What about LEO?

And Moses built an altar and called the name of it, The Lord Is My Banner… (see Exodus 17:15)

LEO, as some of you may be familiar with, stands for Law Enforcement Officer. So what about these men and women who are in the media-mind everyday, and are often looked upon through a negative lens? What about them? Do you know that these individuals experience PTSD at approximately 15% globally? Meaning they will exhibit symptoms of trauma which will clinically be transformed into PTSD for 15% of those who protect and serve. This statistic does not consider those who do not report symptoms, nor does it consider those who have reoccurring traumatization over a span of time.

For the purpose of this blog, let’s look at military, LEO, First-responders, and Corrections, albeit briefly and see where these agencies and individuals are on a spectrum of PTSD growth and exposure.

• LEO as we have briefly mentioned are (approximate) 15% on a global level, and this is only for those who report symptoms.

• Military (looked at altogether, not broken down into specific branches or components) experience PTSD . In one study of 60,000 Iraq and Afghanistan veterans, 13.5% of deployed and nondeployed veterans had PTSD.

  • Other studies on veterans will show the percentage as high as 20% - 30%, and suggest that as many as 500,000 troops over the past 13 years have been diagnosed with PTSD (1) These are also not the newest rates on PTSD within this section of the culture with PTSD. This statistic is from 2016.

• First responders (Fire-fighters, Emergency Medical, and others) have an estimation of 30% developing behavioral health conditions such as depression and PTSD, as compared with 20% of the general population (Abbot et al, 2015). (2)

• In a February, 2021, article, the findings of 3,999 correctional officers produced a percentage of PTSD at 27%. This study also found that correctional workers who screened positive for PTSD, demonstrated a higher frequency of:

  • memory impairment

  • depression

  • sleep difficulties

  • digestive problems

  • heart disease

  • skin conditions

  • obesity

  As you can see, the percentage of those living with diagnosed PTSD is high among the serving professions. Please understand I did not look into Customer Service or other employment, but am aware that PTSD does not discriminate, everyone will be exposed to trauma in their life, yet not everyone will develop PTSD.

Law Enforcement need our care and support, they serve and protect, now I know this is a hot-button topic lately, but let me say this - in any profession, there will be people who make poor choses - but does this mean everyone in those professions is misbehaving?

Let me suggest we seek the good in those who serve. When we show proper care towards others, and perhaps especially those who have PTSD from their jobs - maybe the compassion can help with growth and finding lasting hope?

Let’s be a friend, a listener, a companion, a prayer warrior as we seek to bring people into the light. Be strengthened in the grace of the Lord.