Course Description

Public Safety agencies and peers reel in the wake of an employee suicide and yet the numbers of self-harm cases continue to annually outpace duty-related deaths. In addition to the number of employee suicides, thousands of peers wrestle daily with personal and professional crises unabated and untreated. Ignoring employee and peer crisis is a recipe for disaster, yet agencies typically wait until crisis has spiraled before responding with resources. This common reactive methodology provides minimal chance of success in preventing suicide or long-term personal or career challenges. 

  • Review the seeds of personal and professional crisis and both yellow and red early warning and crisis indicators
  • Address how to respond to crisis
  • Instruct participants on how to address crisis long before it derails another career or risks another life


Who Should Attend?

  • Agencies wanting to understand suicide prevention and how crisis / self-harm develop during the career
  • Agencies that have experienced an employee suicide
  • Public safety crisis counselors and clinicians 
  • Peer teams
  • Labor management
  • Union officials

Instructor(s)

| Capt. Brian Nanavaty (Ret.)

Captain Brian Nanavaty retired in 2017 after 33 years with the Indianapolis Metro Police Department (IMPD) where in 2010 he created the IMPD Office of Professional Development and Wellness (OPDW) and served as Professional Performance Manager. His innovative programs created a culture of health at IMPD and a reduction of officer disciplinary referrals by 40%.

During his career and in retirement Nanavaty continues to instruct officers, executives, union officials, insurance providers and clinicians in the areas of personal and career survival for the Department of Justice (DOJ), the FBI, Safe Call Now, the Dolan Consulting Group and at major conferences including IACP, ILEETA, IADLEST, NOBLE, FOP and EAPA conferences. Nanavaty was a headline presenter at the 2017 National Crime Summit and has been featured on Police One.com and in Law and Order magazine and the FBI Law Enforcement Bulletin.

Nanavaty currently serves on the FBINAA and Fraternal Order of Police (FOP) Safety and Wellness Committees where he assisted in the legislation for the Law Enforcement Mental Health and Wellness Act (2018). As part of his committee duties he has also designed a training portal for members and vets treatment and recovery facilities for first responders. Nanavaty additionally serves on the Executive Board of the National Institute for Public Safety Health, is a member of the Critical Incident Stress Management working group for the IACP Policy Center and is a consultant with the Police Executive Research Forum (PERF) on officer wellness issues.

In 2015, Nanavaty and IMPD received the inaugural Destination Zero Valor Award from the DOJ and the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund (NLEOMF) for his officer and agency wellness programs and in 2016, in addition to appearing in front of the US Congress on the issue of officer wellness, Nanavaty was a finalist for the prestigious International Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP) Officer of the Year award. In 2016, the White House sent US Attorney General Loretta Lynch to Indianapolis as part of the President’s Task Force on 21st Century Policing where Lynch stated “Captain Nanavaty’s officer and agency wellness program in Indianapolis should be the model for law enforcement across the US.”

In 2016, Nanavaty and IMPD were awarded the BJA/COPS Microgrant for Officer Safety and Wellness and were represented in the BJA/COPS Officer Safety and Wellness Group and chronicled in the BJA/COPS Improving Law Enforcement Resilience publication October 2016. In 2019, Nanavaty’s groundbreaking work at IMPD was part of the 11 successful agency case studies summarized in the DOJ’s Report to Congress (March 2019).

Captain Nanavaty attended Franklin College (IN), Drew University (NJ), and the University of Virginia. He is a graduate of the 255th Session of the FBI National Academy in Quantico VA. From 1994-2003 he was Adjunct Professor of Criminal Justice at Indiana and Purdue Universities.

Course curriculum

  • 1

    Before You Start

    • Consent Questions

  • 2

    Webinar

    • Early Intervention: PTSD and Suicide Prevention© | Hour 1

    • Early Intervention: PTSD and Suicide Prevention© | Hour 2