Police Enforcement Work And Its Effects On The Members Of Its Department Essay

This was an article I found through the APUS library that offers information on the hours that police officers work. It also explains the complications of being overworked and its results. I will use this information to expand on the day-to-day operations of an officer. I will also be able to determine some cons of pursuing this career.

The impact of rotating shift work on police officers in terms of fatigue, increased stress, and other long term medical problems cannot be overstated. In 2011, an in-depth research project, “Sleep disorders, health, and safety in police officers” (JAMA, 2011), was conducted involving a group of North American police officers in regards to the sleep disorders and the health and safety of the officers participating. The study involved 4,957 officers that worked rotating shifts over a period of approximately two years. The findings were startling and revealed that 3,930 officers (79.3%) were overweight or obese. Another 40.7% tested positive for at least one (1) sleep disorder and the majority of those that tested positive for a disorder

Although the community is benefitting from the jail expansion, a concern is the negotiation of a 12-hour shift model with the custodial deputy’s union that reduces the number of positions required (Carlson, 2017). A shift length experiment was conducted and revealed that officers who worked 12-hour shifts were significantly less alert than those on 8-hour shifts (Amendola, Weisburd, Jones, Slipka). Researchers also found that officers with sleep disorders or lack of sleep were more likely to make serious administrative errors or safety violations (Pearsall, 2012). It was also found that officers with sleep disorders experience “uncontrolled anger” toward suspects (Pearsall, 2012). According

One of the largest issues plaguing police departments in United States is under staffing Under staffing has become ramp it all over the United States. Under staffing creates issues not only for officers with in a department but also within society as a whole. “The rate of sworn officers current habitats was 2.4 per 1000 in the nation in 2011. The rate of total full-time employees, civilian and sworn was 3.4 per 1000.” (Police Employee Data)

Law enforcement officers are constantly bombarded with different types of situations that they need to make split second decisions on. Their decisions in any given situation can fall under scrutiny from the citizens, the news media, and even the courts. This makes the jobs of all law enforcement personnel extremely complex. Policing is a difficult and challenging occupation. A law enforcement officers’ duties are plenty, but the main focus is protecting people and property. To do this, they patrol specific areas assigned, respond to calls for service, enforce laws according to their state, make arrests, issue citations, conduct traffic stops, and appear in court to testify. Law enforcement officers do this knowing full well that their actions,

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

Police officers are in a very dangerous environment each and everyday. Think about the dangers that you could stumble upon working with criminals, armed angry people, drunk, high

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

Courtney Brown PSYCH 2302 8 December 2014 Chapter 14: Psychology of Law Enforcement There is no doubt that being a police officer is a stressful job. Every single day, a police officer not only has to protect himself, but the community around him. He, or she, vowed to protect that area, and the town’s safety lies on their shoulders. I don’t know about anyone else, but that seems like a heavy burden to carry.

In addition, law enforcement agencies are also involved in providing first response to emergencies and other threats to

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.

In those kinds of situations that kind of stress affects police officers job performance and there own personal lives in a way where they are unable to focus because of the lack of sleep that they get and since they are working longer hours and they receive a lot more case loads that results to bringing their work at home which will affect their personal lives. Being that policing is such a high demand job it is hard for a police officer to give it his all when he is on duty when he/ she are not rested. It makes any job a lot harder to do if you do not get the proper sleep the night before.

Police Officers have to leave their houses everyday not knowing what they may face in a day's work. Police Officers have to deal with dangerous situations, and must be properly trained to deal with these. Police Officers face many dangers on a daily basis, like foot pursuits, vehicle pursuits, traffic control, heat strokes, stress, and making an arrest. Police have to train and learn how to face these dangers, so they can come home safety to their families at the end of their shift.

This research was conducted to try and explore the challenges of maintaining light-duty policies that face police administrators, including the costs of overtime pay to cover injured officers’ shifts, the struggle to meet mandatory strengths minimums and most importantly, what every agency hates, malingering. These finding have important implications for officers well being, morale, departmental, administrative rule making, and community safety.

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