LEXINGTON, Ky. – Last night, July 12, Attorney General Brad Schimel delivered keynote remarks at the International Conference of Police Chaplains (ICPC) annual conference in Lexington, Kentucky. Attorney General Schimel addressed more than 600 chaplains and police liaisons from across the country at the evening banquet on the final night of the conference, and was selected as keynote speaker because of Wisconsin’s first-of-its-kind model for training police chaplains and strengthening officer wellness.

Under Attorney General Schimel’s tenure, the Wisconsin Department of Justice (DOJ) has increasingly focused on efforts to improve mental and physical wellness among Wisconsin law enforcement by formalizing Wisconsin police chaplain training, suicide prevention efforts, training law enforcement executives in developing wellness programs, and stress management. Officer wellness programming is now included in all DOJ-run training seminars and conferences, including the Attorney General’s Summit, the Executive Training Series, and the Command College.

DOJ is considered a national leader in officer wellness. Multiple states have requested the agency’s officer wellness curriculum, in order to duplicate Wisconsin’s best practice; and in May 2017, the agency was considered a top finalist in the U.S. Department of Justice’s Bureau of Justice Assistance’s National Officer Safety and Wellness Awards.

In March 2018, DOJ hosted the Law Enforcement Chaplains Certification Program, the first state Attorney General’s office in the United States to do so. The 12-course certification process, offered free of charge, covers topics such as death notification, stress management and ceremonies and events, confidentiality and legal liability, substance abuse, ethics, suicide, responding to crisis, officer death and injury, law enforcement family, and sensitivity and diversity. The curriculum is based on standards established by the International Conference of Police Chaplains (ICPC).

Created in 1973, the ICPC is an international professional membership organization developing professional chaplains of different faiths through dynamic education and support.

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