100 OFFICERS FROM AREA AT SEMINAR IN JACKSON

JACKSON -- Dr. Kevin M. Gilmartin told a roomful of law enforcement officers they should be survivors, not victims.

Gilmartin, a 21-year police veteran and psychiatrist from Tucson, Ariz., conducted a seminar Monday at the Knights of Columbus Hall for about 100 law enforcement personnel from throughout the region.

Officers from as far away as Phelps County attended along with local county and city law enforcement officers.

The seminar addressed the issues of stress in the field of law enforcement and how officers should deal with it.

While 65 police officers are killed by criminals each year, more than 300 officers take their own lives.

Gilmartin said this indicates there is a problem.

Some police officers are survivors and some are victims, he said. Victims complain and whine about their high-stress jobs while survivors learn more constructive ways to deal with the stress.

"Emotionally, we see things as out of our control," he said. "And victims want control."

Victims often rationalize and justify any acts they believe balance out their victim situation. He said victims act inappropriately in their jobs to regain control and "settle the score."

What happened with Rodney King is a perfect example, he said.

"Why did that happen?" he asked. "Was it about racism? No. It was about control. Not just control of one man's behavior but about gaining control of their environment."

Police officers who see themselves as victims view their environment as hostile and find it hard to leave that mode behind when it's time to go home, he said.

Police officers who burn out do so from too much commitment, he said. This often results in poor communication with spouses and their children.

Gilmartin stressed ways officers can deal emotionally with a job that can make them feel like outsiders in an environment they perceive as hostile.

"Most people have the luxury of having a normal range of awareness," he said. "Police officers have to see their environment as dangerous."

Officers shouldn't feel like outsiders and should go back to being members of the community, he said.

"It's OK to be the Little League coach, a Scoutmaster and a cop," he said.

Sheriff John Jordan, who coordinated the seminar thinks it is beneficial for the officers to hear about such survival tactics. Jordan said Gilmartin understands how to combine good police and human behavior, Jordan said.

Gilmartin explains that the best cop can turn into the worst paranoid malcontent if they're not careful, Jordan said.

"I like his approach," said Helen Burnett, training director for the Missouri Sheriffs' Training Academy. "It's a good common-sense approach presented in a humorous way."

The seminar was paid for by the Crime Reduction Fund, which comes from fines paid by those convicted of crimes.