2025 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 participate in 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 United States. Critical information about current events such as police recruitment and retention, violence, leadership, 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

Purpose of this study

The current research is focused on collecting contemporary data about the issues that are most important to you as a serving or retired police officer. This is a national survey of members of law enforcement designed to provide clear and unbiased evidence of the critical issues that police face right now. The FOP needs your contribution to this research to effectively lobby on your behalf and support you.

Your participation

You are invited to participate in an online survey about your experiences as a police officer in the US. The survey will take approximately 20 minutes to complete and includes questions mostly requiring multiple choice responses. The survey has been designed by Dr Jacqueline Drew, Griffith University and Ms Sherri Martin, FOP. The FOP is distributing the survey via Survey Monkey. The survey does not collect any data that would lead to your identification, all responses are anonymous. Once collected the anonymized dataset will be forwarded to Griffith University for analysis and interpretation.

We ask that you complete the survey no later than December 10, 2025.

The basis by which participants will be selected

You have been selected for participation based on your status as a US law enforcement officer. The survey is open to all members of US sworn law enforcement, active and retired.

Benefits of this study

Your participation in this study will help provide important insight into the experiences of police across the US. Critical information about current events such as recruitment and retention crises, violence, leadership, sources of stress, and mental health and wellbeing of police will be gained through this research. This will inform the FOP about what issues are most important to you right now, and will allow the FOP to plan to better support you in the future.

Risks associated with participation in this research

This survey includes questions about police officers' wellbeing, including questions about mental and physical health, experience of psychological distress, and suicide-related intentions and behaviors. 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 to seek support via Suicide Prevention Lifeline (call: 988) or CopLine (call: 1-800-COPLINE).

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, unless you choose to provide this information voluntarily. 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 at Griffith University and a designated FOP Office for a period of five years from the date of the final publication before being destroyed.

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: 2025/535. 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.

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.