
Our Global Veterans with Sara Troy and her guest Kevin M. Hallinan, on air from December 19th
The Police force needs to understand the criminal mind to know how to combat it; there needs to be an expansion of education and integration of psychoanalysis, social workers, and even past criminals to show the way forward. Things so need to change on all fronts to combat criminal minds.
We are grateful for the brave men and women who help keep New York City’s streets safe, and we know the challenges they face every day. With your ongoing support, we can continue to provide peer assistance to struggling police officers who need our help. Thank you.
POPPA has responded to thousands of police officers who have reached out for help. The majority of calls to POPPA were by officers who just needed to talk to someone or wanted to meet to discuss issues in more depth. Approximately 45% of officers were referred to clinicians for ongoing confidential professional help. Of the officers who received POPPA services, the vast majority returned to full-duty with no career disruption, or chose to retire.
During the 10-year period (1986-1995) before the existence of POPPA, there were an average of 7 active-duty officer suicides per year. The 28 police suicides from 1993-1995 contributed to the urgent need for an organization of police peers, separate from the Department, but able to work confidentially and with the cooperation of the NYPD.
In the 26 years (1996-2021) since the creation of POPPA, the number of NYPD suicides dropped from an average of 7 suicides annually to fewer than 5 per year, with a low of 2 to a high of 10 in 2019. In addition to this reduction, more than 150 police officers who have reported to POPPA that they did not complete suicide as a direct result of calling the POPPA 24/7 Helpline and receiving services. The reduction in police suicide may be attributed to a variety of factors, including changes within the NYPD making officers more comfortable with seeking services, changes in attitudes reducing the stigma of needing and getting help, and the greater availability of resources, we believe that POPPA has played a significant role in the reduction of suicide among NYPD officers.
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Nationwide, the number of suicides is greater than the number of line-of-duty deaths. This is true among NYC police officers if we exclude the 23 deaths on 9/11, an ever-increasing number of 9/11-related deaths, and police deaths attributed to COVID-19 in 2020 and 2021. Suicide is consistently the number 1 killer of police nationwide annually.
Among NYPD officers, the suicide rate is lower than that of the National Police Suicide rate (13.8 vs 17.0 per 100,000). This may reflect a combination of the resiliency of NYC police officers and the availability of resources. POPPA has been a leader in developing initiatives to combat officer suicide. POPPA’s Suicide Awareness for Emergency Responders (S.A.F.E.R.) Program gives police officers the tools to identify specific warning signs of suicidal thinking and strategies to respond to an officer in crisis.
His fascinating inside look at a life in law enforcement spans layers of history, explores evolutions in national security, and features game-changing heroes and eye-opening innovations. Kevin M. Hallinan’s life and learning are at once informative, thrilling, entertaining—and perhaps most of all, truly inspiring.
Kevin M. Hallinan is known as an innovative leader in professional sports security and operations. Serving under four commissioners as SVP of Security and Facility Management, Hallinan oversaw security for all thirty Major League Baseball Clubs, creating revolutionary new systems to better protect the game and its players.
Prior to MLB, Hallinan was commander of the FBI/NYPD Joint Terrorism TaskForce, where he was recognized for his contributions in the war on terrorism. He testified before the U.S. Congress on domestic terrorism and received numerous NYPD/FBI citations and the U.S. Attorney General Award for Exceptional Public Service.
Hallinan earned his collegiate degree at Fordham University and attended the FBI National Academy.
Rob Travalino is a TELLY, EFFIE, GEMINI, and EMMY Award winner and a twenty-plus-year creator, writer, and brand expert. He has written dozens of television episodes, script doctored for feature films, and co-written for Hyperion Books. As a content creator and developer, Rob has overseen or contributed to the ideation and realization of some of the world’s most powerful and lasting franchises.
From books to platform and platform gaming, TV to film, fashion and social content, and across all demographics, there’s little Rob has not influenced. A member of the director’s Guild of America, Rob looks for projects of empowerment and meaning.

Over the Wall: From the Dangerous Streets of NYC…Through the Birth of Counterterrorism and Beyond buy here
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