Police Stress

Police Stress

The police officers are faced with a great deal of stress during a regular routing of duty.  “Police stress is not always obvious. Almost any single stressor in police work can be found in another occupation. What is unique is all the different stressors in one job.”(Not So Obvious Police Stress).

What is stress? Stress is the body’s reaction to internal or external stimuli that upset the body’s normal state. A stimulus that causes stress (stressor) can be physical, mental, or emotional. The term stress is used to refer to both the body’s reaction and the stimuli that caused it.” (An Introduction to Policing, 2005). Everybody has a certain amount of stress in their lives and careers, but the most stressful profession can be without a doubt, law enforcement. Some studies indicate that police officers have higher rates of suicide, divorce and other personal problems. A study called Project Shield, provided information about the negative effects of stress. During this research project, “officers admitted anonymously to increased vulnerability to alcohol abuse and anxiety within the first 5 years of employment. Project Shield also found that officers experienced increased risk of mortality and morbidity from cancer, heart disease, hypertension, acute migraine headaches, reproductive problems, chronic back problems, foot problems, and insomnia.” (The CBS Interactive Business Network, 2010).

       According to researchers there are four general categories of stress:

1.      External Stress: stress produced by real threats like dealing with armed criminals. Police officers’ job performance can be affected if they are over-tired. Post-traumatic stress disorder is common condition as a result of working around stressful situations. A police officer can find his or her life affected because the job forces the officer to be emotionally detached.

2.      Organizational Stress: produced by the character of the police service, such as strict discipline, change of schedule and emergency calls. Organizational stress might lead to police corruption or excessive aggression. Community might complain and as a result police officers could feel thankless. An officer’s personal life could be affected because of the lack of time to socialize with other regular citizens. Also, an officer’s relationship with his or her family could be hurt due to lack of time to spend with them.

3.      Personal Stress: produced by difficulty getting along with other officers within the department. This type of stress can lead to alcohol abuse, domestic violence, and marital issues.

4.      Operational Stress: produced by the daily confrontation with human tragedies. Also, the need to engage in dangerous situations to protect the public. An important stressor is the consciousness of being liable for any actions performed in duty. Operational stress can cause an officer to have absenteeism, cynicism, and just function in an overall inefficient way.

Some ways police officers can control the stress in their lives is to exercise on a daily basis, eat a healthy diet, and go to counseling services; undergoing stress-management screening and training. Learning to manage stress produced by the daily job duties and leave work at work when coming home, can help the police officer find a balance between his or her career and personal life.

Abstract

References

·         Harpold, Joseph. A. (2002). Negative Influences of Police Stress. The FBI Law Enforcement Bulletin. Retrieved from http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m2194/is_9_71/ai_92285044/pg_2/?tag=content;col1

·         Constant, T. (2005). Not So Obvious Police Stress. Tears of a Cop. Retrieved from http://www.tearsofacop.com/police/articles/constant.html

·         Dempsey, J. S., & Forst, L. S. (). 2005. Retrieved from Axia College

Julius Davis social movement started on inspiration and a very clear vision of his life and his position in his community. He went from stoner  to President of the U.S Student Association, inspired by Malcolm X speech “The Ballot or the Bullet”; his whole concept about studying changed and he enrolled in college, thirsty to read and learn more.  Loeb describes “Julius picture of himself and his vision of what he world could be emerged as he acted.” (Loeb, 1999, p.66).

Alison Smith, a simple Connecticut housewife, was inspired to attend a town meeting when a developer broke the rules about the wetland regulations. Alison took the first step of involvement just by attending the meeting and speaking out about her concern, and she found out other neighbors were thinking the same thing.  This meeting would be the first of many activists activities and it only took her involvement and vision to make the other social movements, sustainable.

Meredith Segal , like other activists started to be involved in  her community, recognizing the issues and find solutions one at the time. When she attended college, she created a Facebook page on Barack Obama, to support his campaign. Friends joined, and people continued to reach out on Facebook. This is an example of determination and conviction Meredith had about her believes, resulting in people joining her cause, who at the same time had same ideas but could not start on their own.

The three leaders of these social movements have three things in common: regular citizens with  sense of community involvement,  and strong conviction of her own values.

Loeb, P. (1999 (2nd ed.)). Soul of a citizen, Living with conviction in challenging times. New York NY: St, Martin's Griffin.

Core values and Social Movement

I believe in most cases, social involvement is taught at home through core values. In fact, Loebe states " families with strong ties to friends and neighbors may instill in their children an appreciation of community. Parents with strong faith traditions often transmit a powerful sense of the importance of caring and compassion." (Loeb, 1999, p.71). You are taught at home, to be nice to your brothers and sisters, to tell the truth and be nice to other kids, even stand up to those who are bad. When you grow up, the field may be a little different but the core values are applied the same, demonstrating appreciation of community by taking a stand against injustice and violation of rights.

What do you think made these common people, with curiosity and intensity to make a change and do so, make what they fought for sustainable? Do you think that the things they fought for is something they have devoted a lot of their life span to doing? Or do you think, especially the woman who made a Facebook page for Obama, will continue to fight for him even this time around?

I believe each case is different because some of these "common" people were not planning on starting a social movement, just express something that bothered them. What made some of these social movements sustainable, was the people around this person who saw that "spark" needed to inspire new followers and join the cause.
Talking about the woman who started the Facebook page for Obama, I am not sure what she would do these days because, I do not know if she is the typical follower who is 100%  blinded and who will not recognize bad decisions her favorite candidate might make, or if she is objective and is able to discern between a good or bad decision.

What if any conviction exist in your life, you feel deserves a social stance?

This is a tricky question because a strong conviction on something can be good or bad. For instance, the members of the KuKuxKlan have the strong conviction black, Catholics, and Jewish people should be ban from all rights and go back to where they belong. The group is strong because of the strong conviction these members share, yet, it is a horrible social movement and they express the most horrendous things about other racial backgrounds; I am amazed the freedom of speech allows them to be verbally violent toward others. So no, I do not think every conviction deserves a social stance.