAPD
is not responsive to the needs of people. Everyone is processed,
filed and put into a place. |
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Look
for warning signs among my peers - I have known 3 people on
the job who have killed themselves. |
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Recommend
a response team with trained personnel to help at the scene
of a suicide |
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Let
the youth know at church. |
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As
a detective, it will be very useful in interviewing teens of
the Sexual Assault Table. |
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Hopefully
they won't rush us so much for time and allow us to give citizens
more attention. |
C. Personally
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Keep
all my information up to date. |
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Ongoing
education and training. |
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I
plan on listening more to kids and to be aware of victims
and their pain. |
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Be
more aware of warning signs. |
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Became
aware of the reality of kids talking about and committing suicide. |
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Inform
the public regarding the professional help that they can receive
from Teen Line. |
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Better
parent, person, peer. |
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Although
I am an instructor, it does not mean I can't stop learning. |
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I
will contact some of the numbers provided by Teen Line. |
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It
definitely put a face to suicide. Will help me be more aware
of signs of depression and suicide thoughts. |
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Discuss
today's stories and events with parents, friends and family. |
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I
won't be as quick to judge someone in that situation, to label
as a "psycho" or "freak"" - most are trying to let someone know
they need help. |
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Now
I know what NOT to say. |
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While
maintaining professional side, I would try to put myself in
their shoes to show my sympathy and support towards teen's family. |
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I
now know that depression is serious, and I will begin to express
my feelings instead of holding them in. |
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Go
home and call my daughter! Tell her I love her and I'm here
for her! |
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I
have recent lost a good friend to suicide, also I was 17 when
my brother committed suicide. |
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Pay
more attention to my children. |
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I
will attempt to remove or diminish my callous attitude toward
victims who are contemplating suicide. |
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Keep
the Teen Line business cards and Yellow Pages handy. |
2. What information did you find most helpful?
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Open
speaking format with those involved. |
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All
of it was helpful and informative |
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Personal
testimonies. |
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Speakers
and statistics. |
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Being
able to ask questions to a survivor. |
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Be
able to identify when people may be reaching out for help. |
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The
Teen Line video and the kind of support Teen Line provides. |
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The
Youth Yellow Pages. |
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Handout
from Compassionate Friends. |
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Testimony
by survivor and recovering addict reminds one that we are dealing
with people, not numbers. |
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A
reminder of how much people need to lean on each other for support. |
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Even
though you are a police officer, you're still a human being,
so you to need to consider their feelings. |
3. List any questions that may not have been covered that you would
have liked addressed?
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3.6
million youth nationwide considered suicide |
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2.1
million devised a plan, and |
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1
million made an attempt |
· How do you view the role of police officers as first responders
to a suicidal teenager? Maybe one with a weapon? · Can you come
to talk to youth at risk that are in my Jeopardy program? · More
information on the racial/socio-economic factors involving suicide.
· What can be done if therapy doesn't work? · What can we officers
do to help prevent suicide? · I would be interested in getting involved
personally in volunteering. · As an officer, how do I do my job
without causing more anger in children? · I'd like to know if teens
that consider suicide ever ask or talk about assisted suicide?
Comments
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Very
powerful testimony. |
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Would
you consider conducting roll call training for police officers? |
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Thanks
so much for opening yourselves to strangers. |
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I
would like to see more time spent on the subject. |
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I
have never had a class touch me so much like this one. I was
choked up and holding back tears. It's so touching hearing the
actual story from the victims and being able to ask them questions.
It's not so easy to comment on one's own situation because you're
sitting in a room full of strangers. Great job. |
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This
type of training should be given to every police officer in
all departments. |
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I
think this helps myself and majority of others feel human again
and to re-focus on what we set out to accomplish when we joined
the police force. I want to thank Teen Line for helping all
that need help. You're doing a great job and ensuring a productive
future for our youth. |
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Too
touchy feely. |
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Outstanding
presentation - I was in tears. |
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Very
informative and courageous for the teens to share their stories
with such an intimidating audience. Thanks. |
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I
thank you for sharing your very personal stories. I think at
one point in each of our lives we were able to identify with
your struggles. |
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Should
not limit training to Juvenile Procedure School. Should tour
the divisions for roll call training. |
Conclusion
The goal of the training is to assist the officers' handling of
teen suicide incidents by sensitizing them to the needs of suicidal
youth and their families. At the same time, we acknowledge the difficulty
of the assignment they face when dealing with troubled youth and
their families. We have found that it is very important that we
show concern for their task and the challenge this entails if we
want to effect attitudinal change.
The emphasis of the training format is in sharing of experiences.
The panelists' sharing of the painful past experiences they endured,
and the description of their healing journeys, is the heart of the
educational process. Likewise, when the officers share their own
past and current experiences with teen suicidal behavior, on both
a personal and professional level, an additional dimension of understanding
occurs.
Despite the difficult material encountered in discussing teen suicide,
the TEEN LINE Team has been inspiring and inspired by the contacts
made through its community policing alliance. Our research documents
that our training model is an effective tool for teen suicide prevention
within the context of a community policing effort. We hope other
communities will follow our example - to the benefit of all involved
- youth, officers, and the community at large.
* Names have been changed.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
by Elaine Leader, Ph.D.
Executive Director, TEEN LINE
P.O. Box 48750, Los Angeles, CA 90048
310 / 423-3401 Phone
310 / 423-0456 FAX
drleader@earthlink.net
Email
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