By Sarah Roebuck
Police1
WASHINGTON — The National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund (NLEOMF) announced the 2024 winners of the Destination Zero National Officer Safety and Wellness Awards.
The award highlights agency-level achievements in areas of officer safety and wellness, NLEOMF states.
Destination Zero was launched in 2014 with a goal to “identify agencies conducting unique and innovative programs aimed at reducing risk factors for line-of-duty deaths, and to share the design and outcomes of these programs with the national law enforcement community,” NLEOMF says. Agencies with successful programs are invited to submit details of their initiatives for consideration for a national officer safety and wellness award.
Awards are presented in five categories:
- General Officer Safety: Programs that directly affect officers’ physical safety while performing their jobs.
- Officer Traffic Safety: Initiatives designed to reduce automobile crashes and limit the risk factors of operating a motor vehicle or managing traffic. Programs that increase seatbelt use, limited distractions or reduce driving speeds are also included in this category.
- Officer Wellness: Fitness programs, mental health programs and initiatives, such as peer support groups and nutrition.
- Comprehensive Wellness: Robust approaches to holistic wellness and resilience programs.
- Comprehensive Safety: Programs that demonstrate the most comprehensive approach and implementation of well-rounded safety efforts.
After months of review and evaluation of programs, the winners are:
The Independence (Ohio) Police Department has been awarded the Traffic Safety Award for their innovative program that uses portable generators at all major intersections in the city. Each officer is equipped with a universal key, allowing them to operate the generators during inclement weather or traffic collisions, eliminating the need for officers to stand in intersections to direct traffic.
The Texas Department of Public Safety and Police Protective League has been honored with the Wellness Award for their Fitness Wellness Unit (FWU). This unit is dedicated to maintaining the physical health and wellness of officers from recruitment to retirement through quarterly and monthly programs, webinars, and trainings — benefiting over 7,000 employees.
The Fairfax County (Va.) Police Department has received the General Safety Award for their Enhanced Wellness and Resiliency Program (EWARP). Based at their Occupational Wellness Center, EWARP offers comprehensive health services to all public safety employees in Fairfax County and the City of Fairfax. The program is supported by a team of four medical doctors, two physician assistants and eight registered nurses.
Baltimore City (Md.) Police Department has received the Comprehensive Wellness Award for its robust Officer Safety and Wellness department. This department comprises three sections: the Health and Wellness Unit, the Early Intervention Unit and the Retiree/Employee Affairs Unit. Together, these units address the comprehensive physical, mental, financial and spiritual needs of officers throughout their careers.
Louisville Metro (Ky.) Police Department received the Comprehensive Safety Award for its specialized Exposure Response Team, which rapidly responds whenever an officer is exposed to body fluids. Additionally, their respiratory protection program equips officers with air-purifying respirators to prevent the inhalation of dangerous contaminants.
The awards, sponsored by Verizon, will be officially presented to the winners at the National Law Enforcement Museum in Washington, D.C., during the organization’s Awards Ceremony and Reception on September 27, 2024.
“The continuing goal of our Destination Zero initiative is to identify, highlight, and make accessible new and innovative programs that can have an outsized impact on the safety of our nation’s law enforcement professionals,” said Bill Alexander, NLEOMF’s CEO. “Our Officer Safety and Wellness team, led by Troy Anderson, and with critical support from our long-term partner, Verizon, then works to push out programs from our award winners, both past and present to law enforcement agencies nationwide. Our continuing hope is that programs like these will reduce the number of names we add to our sacred Memorial walls each year.”
Law enforcement agencies are invited to submit information about their successful safety and wellness programs for the 2025 Officer Safety and Wellness Awards. Applications can be completed online at nleomf.org.
