Published by the Office of Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS), this publication discusses the role that law enforcement officers play on the front lines of the opioid epidemic. They are responsible for emergency response, preserving public safety, and enforcing the law. This report discusses the challenge of reconciling the conflicts that can arise among these roles and presents recommendations for alleviating these difficulties and improving law enforcement response to the opioid crisis.

Hosted by the National White-Collar Crime Center (NW3C) and funded by the Bureau of Justice Assistance, this webinar will discuss practical recommendations for officers on how to have a more balanced quality of life by design, guided by their values. Police officers tend to focus on their professional identities, often overlooking their other roles (parent, spouse, family member, community member, etc.). Singular reliance on the professional police identity has been shown to be problematic, since it may separate officers from their families and communities and limit their perspectives and coping skills; in addition, it often contributes to their risk of suicide when they near retirement. 

When: Wednesday, May 19, 2021
Time: 1:00 p.m. – 2:15 p.m., ET

Funded by the Bureau of Justice Assistance and hosted by the Comprehensive Opioid, Stimulant, and Substance Abuse Program (COSSAP) and Treatment Alternatives for Safe Communities’ Center for Health and Justice, this webinar will demonstrate the significant impact first responder-led diversion can have in connecting overdose survivors and those with mental health disorders to treatment. Retired Deputy Chief Mitch Cunningham from the Wilmington, North Carolina, Police Department and Sheriff Daron Hall from the Davidson County Sheriff’s Office in Nashville, Tennessee, will highlight the need for diversion and cite examples of the successful programs they have implemented.

When: Thursday, May 20, 2021
Time: 2:00 p.m. – 3:00 p.m., ET

Published by the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI), this annual report represents the eighth annual “Statistical Transparency Report Regarding the Intelligence Community Use of National Security Surveillance Authorities.” This transparency report provides statistics and contextual information concerning how the Intelligence Community uses Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) and certain other national security authorities to accomplish its mission, describing the circumstances under which its national security activities are conducted and the rules that are designed to ensure compliance with the Constitution and the laws of the United States. By providing statistics along with explanatory narratives, the report endeavors to add further context to other publicly released materials regarding the oversight framework, including oversight conducted by independent judicial and legislative entities, which collectively safeguards the civil liberties and privacy of United States person and non-U.S. person information.

Published by the National Institute of Justice (NIJ), this article discusses the strain resulting in correctional officers from acute episodic and traumatic interactions with inmates. The urgent need to address the impact of organizational stress on staff members has begun to gain traction in corrections and other justice system sectors. In the law enforcement community, for example, practitioners have advocated in favor of the development of officer skills to mitigate the stress of toxic office politics. This article will discuss the emerging research related to organizational stress among correctional staff members in further detail.