New Bedford police use mindfulness meditation to relieve stress

NEW BEDFORD — On any given day a police officer might respond to a shooting, armed robbery, domestic dispute, intoxicated person, drug overdose or some other type of crime or incident. It’s what lands the job consistently in the Top 5 most stressful jobs nationwide.

Police Chief Joseph Cordeiro said he is a firm believer in the benefits of meditation.

“It is important for officers to have a tool they can access any time to reduce their stress level,” he said in a written statement.

This is the second attempt to implement the program. An initial attempt did not have a lot of participation so Cordeiro said he re-engineered the program to a roll call model. Members of the New Bedford Police Department took part in that three-week mindfulness program, which ended July 19.

“This is the pilot we have in place now and it seems to be working out much more successful,” Cordeiro said.

“The goal of this program is to help reduce levels of stress to build resiliency,” said Julie Paquette, owner of The Mindful Collaborative in New Bedford.

She said the program began when she approached Cordeiro with the idea of integrating officers in the mindfulness programs she was initiating in the New Bedford Public schools.

They decided to bring the meditation program directly to the police.

“There’s been a really good reception. I feel like people are really taking to it,” Paquette said, noting she does the meditation sessions at the downtown police station and at the Rockdale Avenue station where she also works with the detectives on the stress-relieving techniques.