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Jessica Dockstader

Jessica Dockstader

Associate Research Analyst

Jessica Dockstader is an expert in officer wellness.

She serves as the analyst for officer safety and wellness for the Chicago Police Department Consent Decree Independent Monitoring Team, where she assesses the department’s progress against the court-ordered consent decree and provides guidance as appropriate in the areas of suicide prevention, psychological and emotional wellness supports, substance use, the evaluation of wellness efforts, and officer safety concerns. She also supports a Department of Justice Bureau of Justice Assistance-funded research project focused on officer safety and wellness, where she is conducting interviews with sworn and non-sworn members of various ranks from ten police agencies to understand perspectives and operational factors related to destructive behaviors which may eventually result in suicide (e.g., illness, anxiety, sleep disorders, drug use, critical stress). As part of this project, Dockstader is also working with agencies to identify promising practices, policies, and programs that promote officer health and wellness, and learn about the utilization of early intervention systems as a tool to identify and reduce destructive officer behaviors.

Prior to joining CNA in 2019 and since, she has been actively focused on studying and improving officer wellness with the goal of decreasing police suicide and police violence towards the community.

Dockstader has a doctorate in leadership studies from the University of San Diego and a Master of Arts in peace and justice from the Kroc School at the University of San Diego, where she focused on officer wellness as a means of violence prevention. She also has a Bachelor of Arts in human development and family studies with an emphasis in counseling services from California State University San Marcos.

Areas of Expertise