PAX Centurion - May / June 2013

www.bppa.org PAX CENTURION • May/June 2013 • Page 25 HEARD ON THE HILL Bills filed by BPPA and Detectives Benevolent Society would give extra protections for peer to peer support P olice, firefighters, and emergency medical services officials want lawmakers to pass legislation that ensures confidentiality during peer-to-peer counseling that takes place after a traumatic emergency. Currently, there is only the expectation of confidentiality when police, firefighters and EMS workers counsel each other in the wake of a public safety emergency, usually involving the loss of life.  Sen. James Timilty (D-Walpole) and Rep. MartinWalsh (D-Boston) filed legislation (S 834/H 2205) that would codify in state law the confidentiality of peer-to-peer counseling.  Across the state, there are 16 teams of public safety officials in the Massachusetts Peer Support Network that are dispatched whenever there is an emergency that might require counseling.  Pointing to the Boston Marathon bombings, public safety officials Tuesday described to members of the Public Safety Committee the critical need for emergency responders to receive counseling after an incident. Often, they said, those who work in public safety are reticent to seek help.  Passing a law to ensure confidentiality would go a long way toward encouraging emergency workers to seek counseling, public safety officials told lawmakers. Any criminal activity discussed would not fall within the confidentiality law, according to supporters.   According to the legislation, no members of the critical incident intervention teams or those receiving crisis intervention counseling “shall be required to testify or divulge any information obtained solely through such crisis intervention and any information divulged to the team or a team member during the provision of a critical incident intervention service must be kept confidential and may not be disclosed to a third party,” with certain exceptions.  The communication will not be confidential if there is a danger to the individual receiving crisis response services or to any other person; the communication indicates the existence of past child abuse or neglect of the individual, abuse of an adult or family violence; or the communication reveals past or present acts constituting a crime, according to the Senate bill.  Emergency workers need to talk out what they have seen, and the law would provide confidentiality to “both sides of the fence,” for counselors and those counseled, Popp said.  James Barry, a legislative agent with the Boston Police Patrolmen’s Association, said he has a friend who was at the finish line of the marathon last month where two bombs were detonated, killing three and injuring more than 260 people.  “He said to me, ‘I know I saw things with my eyes, but my mind wouldn’t let me acknowledge it,” Barry said.  Attorney Michael Muse, who represents Boston Police Detectives, said police officers will witness tragedies, and think they are coping, but it hits them months later.  “It is important these people are encouraged to get the services they need,” Muse said.  Some lawmakers on the Public Safety Committee said they were sensitive to the issue, and want to encourage public safety officials to seek counseling.  Rep. Alan Silvia (D-Fall River), a former Fall River police detective, said “we never had that place to go.”When officers are involved in certain investigations, like the rape of a child, it affects the investigator’s emotional health, and they need someone to talk to “about the damage that does, the permanent damage,” Silvia said.  Rep. James Dwyer, a Democrat fromWoburn, said he has firefighters in his family who have been traumatized after “seeing the carnage on our roads” in auto accidents. Dwyer said he hopes the bill passes quickly.  The committee did not take a vote on whether to report it out favorably or not.  A vote is expected after the committee works on fine tuning the bill. ( Reprinted from the State House News Service report by Colleen Quinn, May 21, 2013.) I n a budget that held little for police officers in terms of restoring cuts suffered over the past few years. In a touching gesture towards the family of Sean Collier and a small acknowledgement of the dangers Police officers face eveyday. Speaker Robert DeLeo  told lawmakers he “took it upon himself” to put into the budget $100,000 in death benefits for the officer’s fam- ily. Sean Collier worked as campus Police Officer for MIT (a private Institution) and therefore would not be entitled to the $100K Police Officer Death Benefit. When the bill made its way over to the Senate, President Therese Murray followed suit at the end of debate passing it.  Collier family granted $100KDeath Benefit By James Barry, BPPA Legislative Agent