Interesting article in Marketplace: https://www.marketplace.org/2020/06/10/how-one-city-provides-public-safety-without-a-police-department/ particularly in this quote: “Ngo: You know, I’m a little bit biased because I am a firm believer in this program, but I certainly believe that it has something to do with it because of the fire discipline and the EMS discipline. Because firefighters are often seen by community members as caretakers, people who will help you out. So, I do think to a certain extent, it does have a positive impact in what we do here in our city.”
Related note on this point with the great quote:
“Risk a lot to save a lot. Risk a little to save a little. Risk nothing to save nothing. We’re all here to help people… but you need to have your priorities straight: life safety first, incident stabilization second, and property conservation last.”
The Conversation
Notes: 1/ reduced budgets, 2/ extreme cases, 3/ community membership matters
Sad statistic from SAMHSA on first responders: “It is estimated that 30 percent of first responders develop behavioral health conditions including, but not limited to, depression and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), as compared with 20 percent in the general population (Abbot et al., 2015). In a study about suicidality, firefighters were reported to have higher attempt and ideation rates than the general population (Stanley et al., 2016). In law enforcement, the estimates suggest between 125 and 300 police officers commit suicide every year (Badge of Life, 2016).”
