2021 FOP Biennial Critical Issues In Policing Survey

Conducted by the National Fraternal Order of Police in cooperation with Griffith University

You are being asked to contribute to the following survey so that your voice, along with those of your fellow brothers and sisters in law enforcement, can be heard! The value of the voices of those doing the job cannot be overstated. Your participation in this study will help provide important insights into the experiences of police across the US. Critical information about current events such as defunding the police, mass demonstrations and public protests, and mental health and wellbeing of police will be gained through this research.

Who is conducting the research?

Chief Investigator(s):

Ms. Sherri Martin

National Fraternal Order of Police Division of Wellness Services; Contact phone (615) 878-2620
Contact Email: sherrimartin@fop.net

Dr. Jacqueline Drew

Griffith Criminology Institute, Griffith University; Contact Phone: +61 7 3735 5957
Contact Email: j.drew@griffith.edu.au

Prize Draw for Participation

As a thank you for your participation, we are offering you the opportunity to win one of three tuition scholarships (registration fees only) to attend an FOP training event. At the end of the survey, you will be given the option to click on a link to register for the prize draw. Contact information provided for the prize draw will in no way be able to be linked to your survey responses, your survey responses will retain anonymity.

Your participation

You have been selected for participation based on your membership in the FOP. The survey is open to all FOP members. This is a national survey of FOP members designed to provide clear and unbiased evidence of the critical issues that police face right now. Questions about wellbeing, including mental and physical health, experiences of psychological distress, suicide, and access to social and organizational supports are included in the survey. The survey will take approximately 20 minutes to complete and includes questions mostly requiring multiple choice responses.

We ask that you complete the survey no later than November 1, 2021.

Participation in this research is voluntary. You are free to withdraw from the survey at any point in time without comment or penalty. If you do not wish to continue, please do not begin the survey and/or once started, simply exit the survey prior to completion.

Your confidentiality and anonymity

The online survey collects your responses to the survey questions as anonymized data; you will not be asked any questions that would lead to your identification. Once collected the anonymized dataset will be forwarded to Griffith University for analysis and interpretation. Your anonymity will at all times be safeguarded. For further information consult Griffith University's Privacy Plan at http://www.griffith.edu.au/about-griffith/plans-publications/griffith-university-privacy-plan or telephone +61 7 3735 4375.

The information collected during this research is confidential and will only be used in conjunction with this research. Only the chief investigators will have access to the survey data. It will be stored securely on the password protected survey platform and transferred to a password protected electronic file. Research data will be retained in a password protected electronic file at Griffith University and at the FOP Division of Wellness Services for a period of five years from the date of the final publication before being destroyed.

Risks associated with participation in this research

No specific risks have been identified with this research. You can decide at any time during this study to withdraw your participation by simply discontinuing the survey.

If you become upset or distressed as a result of your participation in the research project, the research team encourage you seek support via Suicide Prevention Lifeline (call: 1-800-273-8255) or CopLine (call: 1-800-COPLINE).

The ethical conduct of this research

The FOP has provided approval for the conduct of this research. Ethics approval for this research has been obtained from Griffith University, GU Ethics Reference No: 2021/516. Griffith University conducts research in accordance with the National Statement on Ethical Conduct in Human Research. If participants have any concerns or complaints about the ethical conduct of this study they should contact the Manager, Research Ethics on +61 7 3735 4375 or research-ethics@griffith.edu.au.

Feedback to you and further information

The findings of the research will be provided to you by the FOP. The research findings are also expected to be published in FOP publications, in scholarly academic outlets, such as academic journals and presented at industry and academic conferences. Please contact one of the chief investigators should you wish to be personally notified of the research outcomes or have any questions about the research. See contact information for chief investigators provided above.

Consent

By commencing the survey you are providing your consent to participate in the research as described above. As noted, you can withdraw consent at anytime by discontinuing the survey before completion and submission.