To proactively address the well-being of its employees, the Alexandria Sheriff’s Office has launched a confidential wellness mobile application for its personnel, their families, and retirees. The Office is also implementing a new employee wellness program to encourage and support employees in maintaining and improving their physical, nutritional, mental, financial, and family well-being.

Employee wellness is critical to a professional, successful law enforcement agency. Because law enforcement officers are exposed to traumatic incidents at much higher rates than the general population, they are more susceptible to physical and mental health issues such as PTSD, depression, anxiety, and suicide.

The customized wellness app was developed by Lexipol, the leader in public safety policy, training, and wellness support, and includes a customized toolkit addressing 60 behavioral health topics such as fatigue, suicide prevention and alcohol abuse, mental health self-assessments, and videos and guides on yoga, mindfulness, nutrition, and more.

When Sheriff Sean Casey took office in 2022, he identified employee wellness as one of his priorities. “Our mission is to help and protect people. To successfully and consistently accomplish that, we must look out for our own mental and physical well-being,” Sheriff Casey says. “This app can help us do that and allows staff easy access to the resources specifically suited for them.”

Sheriff’s Office employees and their family members will have confidential, 24/7 access to the mobile app to ensure they have the available resources at their fingertips. The app provides contact information for local therapists who specialize in and have experience working with first responders. It also connects users directly to the Alexandria Sheriff’s Office peer support team members.

“This is an outstanding tool to help all employees build resilience and avoid the negative long-term effects associated with high job-related stress,” says Sergeant David Hoffmaster, who serves as the peer support team leader. “And it means our team can be reached with just a tap on a screen.”

Adds Sheriff Casey, “We want to change public safety culture when it comes to mental health and wellness, and leveraging this technology helps us do so in a way that works for our agency.”

Further, the Office’s new wellness policy allows deputy sheriffs to participate in physical fitness activities on duty, identifies additional resources to support overall well-being, and offers incentives for employees to participate in the Office’s wellness program.

The Alexandria Sheriff’s Office is proud to be the first law enforcement agency in Virginia to offer Lexipol’s wellness solutions to its employees. It joins hundreds of public safety agencies and organizations nationwide in using Lexipol’s wellness solutions.