Fairfax County (VA) Police Department | Dietitian Services
Fairfax County (VA) Police Department (2024)
State: VA
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Fairfax County (VA) Police Department | Dietitian Services2024 Winner General Officer Wellness
The Fairfax County Police Department (FCPD) has 1,492 sworn officers and 344 staff serving a population of 1.2 million in 407 square miles. Incident Support Services (ISS) offers various services like Peer Support Team, chaplains, psychologists, and Employee Assistance Program. The Peer Support Team, established in the 1980s, has over 40 members providing assistance 24/7, accredited by the Virginia Department of Health for confidentiality. FCPD also collaborates with the Northern Virginia Regional Peer Support Team to aid other jurisdictions and provides peer support services through their wellness smartphone app.
In 2007, FCPD hired a police psychologist to provide mental health services to officers. The program expanded to include contracted police psychologists/licensed clinicians for crisis intervention, assessments, therapy, and more. Department personnel can access psychologists through BlueNet for privacy. FCPD collaborates with Fairfax County Fire and Rescue at the Public Safety Behavioral Health Center. They provided suicide prevention training to over 1,100 officers at various locations within a year.
The FCPD takes a multi-prong approach to address the importance of mental health. The psychologists/licensed clinicians and ISS members provide training at the Fairfax County Criminal Justice Academy (FCCJA) while recruits are in basic training, basic supervisor school, and our command college. This approach ensures that officers at all levels know how to address their mental health needs and make sure an employee can access mental health services.
The FCPD has 11 chaplains that assist the police department with their spiritual needs. The Chaplain Unit also responds to critical incidents. When a potentially traumatic event occurs, the chaplain units respond to the scene and provide spiritual aid to the officers involved. The police chaplain is a part of the Fairfax County Community Corps and will respond to assist the community during critical incidents. This is especially helpful for officers, which allows them to concentrate on the incident while they know that the community/victims are having their spiritual needs met.
The FCPD’s Wellness Program is committed to maintaining and improving all employees’ health and fitness levels. Through their wellness programs, police and fire departments collectively train their personnel as tactical athletes. Tactical athletes must be physically fit to perform their duties effectively, including foot pursuits, apprehending individuals, and responding to emergencies. Additionally, it is essential to incorporate proper nutrition and recovery techniques to ensure officers are adequately fueled and rested to perform at their best. The FCPD’s Wellness Program is designed to accommodate officers of all fitness levels. The program allows for one-on-one consults with a certified strength and conditioning coach and progress tracking through a mobile app to ensure officers are reaching their goals.
Every main police facility includes a high-quality gym accessible to officers both during and after duty hours. Sworn officers are allowed one hour of duty time daily for exercise. These gyms feature top-notch equipment from renowned brands like Rogue Fitness and Sorinex. The WellFit Performance Center, a collaboration between the FCPD and the Fairfax County Fire & Rescue Department, aims to deliver exceptional physical fitness coaching, recovery services, and overall wellness support to Fairfax County’s public safety personnel. WellFit is staffed with a team of strength and conditioning coaches, a registered dietitian, an athletic trainer, and physical therapists. Additionally, WellFit offers yoga programs that provide various physical and mental benefits to police officers.
 
This summary is only a brief overview of many of the agency’s programs. In the actual submission you will see that the agency has other programs and incentives to benefit its members.  Please review their entire submission and its associated documents to gain a complete understanding of their program.
