DELAWARE STATE POLICE Critical Incident Stress Management Team

The Delaware State Police Critical Incident Stress Management Team continued to provide valuable services to the men and women of the Division following various critical incidents throughout the state in 2005. The focus of the team is to minimize the harmful effects of job stress, particularly in crisis or emergency situations. The highest priority of the team is to maintain strict confidentiality and to respect the feelings of the individuals involved.

The Delaware State Police CISM team is led by Captain John A. Yeomans who serves as the team coordinator. He is assisted by the team leader, Lieutenant Ronald Hagan. In 2004 the team strengthened its relationship with the First State CISM team by working closely with Dr. Ellen Marshall on several debriefings and training opportunities. In 2005 Dr. Marshall led training sessions for both teams and was published in the Delaware State Troopers magazine. Dr. Marshall serves as a full-time Criminal Justice professor at Delaware Technical and Community College in Georgetown, Delaware.

The team presently consists of 19 sworn and civilian members who have received training endorsed by the International Critical Incident Stress Foundation. In 2005 members of the team attended the ICISF World conference in Baltimore, Maryland where they received the latest training from internationally recognized subject matter experts.

In 2005 the training of the team was highlighted when Ms. Anne Balboni, Rhode Island State CISM team director visited Delaware. Ms. Balboni was responsible for overseeing CISM intervention during the Rhode Island tavern fire that took the lives of numerous patrons following a tragic fire that was ignited by pyrogenics used by a rock band during its performance. Ms. Balboni highlighted the services her team provided to first responders to the scene.

In 2005 the team was called upon a number of times to provide services to agencies outside the Division. The feedback following those interventions has been extremely positive. In 2005 the DSP and First State CISM teams received training funds from the Delaware General Assembly. Representative Bruce Ennis sponsored funding to assist the team in its continual training needs. The DSP and First State CISM teams will continue to co-sponsor training that will be made available to teams and agencies throughout the state.