Dr. Abigail Tucker is an American Psychological Association board-certified police and public safety psychologist, a unique branch of correctional psychology, out of Colorado, United States. In childhood, Dr. Tucker wanted to work as a police officer and eventually for the Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI) but instead found her passion in college: psychology. In graduate school, she was told, “If you want to specialize in anything, be a generalist,” and so that is exactly what she did. Dr. Tucker gained experience in community mental health, jails, detox facilities, hospitals, crisis centers, and more. Despite her multitude of experience working with incarcerated people, in the past handful of years she has focused on the workforce in areas of correctional, operational, and clinical psychology. She works frequently with various law enforcement organizations, including police, emergency medical services (EMS), fire and rescue, and corrections, such as state level Department of Corrections or the Federal Bureau of Prisons. We were able to sit down and discuss many topics related to how the function of the organization is essential in successfully supporting staff as well as incarcerated people.
We started by briefly discussing the Sequential Intercept Model (SIM), which Dr. Tucker said influences her approaches to the work she does and the community she strives to support. For those who are less familiar, in short, the SIM describes the various ways in which people with mental health concerns come into contact with the criminal justice system, as well as the levels (i.e., intercepts) in which we can intervene to help divert or guide them to more supportive resources (e.g., in the community, courts, jails, reentry processes, and community corrections systems, etc.; see the flow chart created by the Substance Use and Mental Health Services administration [SAMHSA] for more detail). Dr. Tucker views this model as an opportunity for professionals at all stages of the process to work together, to be on the same team. This perspective led her to say something particularly meaningful and relevant: “If you want the best for the people who you are providing services for, the incarcerated individuals [and those] within the community, you have to invest in the workforce that is treating them.”
Dr. Tucker discussed having worked on projects that had great potential, but that fell through due to not taking workforce training and implementation into consideration for the budget. Additionally, she found that the workforce was not interested in the program, shifting her to work on implementing successful, affordable, and supported strategies. She became a national instructor for the Active Bystandership in Law Enforcement (ABLE) program, which catered to training in patrol-based law enforcement positions (e.g., police, etc.). With her passion for corrections, she co-founded a new program, Heroes Active Bystandership Training, which included all areas of law enforcement, particularly with a goal to include corrections and other public safety personnel (e.g., sheriff’s departments, jails, parole/probation, EMS, etc.).
The excitement in her voice as Dr. Tucker walked me through the basics of active bystandership was inspiring. First and foremost, we discussed how a single person’s mistake or misconduct can pull down an entire department. Thus, we are all responsible for supporting each other and speaking up when something problematic may be occurring. The Heroes program focuses on a few key concepts. The first we discussed was about utilizing loyalty in a constructive manner. Blind loyalty is not constructive as people are often unwilling to point out problems in those that they are loyal to. Constructive loyalty, however, emphasizes that same commitment, while encouraging people to say something when they see opportunities for mistakes or problems. Speaking up or stepping in could help prevent a situation from building to the point of a mental health crisis, misconduct, or some other negative outcome. Dr. Tucker views this willingness to intervene as a unique kind of loyalty, supporting and inspiring a healthy and functional working environment, rather than a demonstration of disrespect or overstepping. Additionally, as with any training, and in line with comments that Dr. Rudolph made in our interview, Dr. Tucker believes that implementation of a new approach can only work from the top down. If those in leadership roles are utilizing these strategies and supporting access to resources, other employees will be more willing to as well. Thus, those who provide mentorship or supervision can be particularly influential in normalizing and encouraging these behaviors.
The second key concept we discussed is how a healthy, well-trained workforce can prevent mistakes, further supporting staff wellness. More mistakes may build up and lead to misconduct. Some institutions or departments may have structured support teams, but those teams may not be available on every shift or in every facility. Thus, we are all responsible for stepping up when we notice our colleagues are not doing well. Whether that means asking if someone is okay, stepping into an escalating situation, or reminding someone about something we learned in training, anyone can be a source of peer support and encourage staff wellness and a healthy working environment. Dr. Tucker compared this bystandership concept to mental health first aid. She said,
“You don’t have to have a degree in psychology to say, ‘my neighbor isn’t doing well’ and go have an uncomfortable conversation with them and offer them resources. You could save a life.”
Dr. Tucker encourages correctional staff to have those conversations. What is worse? Having an uncomfortable conversation for a few minutes? Or losing a coworker to termination, incarceration, poor health, suicide, or workplace, domestic, or other types of violence? She said that her colleagues working in internal affairs rarely see an instance of misconduct with no prior mistakes or perfect mental and physical health and wellness. Thus, stepping in when we see smaller issues can prevent them from building to something bigger.
The final concept we discussed returns to the basics of the bystander effect. How do you convince people to step up? You may think someone else will say something or it is not your place. To target these hesitations, Dr. Tucker defined the 3 D’s:
- Distract: Divert someone’s attention without openly calling them out.
- Delegate: Ask someone else to intervene.
- Direct: Step in, yourself (respectfully).
As we walked through each, she utilized examples in corrections but emphasized these can be used in a variety of correctional, forensic, or public safety settings. To start, in an escalating situation between a correctional officer and incarcerated person (e.g., argument), you can distract by asking the officer for help or indicate that they are needed by someone else. Get them to walk away, to take time to relax and regroup. In another situation where you notice a colleague’s mental or physical health appears to be declining (e.g., they are showing up late, appear fatigued, performance is faltering, etc.), you may not be comfortable approaching them directly or may feel that they will deflect your offer for help due to your position (e.g., leadership, mental health professional, etc.). Delegate this duty to someone else. Go to a close friend or a colleague they may feel more comfortable speaking with and let that person know what you are seeing. See if they would be willing to check in. Offer your support to the friend if needed while respecting professional and personal boundaries. Lastly, going back to the escalating conversation from the distract example, there could be several reasons requiring direct intervention. Maybe the incarcerated person is experiencing psychosis. Maybe the officer (or psychologist or other staff member) is not in a good headspace to be handling a difficult or aggressive conversation. Step in or directly ask someone else to step in. Pull that person out of the situation. The discomfort of intervening far supersedes allowing mistakes, misconduct, or self-destruction to occur.
Dr. Tucker discussed redirecting the responsibility from the wrongdoer to the bystander. Of course, the individual is responsible for their own behavior. However, as a collective, we can speak up, step in, and help to prevent some negative outcomes. Additionally, she indicated that there is no one correct approach, no step-by-step instruction, for how to be a perfect bystander. Psychologists may feel more comfortable intervening in a crisis than in an everyday scenario, but small interventions can be lifesaving too. Being willing to extend a helping hand or intervene in a high stress interaction can help protect the health and wellness of those around us and, in turn, the entire system. As we got closer to the end of our time together, Dr. Tucker made it clear that there is so much more to this training, but if we went any deeper, this article would turn into a book. However, if you want to learn more, please reach out to Dr. Tucker. She clearly loves this topic and is passionate about sharing it with others.
Overall, correctional and public safety staff simply want to go home safely at the end of the day. For Dr. Tucker, it is frustrating that someone must lose their job for those around them to act or speak up. Intervene sooner. When someone gets fired for misconduct, it not only affects themselves and their families, but their colleagues. Understaffed institutions exert additional stressors on the remaining staff, impacting their wellness and perpetuating working environments filled with tension, mistakes, and misbehaviour. Of particular importance, Dr. Tucker emphasizes implementing these approaches across ranks, specialties, and institutions. In her words, “It is everybody’s responsibility to prevent harm,” not just leaders, psychologists, internal affairs, or human resources.
In our final few minutes, I asked Dr. Tucker about her own experiences with addressing and maintaining wellness over her career. She said that the first time she experienced burnout was in her postdoctoral year. She was working as a forensic psychologist with both offenders and victims, and the job was taking its toll. One day, a parole officer she worked with asked if she was okay, an unassuming, but incredibly powerful question. Like many psychologists, Dr. Tucker believed she was (or had to be) immune to stress. This experience has clearly been impactful to her career. That colleague noticed and intervened, and this modest act had a profound effect on Dr. Tucker’s life. Now, she teaches students and practitioners alike to be proactive with their own wellness. A question that may be especially important for readers to ask themselves is this: How can you look out for others’ wellness when you are unwilling to monitor and address your own?
Tia Tourville, IACFP Communications and Projects Contractor
