Police Stress
Stress Associated with Policing
A look at some of the stresses that are associated with police fulfilling their job duties in the line of fire
Stress on the Job 4
The police profession is a highly stressful endeavor that often places officers in highly stressful situations on a regular basis. Police work is one of the few jobs out there where the employees must deal with murders, accidents, and the constant threat of personal injury. The effects of this environment can be cumulative and build up over time. Furthermore, many police officers are resistant to finding suitable outlets to deal with the effects of stress in a clinical setting or through counseling. There are many common objections for officers seeking help for the psychological issues that can emerge through the course of service. These include items such as it is not consistent with the image of masculinity that many officers hold as well as concerns about privacy and confidentiality. However, many officers could greatly benefit from the options available to them to help them manage their stress. This paper will cover some of the common sources of stress in an officer's service as well as some of the options and benefits that they could gain by effectively recognizing and finding outlets for the effects of cumulative stress.
Stress on the Job
The day-to-day operations in police work can be entirely more demanding than many people realize. The pressures of law enforcement put officers at risk for high blood pressure, insomnia, increased levels of destructive stress hormones, heart problems, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and suicide (University of Buffalo, 2008). The sources of stress include the fact that many officers must continually faces the effects of murders, violence, accidents and serious personal injury; a police officer's service for years...
Police Function The Functions of Policing at the Local, State and Federal Levels The functions of police work are highly complex and filled with myriad unpredictable challenges. Officers must place their safety and their lives at risk every day in the interests of maintaining order, protecting the pubic and apprehending law-breakers. The result is an occupation that is filled with stressors, pressures and dangers. One way that the structure of modern police-work
Police Subculture- Add on Response Nathan, I enjoyed reading your perspective and can relate to much of what you have expressed. Your explanation of the life cycle of a police career provided a clear and concise way of explaining this stressful aspects of law enforcement. I agree with your opinion on patience and its importance on keeping a balanced and clear mind while engaged in stressful policing activities. Your summary was
Police Crisis Intervention A crisis refer to a case, characterized by a precipitating stressor event, a view that an event will lead to distress, and diminished functioning when it is not possible to relieve the distress using known coping resources. Prior studies suggest that studies on crisis intervention started in the late 1940s in reaction to several stressor events. For instance, during the World War people underwent many tribulations, which called
Police Culture and the Perpetuation of the Officer Shuffle Martha L. Shockey-Eckles conducted this ethnographic study in her pursuit to understand social change in the society. She aimed to identify key areas in need of change. The author worked tirelessly to mobilize and encourage local residents to combine efforts towards imparting change, where it is most demanded (Rushkoff, 2013). The ethnographic approach served as the instrument for picking up data about the
The focus of every police administrator should be to prevent officers from experiencing overwhelming stress with which they do not have the means to cope. Discussion and Conclusion Finding ways to help managers and administrators to help officers cope with the daily chronic stress of their jobs should be a key priority. Although the statistics disagree as to the severity of these problems as compared to the general population, they still
However, another frequently unseen instigator in negative behavioral tendencies amongst officers is the incapacity to properly assimilate the stresses of the occupation. Indeed, a 2004 study, published by the Canadian Police College, outlines the conditions which tend most to provoke police extortion, embezzlement or other such malfeasant behaviors. Amongst its findings, the account asserts that, of those surveyed in its sample population, "officers who experienced frequent operational stress were more
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