Police chaplain is ready to help

Christmas is one of the busiest times of the year for the Rev. Steve Kirts. Not because there are sermons of joy, peace on Earth and goodwill to men to deliver. Rather, there are more people who suffer from depression, sorrow and sometimes anger who need a helping hand.

For more than 20 years the Rev. Kirts has been a police chaplain. For the past several years he has been senior chaplain in the 12-member Salt Lake County Sheriff's Office volunteer Chaplain Corps.

Being a police chaplain involves more than the unpleasant task of notifying someone when a family member has been killed, the most visible part of their job. Chaplains are also available to lend a listening ear for police and citizens alike who may be feeling run down by life's everyday pressures.

The Rev. Kirts said the holiday season can become especially trying for people. Many believe Christmas will solve whatever problems are happening in their personal or professional lives.

"People put unfair expectations on the season and get disappointed when it doesn't work out," the Rev. Kirts said.

He blames those unrealistic expectations on the emphasis society has placed on consumerism.

"You have to be this and that," the Rev. Kirts said. "There's no time for people anymore."

Making time for people, however, is a top priority for the Rev. Kirts and the rest of the chaplain corps.

The corps consists of clergy members from a variety of religions including Catholic, Jewish, Protestant, LDS, Lutheran and Baptist. At least two chaplains are always on call for the sheriff's office.

Although chaplains are not trained negotiators, the Rev. Kirts said they are sometimes called to family fights, domestic disputes or sometimes even standoffs.

The Rev. Kirts remembers one incident where deputies responded to a suicide. Several hours later they were called back to the same house for the boy's older brother, who was so upset with the event that he too was threatening suicide.

A chaplain was called to that scene and was able to talk the boy into getting help rather than taking his own life.

"Deputies carry a duty belt with handcuffs, mace and other items. We're like another tool. We help to defuse a situation," the Rev. Kirts said.