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Edmonton Police and Calgary Police helping officers feel comfortable again in their own skin

Dec. 15, 2022, Edmonton, Calgary, Alta. – A partnership that aims at helping police officers recover from traumatic events has been recognized by the Alberta Association of Chiefs of Police (AACP).

Staff Sergeant Glen Klose and Sergeant Colleen Mooney received the AACP Award of Service at a recent ceremony in Banff.

The award acknowledges Klose and Mooney for their work helping the Calgary Police Service (CPS) build its reintegration program, a process that began in 2019.

“I relied on them heavily for support and direction as we built our program,” Sergeant Mike Huskins with the CPS Organizational Wellness Unit said. Huskins, who was also a recipient of Award of Service, went on to say: “They were instrumental in giving us the confidence to start and keep pushing forward with reintegration.”

The EPS Reintegration Program dates to 2009 and is used by agencies across Canada and around the world.

“We saw the need for a program that helped members after shootings, serious collisions, and other types of critical incidents,” Klose recalls.

Mooney attributes their early successes to a “kind of underground support” among members.

“It was hurting people talking to other hurting people, saying, ‘Hey, there’s a couple of people at the range that I think could help you.’”

On average, an officer who goes through the Reintegration Program returns to the street in two or three weeks.

“It’s all about helping people feel like they can do those things again,” Mooney said.  “We’re utilizing prolonged exposure techniques to help people feel safe and comfortable in the world around them and in their own skin.”

She stresses each officer controls the pace of their reintegration and longer-term programs are available to members who have experienced significant physical or mental injuries.

In Calgary, Sergeant Huskins said, “members we work with have made comments that the program saved their career, saved their life, and gave them a path back to work.”

Historically, reintegration has focused on police, “but now we are looking at other areas of the organization where we have civilians that are also exposed to trauma,” Klose said.

“We’re just going to continue to expand into any area where either our sworn members or civilians are experiencing a confidence gap that we can help close.”