Definition of soft on crime! California police department recruits pet RABBIT as ‘wellness officer’ – so cops can pet it when they’re stressed
A pet rabbit that joined the California police force last year has been given the official title of “wellness officer.”
The lost rabbit was discovered on Percy Avenue by Officer Ashley Carson during an October phone call in Yuba City, Sutter County.
The police adopted the “docile and friendly” animal and named him Percy, after the place where he was found.
Percy resides at the precinct for officers as a “service animal to all,” and officers are encouraged to pet him when stressed.
Percy, the station’s newly promoted health officer, even wears his own blue work vest
Yuba City police officer Ashley Carson rescued the rabbit in 2022 in Yuba City, Arizona
California’s violent crime rate is up six percent, from 440 per 100,000 in 2020 to 466 in 2021
Percy is free roaming around the office and has his own hutch with a litter box and toys, including a tunnel.
The Yuba City Police Department—about 40 miles north of Sacramento— announced the promotion of the rabbit a few days before Easter Sunday to the rank of ‘wellness officer’.
Lieutenant Michelle Brazil told the BBCIt is essential to be able to hold him, pet him and take a break from the situation to regroup.
“We are already seeing the long-term benefits of it, even in a short period of time.”
Chelsea McCready, a police services analyst at the agency, said: “The idea came as a sort of joke and it really caught on.”
Percy has also attended community events with the department, including schools where he was a big hit.
After being found abandoned at 2 a.m., he was taken to an animal shelter, but no family had come to pick him up weeks later.
It comes as violent crime rates in California increased by six percentfrom 440 per 100,000 inhabitants in 2020 to 466 in 2021.
Aggravated assaults also rose nine percent, and murders and rapes rose nearly eight percent each.
In Yuba City, crime increased 5 percent from 2019 to 2020.
Last year, researchers at the University of Basel in Switzerland found that cuddling furry friends engages the part of the brain responsible for social and emotional interactions.
They compared brain scans of study participants while they were petting a dog and a stuffed animal.
They found that the dog’s looking, feeling and touching engaged the part of the brain that regulates and processes social or emotional interactions — known as the prefrontal cortex — in a way that cuddling did not.
The team concludes that involving animals in therapeutic interventions may be a promising approach for improving emotional engagement and attention.
It is known that interacting with animals helps people cope with stress and depression.