Barriers and bridges: Exploring the introduction of meditation and mindfulness training into Canadian policing
Canadian police organizations are under significant pressure to enhance the health and wellness of their employees. Growing research suggests that training in meditation and mindfulness can contribute to the well-being of police personnel and may even be a catalyst for police reform. Limited resear...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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SG Publishing
2024-03-01
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| Series: | Journal of Community Safety and Well-Being |
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| Online Access: | https://www.journalcswb.ca/index.php/cswb/article/view/374 |
| _version_ | 1797258892287148032 |
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| author | Les Sylven |
| author_facet | Les Sylven |
| author_sort | Les Sylven |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description |
Canadian police organizations are under significant pressure to enhance the health and wellness of their employees. Growing research suggests that training in meditation and mindfulness can contribute to the well-being of police personnel and may even be a catalyst for police reform. Limited research, however, has been conducted that seeks to understand how these practices should be introduced into Canadian police organizations. This article contributes to this understanding by sharing results from an exploratory study that asked 11 Commissioned Officers, who regularly practice meditation, to identify the key factors that should be considered when introducing mindfulness practice into their large Canadian police service. Using semi-structured interviews and focus groups, and guided by a reflexive thematic analysis approach, six themes were developed. These can be viewed as both barriers (invincibility and stigma; overworked and overstressed; and checkbox cynicism) and bridges (credible champions; the whole person perspective; and the philosophy of servant leadership) to the successful introduction of meditation and mindfulness practices into Canadian police organizations. This study advances the literature on introducing mindfulness to policing as it is one of the first to focus on the perceptions of mindfulness practicing Commissioned Police Officers. It also offers practical suggestions for police leaders, and leaders from other public safety professions, to consider when contemplating the introduction of these mental practices into their organizations.
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| first_indexed | 2024-04-24T23:00:45Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-acd566c6601444eeb7a24c1d0871c5fc |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2371-4298 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-24T23:00:45Z |
| publishDate | 2024-03-01 |
| publisher | SG Publishing |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Journal of Community Safety and Well-Being |
| spelling | doaj.art-acd566c6601444eeb7a24c1d0871c5fc2024-03-17T14:00:07ZengSG PublishingJournal of Community Safety and Well-Being2371-42982024-03-019110.35502/jcswb.374Barriers and bridges: Exploring the introduction of meditation and mindfulness training into Canadian policingLes Sylven0PhD Candidate, Department of Educational Psychology and Leadership Studies, University of Victoria, Victoria, Canada. Canadian police organizations are under significant pressure to enhance the health and wellness of their employees. Growing research suggests that training in meditation and mindfulness can contribute to the well-being of police personnel and may even be a catalyst for police reform. Limited research, however, has been conducted that seeks to understand how these practices should be introduced into Canadian police organizations. This article contributes to this understanding by sharing results from an exploratory study that asked 11 Commissioned Officers, who regularly practice meditation, to identify the key factors that should be considered when introducing mindfulness practice into their large Canadian police service. Using semi-structured interviews and focus groups, and guided by a reflexive thematic analysis approach, six themes were developed. These can be viewed as both barriers (invincibility and stigma; overworked and overstressed; and checkbox cynicism) and bridges (credible champions; the whole person perspective; and the philosophy of servant leadership) to the successful introduction of meditation and mindfulness practices into Canadian police organizations. This study advances the literature on introducing mindfulness to policing as it is one of the first to focus on the perceptions of mindfulness practicing Commissioned Police Officers. It also offers practical suggestions for police leaders, and leaders from other public safety professions, to consider when contemplating the introduction of these mental practices into their organizations. https://www.journalcswb.ca/index.php/cswb/article/view/374Canadian police leadershippolice employee well-beingintroducing mindfulness to policingservant leadership |
| spellingShingle | Les Sylven Barriers and bridges: Exploring the introduction of meditation and mindfulness training into Canadian policing Journal of Community Safety and Well-Being Canadian police leadership police employee well-being introducing mindfulness to policing servant leadership |
| title | Barriers and bridges: Exploring the introduction of meditation and mindfulness training into Canadian policing |
| title_full | Barriers and bridges: Exploring the introduction of meditation and mindfulness training into Canadian policing |
| title_fullStr | Barriers and bridges: Exploring the introduction of meditation and mindfulness training into Canadian policing |
| title_full_unstemmed | Barriers and bridges: Exploring the introduction of meditation and mindfulness training into Canadian policing |
| title_short | Barriers and bridges: Exploring the introduction of meditation and mindfulness training into Canadian policing |
| title_sort | barriers and bridges exploring the introduction of meditation and mindfulness training into canadian policing |
| topic | Canadian police leadership police employee well-being introducing mindfulness to policing servant leadership |
| url | https://www.journalcswb.ca/index.php/cswb/article/view/374 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT lessylven barriersandbridgesexploringtheintroductionofmeditationandmindfulnesstrainingintocanadianpolicing |