Police Stressors free essay sample

Today there are training orgasm Intended to help management learn about the various stress, different methods of treatment and what signs to watch for. Management plays a vital role In helping the officers understand that nothing Is hopeless and that there Is always help available. Police Stresses: Causes, Effects and Treatments Everyone deals with a certain amount of stress from his or her career and personal lives. Police officers are no different and in fact, they have some of the highest stress levels.The causes of stress vary from officer to officer as well as the symptoms that the stress and anxiety cause. Many stress can be mild and go noticed and are therefore left untreated, while others are severe. Facing severe symptoms, the officers may not know how to go about getting help or they feel embarrassed and do not seek help. How the officers and management deal with this stress is important to the officers safety as well as those around him. We will write a custom essay sample on Police Stressors or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page There is not one way to deal with these situations and the levels vary for each individual.Joseph Harold and Samuel Fomenter wrote an article in the Federal Bureau of Investigation Law Enforcement Bulletin that says: What Is stress? One researcher defined stress as a nonspecific response of the body o any demand placed on it. What does that really mean? It simply means that each person responds differently to internal and external demands of life, but that each person does experience stress. Denying Its existence does not alleviate the bodys response to daily stress (Harold and Fomenter February).The day-to-day stress of dealing with people and their problems, especially the deeply disturbing aspects of dealing with critical Incidents, can traumatized officers and poison their splats. Freeholder Nietzsche said, Whoever fights monsters should see to It that In the process he does not become a monster. And, when you look Into an abyss, the abyss also looks Into you. (Central Florida Police Stress Unit Mall Page 2008) This aptly applies to the law enforcement profession because officers look Into the abyss of evil and negative behavior every day (Harold and Fomenter February) different.The difference is that an officer has to cope with many stress combined. Some of these stress include marital discord, trouble with a fellow officer, postgraduates stress disorder, injuries, communication difficulties, bad attitudes and lose of faith in the criminal Justice system (Collins, 2003). The five most common resources of stress for individual officers are issues in the officers personal life, the pressures of law enforcement work, the attitude of the general public toward police work and officers, the operation of the criminal Justice system, and the law enforcement organization itself (Finn August).What are some of the main causes of stress police officers are faced with? To begin my research I asked this question too retired local police chief. The first thing he said was the internal structure. The second item to come up was communication. Mr.. Adam explained that rookies come into the force and they do not know what hey are getting into yet. They go to briefing meetings in which case is not always a pleasant experience. This sets their mood for their shift. If the briefing were unpleasant, they were yelled at or made to feel inadequate; they would carry that attitude out with them.This bad attitude was reflected in how they handled people they met through out their shift. This in return could cause problems if their behavior is reported. Also as being rookies, everything is new and exciting. They cannot wait to go home and tell their spouse about their day. After becoming a seasoned officer, this communication can start to fade away. As rookies mature into a seasoned police officer, it is hard to turn off the switch between officer and civilian. Nearly everyone they meet is in a negative situation; it is hard to not be that person off duty.This negativity takes a toll on the officer and he talks less and less to his wife about his day and soon quits talking all together. (Bill Adam interview) Symptoms of stress are not always obvious and can be hard to diagnose. Some minor symptoms can include loss of appetite, trouble sleeping, irritable, moodiness, ND memory lapses. Some of the more noticeable symptoms can include drinking, lack of communication, drug use, mood swings, depression, poor performance, change in attitude, loss of sensitivity and lack of enthusiasm at work.Symptoms that researchers compare within their studies determining stress are numerous, but the main three key indexes are suicide, divorce and alcoholism. Studies have indicated that police suicide rates are one of the highest in the nation, divorce rates are the second highest in the nation and they are likely to drink twice as much as a non-officer (Constant n. D. ). Hans Sale, the foremost researcher in stress in the world, said that police work is the most stressful occupation in America even surpassing the formidable stresses of air traffic control. (Constant) The University of Buffalo studied officers for nearly 10 years and discovered that the pressures of law enforcement place officers at risk for high blood pressure, insomnia, increased levels of destructive stress hormo nes, heart problems, post- traumatic stress disorder (PETS) and suicide (Baker, 2008). In September 2008, the how the stress of police work affects an officers physical and mental health. This study was funded by a $1. 5 million grant from the National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health (NOSH) plus an additional $750,000 from the National Institute of Justice (NJ) to the study to measure police officer fatigue and the impact of shift work on health and performance (Baker). The study is being lead by John M. Violation, Ph. D. , research associate professor at the University Department of Social and Preventive Medicine in the School of Public Health and Health Professions. The study is called the Buffalo Cardiac-Metabolic Occupational Police Stress (BOPS) study.They research team is looking at things like heart rate, sleep patterns, cholesterol, cortical levels, bone density and psychological factors. Their goal is to find ways to help promote health and well- being in police officers by discovering stress and ways to treat them (Baker, 2008). During my research, internal structure was a prevalent stresses. This includes things like organizational issues such as the demands of work interfering with the officers home life, lack of consultation and communication, lack of control over workload, inadequate support and excess workload in general.Officers feel over whelmed with what is expected of them and they are hard on themselves when they are not able to keep up with the internal demands that are placed on them. This overwhelming pressure that officers are faced with often causes burn out. Burnout is a common stresses that all people can suffer from to some extent at different points in their life. It becomes dangerous when the officer is distressed and begins to feel fatigued and frustrated constantly with no relief. Police officers often face burnout because they have much to do and not enough time to do their Job.Crime and calls for police service increase relentlessly, but resources and time to do the Job do not increase equally. Police officers must do impossible tasks and meet unrealistic deadlines in the worst of working conditions. The demands at home dont relent either. An officer must meet the needs of his family and spend time with them. Yet he works shift work, attends court, and works overtime. He has little control over these times and how they affect his family (Constant, 1992). Communication is the other major stresses that officers deal with.Many officers have opinions about ways to improve their internal structure, but many never speak f these ideas. This causes some resentment in some officers. Their home life also suffers from lack of communication. Many of their spouses are not familiar with the makings of their work, what they do, what is expected of them or what they expect from themselves. Officers deal with negativity during most of their career and sometimes they do not want to talk about all the bad things they see.They keep it bottled up and Just quit talking to their spouses. Officers need to be able to have some quality family time and always remember they are not only officers but also husbands, brothers, uncles and fathers. Area to area. In central Florida, there is an organization called Central Florida Police Stress Unit, Inc. Or US and their sole purpose is to help officers cope with the day-to- day stress. They offer training courses for other law enforcement agencies so that they can be better prepared in helping officers within their organization. The trainers are certified by the Florida Department of Law Enforcement and are members of the American Society of Law Enforcement Trainers (Central Florida Police Stress Unit Main Page 2008). US teaches supervisors the six Ors to aid their officers is dealing with stress. They are responsibility, reflection, relaxation, relationships, refueling and recreation. Responsibility refers to establishing priorities and keeping them simple. It also encourages the officers to remember they are in charge of their lives. Reflection teaches the officers to recognize stress and symptoms.It also reinforces that they should have a balance in life. Relaxation advocates for the officer to have some me time and to schedule time outs and worry time. This step emphasizes that the officer is responsible for his worries. Relationships encourage officers to maintain and engage their supportive relationships and to improve the relationship with ones self. Refueling teaches officers how to keep their body healthy by watching what they eat and drinking lots of water. They also want officers to beware of things like caffeine, nicotine, fats and fast foods.Recreation is important as it promotes family time. Nurture your family, live your life outside of work and love (Central Florida Police Stress Unit Main Page 2008). The six Ors are tools designed to help officers learn more about themselves as well as how they react to stress. It teaches officers how to reduce stress and offers options on how to cope. By encouraging a healthy lifestyle, plenty of family time and self-reflection, officers will be better equipped to notice when things are off with themselves.Sadly, many officers lose their identity and simply become an officer. Officers need to have that time when they are John Smith, husband and father of two. They need to be reminded of the good in the world and that they are human. Spending time with their family also helps keep the lines of communication open with their spouses, as this is known to be one of the main stress officers are challenged with. Supervisors can monitor their subordinates on a regular basis to help keep an eye on their performance, behavior, attitude, and general well-being.It is recommended that supervisors conduct biannual reviews for each employee. This will not guarantee that any issues will be spotted, but the odds are greatly increased if the supervisor monitors regularly and has an understanding of things to look for. Supervisors should also have a plan for when issues are spotted. There should be a procedure set up to best help officers in need. This could include various assistances such as support groups, AAA meetings, individual or family counseling and tenting to help officers express how they have been feeling.If anything is on their minds or any suggestions that they may have to help the company, they should be encouraging officers to always communicate. This is necessary for officers at work and home to avoid an emotional build up and emotional shut down. This research showed that when officers were properly trained and had the ability to combat stress that they encountered, they were able to effectively able to cope. Effectively managing stress results in officers over all health, morale and personal lives improved.Police departments need to take more responsibility for teaching its officers and set up programs to aid in combating officer stress. As part of their procedure, departments should have a privacy policy allowing officers to seek help with out everyone knowing about it. Many departments are also bringing aboard a chaplain and psychologist for officers. By management aiding in the identification and coping of police stress, they will be able to help their department run much smoother and help the officers get through what is bothering them. This also includes personal stress.