Key takeaways
- Crimes against children investigators face unique stressors — disturbing evidence, overwhelming caseloads and limited resources — that fuel burnout and threaten retention.
- Agencies can counter this by building a culture of wellness, using low-cost programs, peer support and family-focused initiatives to reduce stress and improve resiliency.
- Measuring success through retention, reduced burnout and increased use of support services ensures wellness programs deliver long-term impact.
By Debbie Garner
For leaders of specialized units like Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) task forces, caring for personnel performing critical, harrowing work is paramount. Having led the Georgia Bureau of Investigation’s (GBI) Child Exploitation and Computer Crimes Unit (CEACC) and the Georgia ICAC Task Force for eight years, I saw firsthand how dedicated professionals face relentless cases and digital evidence of child exploitation. Ensuring the well-being of these individuals is not just a moral duty but a strategic necessity, directly impacting mission success and an agency’s ability to attract and retain talent in these vital roles.
The unseen burden of Internet Crimes Against Children investigators
While the graphic nature of their work takes a heavy toll, ICAC personnel face more than just disturbing content. Many report that the overwhelming volume of cases and the constant pressure to do more with less can be just as damaging.
Despite the horrific nature of these offenses, resource allocation often suggests a troubling de-prioritization, placing investigators in an agonizing position. Politicians tend to focus on high-profile or statistically prevalent crimes, while agency leaders must balance these demands against a broad spectrum of public safety concerns. As a result, online child exploitation, despite its profound and lasting impact on victims and society, can be unintentionally pushed to the margins.
This lack of prioritization can be emotionally devastating. Investigators know digital evidence exists, leads are waiting and children may still be at risk, yet they often lack the time, staffing and technological resources to pursue every case with the urgency it demands. This systemic shortfall directly undermines their core mission to protect and serve.
The weight of knowing that every unresolved case may mean continued danger for a child creates a unique and often unbearable burden. Despite their best efforts to review, prioritize and reprioritize, there is never enough time to address every report of child exploitation. This relentless workload haunts them, keeping them up at night and driving them to work excessive hours, often at the expense of their own well-being and families, in order to protect another child.
Law enforcement agencies across the board face challenges with recruitment and retention, but these issues are especially acute within ICAC units. This adds to the investigator’s strain, working long hours under the knowledge that they possess information that could safeguard a child but are unable to act on it fully due to resource constraints.
If left unaddressed, this continuous strain can lead to self-medication, substance abuse, anger, depression, misconduct or self-harm, worsening retention issues. While there’s no simple fix, agencies can strategically adopt building blocks to ensure personnel well-being. The goal is to have programs and resources in place before they are desperately needed and to foster a culture where seeking help is normalized.
How law enforcement can incorporate wellness into ICAC units
The most critical building block is creating a workplace culture where open dialogue about mental health is not just accepted but encouraged. This shift requires consistent promotion of work-life balance, flexibility and frequent discussions about mental health, as safeguarding children hinges on the ability to care for and equip those who do the work.
It means offering free screening tools, regularly reminding employees about Employee Assistance Program (EAP) benefits and making wellness a daily priority. This transformation must be embraced from the top down, with the understanding that building a culture takes time.
Once a culture of openness is established, agencies can implement various program components, many of which are budget-friendly. This can include leveraging a range of practical, free and low-cost resources to develop a consistent program that includes guided discussions, training sessions and regular wellness check-ins with a mental health professional.
Free and low-cost wellness resources for ICAC investigators
Wellness and resiliency training
- Host regular meetings: Schedule one or two wellness meetings a year, incorporating speakers, free webinars, training, guided group discussions, mental health professional meetings and group activities.
- Speakers and training: Many free resources exist, such as:
- IACP Officer Safety and Wellness Initiative: Officer resilience training, webinars and resources.
- NW3C Webinars: Sessions on fitness, finances, nutrition, social well-being, worldview and mindset.
- SHIFT Wellness: Foundational training on secondary trauma and wellness implementation.
- Yoga for First Responders (YOGASHIELD): Culturally informed yoga and stress management training.
- “My Story” speakers: Invite officers with lived experiences to share their stories of resiliency.
- Financial literacy and nutrition: Free workshops from financial institutions and nutritionists addressing stressors impacting well-being.
Wellness interventions
- Regular wellness check-ins with mental health practitioners: Confidential, one-on-one meetings to proactively assess well-being, provide a safe space and identify needs before escalation. Conducting surveys before meetings can reveal patterns over time, tailor discussions and foster consistent relationships.
- Group discussions with mental health practitioners: Vital platforms for investigators to open up, realize they aren’t alone and share common challenges such as viewing horrific content, parenting concerns, relationship issues and overwhelming workloads. Facilitated by mental health practitioners or peer support, these are often followed by individual check-ins.
- Utilizing existing resources: Leverage your agency’s EAP to find mental health practitioners experienced with law enforcement.
Peer support programs
- Formalized structure: Peer support offers emotional and tangible support during crises. It is most effective when integrated within the agency structure with leadership support. For example, the Georgia Department of Public Safety’s Office of Public Safety Support (OPSS) was established to mitigate the potential psychological impact that critical incidents or traumatic events can have on the members of the Georgia Public Safety community.
- IACP guidelines: Recommendations for peer support structures, emphasizing departmental confidentiality.
- LEMHWA grants: Support for peer support services and other wellness options. Learn more here.
Technology and tools
- Limiting exposure: Many digital forensics companies now integrate wellness features like image blurring for CSAM, automatic categorization, grouping images, muting video sound and break reminders. These features significantly reduce continuous exposure to distressing content. Ensure ICAC personnel have access to these tools.
- Wellness apps: Various apps focus on breathing, meditation and relaxation. Lexipol offers Cordico, a confidential mobile wellness app for high-stress occupations.
Flexible implementation (“mix and match”)
- Wellness programs are not one-size-fits-all: Experienced leaders suggest combining elements based on agency needs, budget and schedule. Options range from office-based meetings with webinars and mental health practitioner sessions to off-site team-building activities. The key is finding what works for your agency. Remember, 15 minutes a week or a month discussing wellness is better than never discussing it.
Additional support mechanisms
- Chaplain programs: Police chaplains provide invaluable emotional, moral and spiritual support to officers, staff and families, whether as paid employees or volunteers.
- Downtime and socializing: Incorporate team-building activities (e.g., ziplining, sports) and unstructured free time. Including family or family-focused discussions can also be beneficial. It is crucial to ensure investigators take time off to rest and recharge.
Supporting mental health in the workplace requires a flexible and adaptable approach. Agencies can embrace a “mix and match” strategy, combining program components to suit their circumstances. Instead of always hosting a single large event, agencies can weave these components into their operational rhythm. For example, a monthly meeting might include a short webinar segment or guest speaker, while quarterly sessions could focus on group discussions or mental health practitioner visits. This flexible scheduling reinforces wellness principles without disrupting investigative work, ensuring support is accessible and integrated into daily life.
| RELATED: How CMPD built a sustainable police wellness program from scratch
How agencies can measure ICAC wellness program success
The ultimate measure of a wellness program’s success lies in its real-world impact. Following efforts to build a culture of openness and support, agencies should begin to see meaningful outcomes, such as:
- Long-serving personnel reaching out after triggering events
- Officers independently seeking help during crises
- Individuals openly acknowledging struggles like self-medicating or suicidal thoughts
Teams may also see increased use of mental health resources and more candid conversations among colleagues about the toll of their work, including the effects of CSAM exposure on parenting, relationships and mental health.
These successes emerge when a culture is intentionally created where it’s safe to admit when someone is “not OK” and to ask for help without fear of being perceived as weak. Recognizing burnout, addressing it openly and providing trusted avenues for support become the cornerstones of an effective wellness program.
Agencies must be ready not just to react when personnel are in crisis, but to care for their people before they reach that point. While there is no one-size-fits-all solution, a thoughtful, budget-conscious approach centered on openness, de-stigmatization, proactive support and leveraging existing resources can make a profound difference. This enhances an agency’s ability to attract and retain the dedicated professionals needed for this mission, building resilient law enforcement units capable of confronting society’s most challenging crimes while protecting their own mental well-being.
About the author
Debbie Garner is a retired law enforcement executive, technology advocate across the private and non-profit sectors, and Community Engagement Coordinator for Hexordia.
