Stress In Law Enforcement Essay

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.

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

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

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

The Book Emotional Survival for Law Enforcement by Dr. Kevin M. Gilmartin is a guide for officers and their families on the journey through law enforcement and how to coop with the ever demanding job officers face. This book discussed the demands of the job and how officers change throughout the course of their career. I will elaborate on several factors that were discussed in the book and how officers, with the proper training, can help combat the stress of the high demand place on them.

Police stress syndrome is when police officers have stress because of the things that they experience during their time on the job. When something bad happens to them or someone else, they happen to have dreams or visualize those horrible experiences. (The Effects of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, 2014) For example, a police officer is trying the catch a criminal on the run by car and an innocent child runs in front of his car and gets hit. The kid dies and this is something that police officer will always remember and relive, which causes stress. There are law enforcement therapists that know how to deal with the stress that police officers go through. Police officers often go to psychotherapy and take medication to take them out of stress. (The Effects of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder,

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

“Prevention of traumatic stress in law enforcement personnel: A cursory look at the roles of peer support and critical incident stress management” adequately explains how mental health professionals, with the help of trained paraprofessionals, use crisis intervention theory to provide mental health support to law enforcement communities in order to reduce job-related stress and improve overall wellbeing. The following review will explain, how mental health providers, through the use of peer supports, have been able to break through the rigid boundaries historically established between the law enforcement and mental health communities. Crisis intervention techniques generated from crisis theory can help law enforcement officers’ deal with their reactions to a critical incident compounded with their constant exposure to gruesome scenes of human tragedies. Without mental health assistance, law enforcement officers can reach debilitating stress levels that not only affect job-performance but can also impact other areas of their lives, such as, their overall mental health, physical health, and their ability

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.

There is no doubt that policing is a stressful career, the whole purpose of law enforcement is to serve and protect the public and that can put a lot of pressure on a police officer because they’re the people who are called first when tragedies happen and the community reply’s strongly on the police to make the neighborhoods that they live in a safer place. Policing is a stressful career because of the tragedies that officers see when they are on the job responding to a call, which can also be a very traumatizing depending on what the situation was, as well as the high demand that comes with the profession. Stress has a physical, mental, and emotional influence on an individual, which causes mental and bodily pressure. In the article “ Canadian

Stress is a term used by many, is somewhat misunderstood, and often used to describe a negative condition or emotional state. People experience various forms of stress at home, work, in social settings, and when engaged in activities to simply have fun, such as playing sports. Police officers experience stress the same as others, but also in ways much different than the average citizen. The dangers, violence, and tragedy seen by officers result in added levels of stress not experienced by the general population.

Thank you for your service as a police officer. I could not imagine the difficulty, I would have working my way through some of the descriptions in your post. Resilience would definitely play a large part in making it through each day. I have never been around your line of work. Usually it is pretty quiet where I live, but if I had to imagine being an officer instead of being in my current line of work, I would have to do a major overhaul to my resilience. It would be something I had never prepared myself for, so I would have to work through the unbearable stress and anxiety that I would have. Eventually, I feel I would emerge with the resilience that would be required of me, but it would be a rough journey.

In policing, officers are given the role to serve and protect citizens, and carry out justice. In addition, are expected by society to protect lives and property. When a police officer fails to comply with these general principles, he or she is considered deviant. Corruption and misconduct have been present in society since the beginning of policing. An infamous case in American policing history is the Michael Dowd case, where a former NYPD officer was convicted for engaging in numerous criminal activities. When analyzing the film The Seven Five, several aspects in the case can be applied to concepts found in the Introduction to Policing book, including, police culture, personality, minorities in policing, ethics, and patrol operations.