Private organizations have long embraced the notion that EAPs are good business. Employees struggling with alcohol or drug abuse or other mental health problems are not productive employees. Providing assistance helps not only the individual employee, but the organization as a whole. One of the most stressful jobs is that of police officer, yet many police officers express reluctance to use EAPs. Officers do not trust the confidentiality of the EAPs and fear that seeking assistance will harm their job. The two types of EAPs--internal and external--are described and different law enforcement models of EAPs are discussed, including internal EAPs, external EAPs, and a hybrid model that combines internal peer support with external EAPs. The benefits of peer support programs for police officers are enumerated and advice is offered for selecting personnel for peer support programs. The hybrid model of providing employee assistance to police officers is recommended as the best model for providing support to officers because it combines an internal, yet casual, support mechanism while retaining the ability to refer employees to an external EAP for more intensive counseling. The fact that the EAP is external to the agency in this model should overcome employee fears of confidentiality breaches. References