Employees of the Honolulu Police Department shall
be guided by this directive when requesting the
assistance of the Human Services Unit (HSU).

ORGANIZATION

A. As a part of the Special Field Operations
Bureau, the HSU reports directly to the
assistant chief in charge of the bureau.

B. The HSU consists of a police psychologist
who coordinates the activities of the unit
and a psychological assistant.

HSU SERVICES

The primary function of the HSU is to provide
psychological and other counseling services to
include those listed below:

A. Where indicated, provide therapy to personnel
who directly request assistance or referrals;

B. Provide therapy to personnel whose supervisors
have recommended that they seek help;

C. Provide assistance to personnel whose supervisors
or family members have requested such assistance;

D. Conduct psychological evaluations of personnel
as ordered by the Chief of Police;

E. Conduct psychological tests of applicants for
departmental positions;

F. Defuse and debrief personnel who are involved
in incidents that require extraordinary effort by
those involved to cope with the experience (e.g.,
all personnel who have discharged their firearms
outside of training exercises);

G. Coordinate services with the Peer Support Unit
(PSU) of the Community Affairs Division for personnel
who need continuous observation and/or help;

H. Teach psychological education classes, such as
stress awareness and stress management courses, to
departmental personnel;

I. Provide regular consultation to the Crisis
Negotiation Team;

J. Provide consultation to the administration
regarding issues of a psychological nature; and

K. Serve as a liaison to promote positive
relationships between the police and the
community, mental health organizations, and
social service agencies.

INCIDENTS INVOLVING INDIVIDUAL STRESS/INJURY/DEATH

A. The police psychologist or designee shall be
notified at once when a member of the department
is killed, seriously injured, involved in a
critical incident, or subjected to extraordinary
stress (e.g., from killing or injuring someone,
witnessing the death of a colleague, or being
exposed to life-threatening diseases).

1. The officer in charge at the scene shall ask
the Communications Division to notify the police
psychologist in accordance with Policy 8.01,
DEPARTMENTAL NOTIFICATION PROCEDURES.

2. The Communications Division’s watch commander
or dispatcher in charge shall ensure that the
notification is made as soon as possible.

B. In such cases, the police psychologist
or designee shall provide emotional support at
the scene, continuing support (if needed) at
the hospital, and information to the supervising
police psychologist who will determine the need for follow-up action.

C. Assistance will be coordinated with the PSU.

D. When necessary, the HSU and PSU shall also
provide assistance to personnel who were not
at the scene but who need assistance because
of their relationship to those who were.
INCIDENTS INVOLVING GROUP STRESS; CRITICAL INCIDENT STRESS DEBRIEFING

A. Some incidents may find more than one member
of the department at a scene that causes extraordinary
stress (e.g., natural disasters, plane crashes,
mass murders, an exchange of gunfire involving
several officers, or a particularly gruesome death).
Such incidents may call for critical incident stress debriefing.

B. In a critical incident stress debriefing,
a trained team assists those exposed to stress
to express themselves and gives them information
about the possible effects of the stress to
which they have been subjected. The purpose
of this activity is to prevent post-traumatic
stress disorders.

C. A critical incident stress debriefing must
always be conducted in the presence and under
the authority of a psychologist or psychiatrist.
Other members of the debriefing team must have
completed the authorized training course for this activity.

D. A critical incident stress debriefing may
be requested by those involved in the incident,
advised by the police psychologist, or
recommended by supervisory personnel and/or PSU personnel.

REQUESTS FOR PSYCHOLOGICAL AND OTHER COUNSELING SERVICES

A. During normal working hours, personnel
seeking psychological and other counseling
services should contact the HSU office.
Personnel who, for any reason, wish to
contact a psychologist directly may call
the psychologists’ office number or cellular
telephone number.

B. Outside of normal working hours, personnel
may contact the Communications Division, which
will relay the message. Personnel who, for
any reason, do not wish to go through the
Communications Division may call the psychologists’
cellular telephone number.

C. Contact information for the HSU office is
listed on the attachment.