First Responder Culture

Critical incident stress results from the crisis of a critical event such as a death of a loved one, a traumatic incident, or an officer-involved shooting. A crisis for an individual is defined as “the perception or experiencing of an event or situation as an intolerable difficulty that exceeds the person’s current resources and coping mechanisms” (James & Gilliland, 2013, p. 8). For a law enforcement officer, “Mitchell (1991) said that a critical incident is one in which the officer’s expectations of perfect performance suddenly are

Suicide among police officers is a dramatic example of what can happen when those entrusted with the protection of others fail to protect and care for themselves (Suicide and the Police Officer, 2006). Police officers tend to create an identify for themselves in order to seem powerful, in-charge, and unwavering in the line of duty, when in reality the persona that they create can lead to officers breaking down physically and mentally (McCord 368). After an officer joins the police force, they are expected to accept the fact that there will be violence and trauma in their line of work. There are no mental health checkpoints that officers are required to meet in order to continue working in these stressful conditions, forcing

Among American civilians, whites have historically and significantly led the way in the rates of suicides. Although leveling off after the 1990’s, the rate of white suicides has still been almost twice as much as minority groups. It has also been shown that males commit suicide significantly more than females.

Although some officers do not seek or receive help and never end up developing PTSD, there are some officers that receive treatment that doesn’t come close to helping. After traumatic events occur while on the job, police departments need to implement treatment so that the officers involved can relieve their overwhelming feeling after the event, “if this is not discharged, then people become habitually distanced from their emotions, and do not have the full range of emotional breadth and depth (Rese and Smith 274)”. This is where departments fail, by dismissing trauma counseling and overlooking the seriousness the effects some of these calls and events that their officers go through only hurt the department in the long run. If an officer doesn’t receive the therapy or debriefing after an event they can lash out, use excessive amount of force in the future while on the job or even at home that can result in an investigation or law suit on the

One could say the Fire Service possess one unique quality about how it operates daily and that is the culture and the community that lies within every department. Culture is defined as defined by Miriam-Webster “the integrated pattern of human knowledge, belief, and behavior that depends upon the capacity for learning and transmitting knowledge to succeeding generations (Definition of Culture, 2017, para. 5).” The many diverse aspects of each department in still’s a variety of cultural differences separating one department from the next. At the heart of all departments, fire service culture is the men and women who work and train hard to serve their communities as prescribed by the Fire Chief. The Fire Chief, however,

We often hear about PTSD in relation to the military and veterans returning from duty, but rarely hear about it when it comes to law enforcement officers

Suicide rates in the military are at twenty-two a day and that was in two thousand one (Dao and Lehren). In two thousand two suicides were at the rate of ten point three per one hundred thousand people (Dao and Lehren). Suicide rates in two thousand twelve were at three hundred and fifty (Dao and Lehren). In two thousand one there were two thousand seven hundred and maybe even more because this statistic did not include National Guard and reserve troops who were not on active duty (Dao and Lehren). However, studies are finding that eighty percent of soldier suicides were non-combat related (Dao and Lehren). This study is causing a concern to the military for the aspects of the background checks that the soldiers have to go through to get into the military. This is causing concern in the metal health part of the multiple series of test that these soldiers have to go through. Questions are arising like “Are the test becoming to easy and are we letting to many people in for not the right reasons?” This leads to looking farther into the causes of suicide in the military.

| A background in health care has a protective effect, leading to a lower rate of suicide among physicians and nurses than in the general public.

In 2008, according to the National Surveillance of Police Suicide Study (The Badge of life, 2008), there were 141 suicides committed by police officers. Police officers who were more at risked were around the age of 35 to 39 and had served for 10 to 14 years. 64 percent of the suicides came as a surprise from those involved in the officer’s lives. In 2009, the numbers went up, but it was not a huge difference. It was now 143 suicides, the age range was about 40 to 44 years old and had served 20 years and above. From 2009 to 2012, suicide rate has gone down. In 2012 126 police officers committed suicide, although the age range was the same as in 2009 and service on the force was 15 to 19 years. Some additional data was added to the study; the average age of police officers who committed suicide was 42 and years on the job was 16. Males committed the most suicide, which was 91 percent and 11 percent were veterans. It is troubling to see so many police officers ending their life and dying by their own hands more than the officers killed on duty, as NSOPS stated (The Badge of Life, 2008). This is why I think it is necessary for agencies to focus on emotional health and make it a priority. In 2015 suicides did decrease to 51 and that is a huge decline but I believe that number can go even lower if the system worked to promote emotional health (The Badge of Life,

In the article written in the (Douglas County 2010) "In Douglas County between 2003-2007: The homicide rate in the black population was 6.7 per 100,000 population, slightly higher than the white population rate of 5.9.  The age group with the highest homicide rate was 30-39 year olds with a rate of 8.9 per 100,000 population. The suicide rate in Douglas County from 2003-2007 was much higher in whites with a rate of 12.9 per 100,000 compared to a rate of 4.0 for blacks." One organizational barrier is having enough program facilities and enough training of staff for the ones which we have in place. They must be able to detect potential victims and be able to recognized early those who are at risk. One way the community may decrease its suicide and murder rate according to our text (Burkholder & Nash, 2013, p.6.1) " Improving local economies and living conditions in low-income areas may also reduce the overall number of

As crime coexists with humanity, the presence of the police force ensures the suppression of crime and the safety for our society. Every occupation has its own work stress. What is unique is all the different stress found in one job. Aside from the heroic services police officers perform in their duty, they experience overwhelming stress in their daily duty. Police stress refers to the negative pressures related to police work (Police Stress, n.d.). In order to maintain peace and order, there must be an effective police force up and running. For that to happen, departments need to be aware and deal with the negative effects caused by police stress. Whereas, police officers must conquer their stress in order to work at their

Law enforcement officers have encountered some very deadly days. The life of a law enforcement officer is one of constantly being aware of your surroundings, dealing with the uncertainty of not knowing the individuals you have to approach, and being able to cope with the visual images seen after vicious crimes. The life of a law enforcement officer, who protects and serves, is both challenging and rewarding. The first law enforcement system was established in Boston, Massachusetts over 350 years ago. During this time in the Colonies that were not heavily populated, the sheriff served as the main law enforcement officer. During the 1800’s, 24-hour law enforcement service and systems similar to what is used today began to emerge (NLEMI). Law enforcement officers face incredible dangers. With over 900,000 law enforcement officers nationwide the Federal Bureau of Investigations reported approximately 1,165,383 violent crimes in 2014. Approximately one law enforcement officer dies every 61 hours (NLEMI).The law enforcement profession is the most challenging and dangerous career, because officers must be aware of every law and action they take at all times, manage constant training and stress, and protecting others as well as themselves in the line of duty.

The history of policing can be traced back to the beginning of time. When looking at the subject of police work there is a large culture and history that follows along with it. There are many topics that can be analyzed when identifying, and describing the elements and the significances that are associated with policing. A large element of the police job that plays a large factor in the work and attributes to the policing culture is the amount of stress that an office will face while performing on the job. Another part of the job that plays a large part in the culture

Police suicide is more directly related to relationship problems than to job stress! Of the last 14

Law enforcement officers put their lives on the line every time he or she puts on their uniform. For instance, it is quite emotional for the family of any law enforcement officer to see their loved one go to work and not know what their shift will entail. One way that a family could endure the emotions is to pray for their loved one who is in law enforcement. Whereas the officers’ job stress is at high levels so could their personal lives. Some studies in particular, show how family, friends, and the community treated by the officers could depend on the officers’ level of stress and how well positive adaptation occurs (Hille, 2009). Understanding that the law enforcement officers’ job is stressful enough, their home lives should not be. As of 2000, police officers were seven times more likely to commit suicide than other Americans. In addition, police officers had the third highest suicide rate among 130 U. S. occupations. According to the National Association of Police Chiefs, twice as many police officers took their own lives each year as have killed in the line of duty (“World of Criminal Justice, Gale Research,” 2002). This outcome stems from the outward show of how the officers deal with their job stress. For instance, some of the ways officers handle their stress could be drinking, physically abusing their wives or children, or acting carelessly on vacation or on a family outing. Although particular law enforcement officers put on the persona