Every agency talks about readiness, but too few start with people. Staffing shortages, mandatory overtime and rising fatigue are stretching officers thin — and when people run on empty, readiness fails.
Police1’s “What cops want in 2025" survey shows how deep the issue runs: officers cited burnout, long hours and limited time off as their biggest barriers to performance. Several described being “exhausted on shift due to 35% staffing levels and 72-hour workweeks,” while others said fatigue leaves officers “not as sharp as they should be.”
When agencies treat wellness and mentorship as operational priorities — not perks — performance follows. Taking care of people isn’t separate from the mission; it is the mission.
On the ground
In the same survey, officers called for real, lasting support. Many mentioned the need for peer-to-peer counseling, access to in-house therapists and wellness programs designed specifically for law enforcement. One wrote, “Peer support, police mentorship and time off after incidents would change everything.”
Others simply want leadership that listens: “Any manager responsible for recovery resources should actually care about people.”
Departments making progress are building wellness into daily operations — adding peer check-ins after tough calls, giving supervisors time to talk about burnout and pairing new officers with seasoned mentors. Small, consistent actions like these strengthen trust, morale and decision-making in the field.
Leadership and data insights
The survey makes one thing clear: readiness rises and falls with leadership. Officers repeatedly linked burnout and fatigue to leadership gaps — describing “inexperienced supervisors,” “leaders who don’t listen,” and “constant overtime with no relief.”
Those comments reveal a bigger truth: leadership isn’t just about scheduling or staffing — it’s about modeling calm, communication and care when the pressure hits. Departments where supervisors take time to mentor, check in and reinforce wellness are described as more confident and consistent in the field.
Readiness depends on that stability. When leaders protect their people, they strengthen every layer of the mission.
Action items
To keep your people mission ready, police leaders should take the following steps:
- Treat wellness as readiness: Integrate recovery time, peer check-ins and mental health support into everyday operations, not just after critical incidents. Officers perform best when they know rest and recovery are part of the plan — not privileges earned after burnout sets in.
- Invest in mentorship: Pair new hires with veteran officers who can share judgment, communication and composure under stress. Mentorship builds connection, prevents isolation and turns experience into a readiness multiplier across shifts.
- Help supervisors spot burnout early: Train leaders to notice the early signs — fatigue, frustration and disengagement — before they lead to mistakes or resignations. Supervisors who intervene with empathy and structure protect both morale and mission continuity.
- Track people metrics: Readiness is measurable. Monitor indicators like overtime, sick leave and turnover the same way you track response times. Data that shows fatigue or staffing strain is as important as any operational metric.
- Normalize recovery: Build in opportunities for officers to process tough calls and recharge without stigma. Whether that’s peer debriefs, quiet downtime or rotating coverage to ensure breaks, showing that wellness is expected — not exceptional — keeps people operationally sharp.
Mission Ready: People power the mission
Readiness doesn’t live in plans — it lives in people. When agencies fail to invest in growth and mentorship, they don’t just lose effectiveness — they lose good officers. Leadership gaps and lack of development drive turnover, leaving those who stay stretched thinner and more fatigued — exactly the conditions that undermine readiness.
That’s why developing strong, prepared supervisors is essential to every agency’s success. At Lexipol Connect 2025, a free virtual conference, don’t miss the session, “Confronting the Leadership Crisis: Key Strategies for Building a Leadership Development Program in Your Agency,” on Tuesday, November 18 at 10:30 a.m. PST.
This 45-minute session will outline how accelerated promotions and shrinking experience levels can create risk — and what agencies can do now to strengthen leadership pipelines, reduce burnout and prepare the next generation to take the helm. Reserve your seat here for Connect 2025 — and see how people power readiness.
