The Employee Well-being Office (EWBO) at the DC Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) launched in May 2021 with the hiring of the first director for employee well-being support. The position was created by Police Chief Robert J. Contee III to specifically provide wellness support and resources for sworn and professional staff.¹ As Chief Contee explained, “In order to fight against compassion fatigue and to have officers who can serve our community with empathy, we must work to support the well-being of the whole person for all of our members.”²

Chief Contee’s vision was clear, and this new approach sparked a lot of excitement inside MPD. To identify the department’s needs and existing assets regarding members’ well-being, the director conducted more than 65 personal interviews with members of all ranks within the first 90 days of starting the role. Professional and sworn members were eager to share their perspectives and thoughts on how MPD could best support their well-being. It was very clear throughout these conversations that members were interested in a program that extended beyond a calendar of events and were seeking educational opportunities focused on improving the organizational wellness of the police department as a whole. Members identified challenges such as the impact of stress and trauma on their overall well-being and effectiveness and the impact that the demands of their jobs had on their families.

By strengthening MPD’s organizational wellness, members would feel supported internally, better equipped to conduct policing operations more efficiently, and inspired to focus on their individual and family wellness. This approach meant that a successful strategy would require leveraging existing resources, programs, and services, and developing specific new ones to fill the gaps.
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