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Standing with those who stand watch. Police officers and deputies carry what they see on every call. Volunteer chaplains help carry it with them. The Utah Law Enforcement Chaplain Foundation supports those chaplains and the agencies they serve.
What a police chaplain does
A law enforcement chaplain is a trained volunteer, often clergy or a counselor by background, who is attached to a police department or sheriff’s office. Chaplains serve people of every faith and of none. Their first duty is presence: being available to officers, dispatchers, and their families at any hour.
- Officer well-being. Ride-alongs, a listening ear after hard calls, and referrals to professional help when it’s needed.
- Death notifications. Going with officers when they bring the worst news a family will ever hear.
- Critical incidents. Supporting officers, victims, and families on scene and in the days that follow.
- Ceremonies. Invocations at swearing-ins, promotions, graduations, and memorials.
- Families. Support for spouses and children through injury, loss, and the strain of the job.
Why a foundation
Chaplaincy in Utah is mostly local. Each department builds its own program, and many have none. There is no shared roster, no common training budget, and no easy way for a new chaplain to find a mentor in the next town over.
The foundation was formed in 2026 by two Utah police chaplains, Spencer Barr of the Brigham City Police Department and Jim Brau of the Provo Police Department. Its first project is a statewide directory of chaplains named in public sources.
Faith, compassion, service
Faith
Help chaplains attend recognized training and certification, including programs offered through the International Conference of Police Chaplains.
Compassion
Fund resources for critical-incident response, line-of-duty loss, and support for officers’ families.
Service
Connect chaplains across Utah and help agencies without a chaplain start a program.
Are you a chaplain, or want to be one?
If you serve as a chaplain for a Utah agency, we’d like to know you, and we’d like the directory to be right. If your department has no chaplain and you think it should, we can help you find a place to start.
The Utah Law Enforcement Chaplain Foundation is a nonprofit organization exempt from federal income tax under section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code (EIN 41-4363466). Gifts are tax-deductible to the extent allowed by law.
