Safeguard programs and mandatory mental health checks in Canadian police agencies: history, trends, and future directions
Date
2025-03-20
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
SG Publishing
Abstract
This paper traces the emergence of Safeguard programs in Canadian police agencies and explores the research and methods of delivering routine, mandatory mental health check-ups to sworn and civilian personnel in positions with frequent exposure to potentially psychologically traumatic content or situations. A definition for Safeguards is proposed and future directions for police leaders and research are discussed.
Description
© Author(s) 2025. Open Access. This work is distributed under the Creative Commons BY-NC-ND license.
Keywords
Mental health, police, Safeguard, routine mental health checks
Citation
Handley, K. D., Carleton, R.N., Deschênes, A. A., Devlin, J., Kamkar, K., Lee, V., Mackoff, R., Martin-Doto, C. A., Shields, N., Stockdale, K., & Teale Sapach, M. (2025). Safeguard programs and mandatory mental health checks in Canadian police agencies: history, trends, and future directions. Journal of Community Safety and Well-Being, 10(1), 38–42. https://doi.org/10.35502/jcswb.414