The National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund (NLEOMF) has announcef the winners of the Destination Zero National Officer Safety and Wellness Awards, which highlight agency-level achievements in the areas of officer safety and wellness.

NLEOMF launched Destination Zero in 2014 with a goal to identify agencies conducting unique and innovative programs aimed at reducing risk factors for line-of-duty deaths, and to share the design and outcomes of these programs with the national law enforcement community. Agencies with successful programs are asked to submit details of their initiatives and be considered for a national officer safety and wellness award.

Awards are presented in the following five categories:

• General Officer Safety: Programs that directly affect officers’ physical safety while performing their jobs.

• Officer Traffic Safety: Initiatives designed to reduce automobile crashes and limit the risk factors of operating a motor vehicle or managing traffic. Programs that increase seatbelt use, limited distractions, or reduce driving speeds are also included in this category.

• Officer Wellness: Fitness programs, mental health programs and initiatives, such as peer support groups and nutrition.

• Comprehensive Wellness: Robust approaches to wholistic wellness and resilience programs.

• Comprehensive Safety: Programs that demonstrate the most comprehensive approach and implementation of well-rounded safety efforts.

Following months of review and evaluation of the submitted programs, eight finalist agencies were selected by a diverse committee of experts representing federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies to carefully consider each finalist program and ultimately select the award recipients for each of the five categories.

NLEOMF is honoring the following agencies:

The Independence (Ohio) Police Department won the Traffic Safety Award for its program that uses portable generators at all major intersections in the city. Each officer has a universal key to them so that in the event of inclement weather or a traffic collision, officers do not have to stand in the intersection to direct traffic.

The Texas Department of Public Safety and Police Protective League has won the Wellness Award for its Fitness Wellness Unit (FWU), which specializes in ensuring the physical health and wellness of officers from recruitment to retirement organized through quarterly and monthly programs, webinars, and training for over 7,000 employees.

The Fairfax County (Virginia) Police Department has won the General Safety Award for its creation of an Enhanced Wellness and Resiliency Program headquartered at the agency’s Occupational Wellness Center, which provides comprehensive health services to all public safety employees in Fairfax County and the City of Fairfax with a staff of four medical doctors, two physician assistants, and eight registered nurses.

Baltimore City (MD) Police Department has won the Comprehensive Wellness Award for its robust Officer Safety and Wellness department. It includes three sections: the Health and Wellness Unit, the Early Intervention Unit, and the Retiree/Employee Affairs Unit, all of which specialize in focusing on the total physical, mental, financial, and spiritual needs of an officer throughout their career.

Louisville Metro Police Department won the Comprehensive Safety Award for its specialized Exposure Response Team that rapidly responds to any time an officer has been exposed to body fluids. They also have a respiratory protection program that provides officers with air purifying respirators so they can avoid breathing in dangerous contaminants.

The awards, sponsored by Verizon, will be formally presented to the winners at the National Law Enforcement Museum in Washington, DC, during the organization’s Awards Ceremony and Reception on Sept. 27, 2024.

“The continuing goal of our Destination Zero initiative is to identify, highlight, and make accessible new and innovative programs that can have an outsized impact on the safety of our nation’s law enforcement professionals,” said Bill Alexander, CEO of the NLEOMF. “Our Officer Safety and Wellness team, led by Troy Anderson, and with critical support from our long term partner, Verizon, then works to push out programs from our award winners, both past and present to law enforcement agencies nationwide. Our continuing hope is that programs like these will reduce the number of names we add to our sacred Memorial walls each year.”

Law enforcement agencies are encouraged to submit details about their successful safety and wellness programs by applying for the annual 2025 Officer Safety and Wellness Awards through an online application process at nleomf.org.