Literature Review On Police Stress

Have you ever wondered what’s it 's like to be a cop? Or what cop’s families go through on a day to day basis? This book Emotional Survival for Law Enforcement written by Kevin M. Gilmartin, Ph.D. gives us an outline on the difficulty and stress that law enforcement officer and their families face on daily basis. Dr. Gilmartin discusses the stages of hypervigilance. And the long-term effects of hypervigilance and the toll it takes on the officer and his or her family.

This evidence proves that there is not just one factor that causes officer stress, but there are many elements that create officer stress. According to the National Institute of Justice, “Enduring stress for a long period of time can lead to anxiety, depression or post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)”. “PTSD is a psychological condition marked by an inability to be intimate, inability to sleep, increased nightmares, and increased feelings of guilt and reliving the even”. This evidence proves that if agencies don’t take a more proactive approach in ensuring that correctional officers have the resources available to assist in helping them manage their stress, then officers can occur a more serious psychological issue. Post-traumatic stress not only affects the officer, but it affects the family members of the

Stress happens to everyone and it is usually not seen as something so serious. Police officers usually have higher stress levels due to the fact that people’s safety are in their hands. Historically, law enforcement agencies did not recognize the seriousness of the high levels of stress, and police officers were forced to deal with it on their own. When assistance was finally available, most officers chose not to seek help because it would make them seem weak. However, Police stress needs to be taken into consideration as a serious matter, and even several studies have shown that police fatigue has similar effects as those alcohol. To Police officers, stress caused by the job can sometimes be overwhelming. This can affect their

There are many stereotypes that women in the law enforcement field have to face. In order to recruit more women into policing, law enforcement agencies should attempt to overcome the idea that policing is a "male-oriented profession". This paper will cover parts of the history of women police officers, some views and stereotypes of the female officer, job related issues, life outside of the workforce and job satisfaction.

When it comes to evaluating a police departments new formed program in-house counseling services for police officers, which is intended to reduce stress among police officers, several factors must come into place. In making this evaluation, we must first put officers into groups by age, time served on the force, and areas which officers are patrolling. In any police force, psychological evaluations should be given on a monthly basic to head the problem before it gets out of control. Because police officers have so many negative views throughout society, it can put extra stress on any individual. Out of 100 police officers, they would be split in 2 groups of 50. The first half would be evaluated on mental and psychological status, and the second

In policing there are often two types of police officers, the “crime fighter” and the “public servant” (Pollock, 2015). The main goal and

7) The need to be in constant emotional control. Law enforcement officers have a job that requires extreme restraint under highly emotional circumstances. They are told when they are extremely excited, they have to act calm. They are told when they are nervous, they have to be in charge. They are taught to be stoic when emotional. They are to interact with the world in a role. The emotional constraint of the role takes tremendous mental energy, much more energy than expressing true emotions. When the energy drain is very strong, it may make the officer more prone to exhaustion outside of work, such as not wanting to participate in social or family life. This energy drain can also create a sense of job and social burnout.

In addition, police officer exposed to high levels of stress relate to their job have been at an increased risk for adverse health problems, including depression, anxiety, and posttraumatic stress disorder, (Grant & Terry, 2012).

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

Shamshak believes that being in law enforcement the biggest challenge is finding the right balance between his professional time and personal time. Not achieving the right work and personal life balance can lead to stress and trouble in the home also he states that this is a major contributor to family issues. Shamshak implies that a police officer’s identity is his work and that it can be all consuming, and that officers often need to be reminded that the most important source of stress relief is the family network. When you have stress at work and at home it can become overwhelming and noticed in work performance. Also supervisors need to check up on their officers and realize when too much work is being done that it could possibly contribute to the

The study that is being proposed here aims to correct the imbalance in what is known of female retention by providing information that is known about male police officers. Most previous studies have investigated male police officers and have reported that stressful events can lead to chronic stress, burnout, alcohol use, and quitting the police force (Anshel, 2000; Hawkins, 2001; Reese, 1982). Job burnout has been recognized as a serious problem among male police officers because of the demands placed on them (Euwema, Kop, & Schaufeli, 1999). Taking the information that has been studied among male officers this study will measure job burnout as a potential cause for the poor retention of female officers. Stress and alcohol use were reported

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

Dowler, K., & Arai, B. (2008). Stress, gender and policing: the impact of perceived gender discrimination on symptoms of stress. International Journal of Police Science & Management, 10(2), 123-135. doi:10.1350/ijps.2008.10.2.81

Interestingly, physical danger is ranked low on the list of stresses by police officers! A study of 2376 Buffalo NY police officers found that compared to the white male population police officers had higher mortality rates for cancer, suicide, and heart disease (Constant). Suicide is one of the worst effects that stress can have on police officers.

Women account for 14.3 percent of the law enforcement population (Swanson, Territo, & W, 2008, p. 559). Female officers are challenged with stressors identical to male officers’. Nonetheless, it is thought that female officers face higher levels of stress than male officers’. A great deal of stress for females is caused by a predominantly male workforce, which leads to feelings of isolation on the job (University at Buffalo, 2008). In a study conducted by Dr. John Violanti, found that seventy-two percent of female officers had higher than recommended cholesterol levels compared to forty-three