Policy Text
Policy
333San Luis Obispo Police Department
San Luis Obispo PD CA Policy Manual
Copyright Lexipol, LLC 2024/10/31, All Rights Reserved.
Published with permission by San Luis Obispo Police
DepartmentPeer Support Program - 1Peer Support Program
333.1 PURPOSE AND SCOPE
The San Luis Obispo Police Department recognizes that employees may be exposed to stressful
and/or traumatic incidents, to which they experience significant stress related symptoms that may
adversely affect their personal wellbeing and ability to perform their assigned job function. The
purpose of this policy is to provide a peer support system for employees, enabling them to better
manage symptoms of stress resulting from a personal or professional crisis. Decisions derived
from this directive shall be made for the welfare of the employee.
A successful approach to this problem has been to provide a program which offers a non-
professional (peer) support program in addition to the current professional Employee Assistance
Program (EAP). The peer support program is composed of a group of employees who have been
nominated by their peers and have volunteered to make themselves available to any member of
the department. This program will provide another way for the San Luis Obispo Police Department
employees to talk out personal and\or professional problems confidentially with someone who
understands and cares.
333.1.1 MISSION STATEMENT
The Peer Support Program is a program that offers assistance and appropriate support resources
to employees when personal or professional problems negatively affect their work performance,
family unit or self. This assistance is confidential with the exceptions listed in section 374.3.1 below
and provided it does not violate any law or department regulation.
333.2 POLICY
It shall be the policy of the San Luis Obispo Police Department to provide departmental employees
with voluntary and confidential resources of support and assistance relating to personal, work,
and/or critical incident stress.
The purpose of this policy is to provide all employees with the opportunity for peer support during
times of personal or professional crisis. Some specific responsibilities of the Peer Support Program
are:
(a)To provide an accessible support network of employees willing to be of service to
employees and their families who express a need for assistance.
(b)To promote trust, appropriate anonymity and confidentiality for employees
participating in peer support efforts.
(c)To develop employee ability to anticipate personal conflict and awareness of
available alternatives for self-help
(d)To maintain an effective, on-going peer support training process
(e)To provide services, upon request, to personnel off duty due to injury or illness.
(f)To train employees in wellness, healthy habits, and wellbeing; and to provide
resources for such.
San Luis Obispo Police Department
San Luis Obispo PD CA Policy Manual
Peer Support Program
Copyright Lexipol, LLC 2024/10/31, All Rights Reserved.
Published with permission by San Luis Obispo Police
DepartmentPeer Support Program - 2333.3 ACCESSING PEER SUPPORT
The Peer Support Team is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week to all employees and other
agencies when needed. There are Peer Support Team brochures available at several locations
in the main station and police substations, including the briefing, report writing, and the Records
Section with team member contact information included.
333.3.1 CONFIDENTIALITY
One of the most important responsibilities of the Peer Support Team is the promotion of
trust, anonymity and confidentiality for employees who seek assistance from the Peer Support
Team. Communication between a Peer Support Team member and an employee is considered
"privileged" by the department, except for matters that involve violations of the law or serious
misconduct.
Members of the Peer Support Team shall operate under the following guidelines:
(a)It shall be mandatory that Peer Support Team Members maintain strict confidentiality
in matters discussed in debriefings, defusing, meetings, and training. Any statement
or discussion with Peer Support Team Members while acting in a Peer Support Team
role shall remain confidential.
(b)Types of information that are not protected by confidentiality include
1.Information about child, spouse, or elder abuse per 11165 Penal Code.
2.Threats of suicide or homicide
3.Admission of criminal conduct
4.Threats to harm another person
5.Witness to a crime
6.Information gathered that would require investigation per Department policy.
(c)Peer Support Team Members shall not discuss debriefings in which they have been
involved or provide any information about the team's activities except in the instances
listed above and then only after consultation with the Peer Support Team Leader,
Coordinator, and/or Chaplain.
(d)The Peer Support Team is not an investigative unit of the Police Department.
Therefore, except as required by law, it will not be the policy of this department to
question Peer Support Team Members or any other participant involved in a CISM
debriefing or defusing of a critical incident concerning the content of such discussion,
unless it meets the criteria list above.
333.4 CRITICAL INCIDENTS
A "critical incident" is any event that causes an unusually intense stress reaction. The distress
people experience after a critical incident may limit their ability to cope, impair their ability to adjust,
and negatively impact the work environment.
Critical Incidents that should require a Peer Support response may include, but are not limited to:
San Luis Obispo Police Department
San Luis Obispo PD CA Policy Manual
Peer Support Program
Copyright Lexipol, LLC 2024/10/31, All Rights Reserved.
Published with permission by San Luis Obispo Police
DepartmentPeer Support Program - 3(a)Officer involved shootings;
(b)Where