Police Officer Stress
Causes of stress
“Exposure to violence, suffering, and death is inherent to the profession of law enforcement officer. There are other sources of stress as well. Officers who deal with offenders on a daily basis may view some sentences as too lenient; they may perceive the public’s opinion of police performance to be unfavorable; they often are required to work mandatory, rotating shifts; and they may not have enough time to spend with their families. Police officers also face unusual, often highly disturbing, situations, such as dealing with a child homicide victim or the survivors of vehicle crashes” (National Institute of Justice Journal, 2000) With the job of a police officer stress will be a factor in your life. But what causes stress …show more content…
in policing? With not being able to talk to families about certain events that happen in your career can be a main stress factor all on its own.
“Not being able to go home and have my fiancé understand my emotions is one of the hardest things I have to deal with” (KB, 2013). “Canada's police officers may be well-paid, but they are paying dearly in terms of their mental and physical health, according to the findings of a major study of officer wellness to be by Ottawa's Carleton University” (Quan, 2012). Inside everyday life as a police officer you have to make split second decisions whether it be aggressive or passive. But in that split second you need to make up your mind on what could happen if I don’t do this action. You’re never going to have both sides happy in any situation. “When the public or your Staff Sergeant have months to analyze the situation and come up with a reasonable way you could have dealt with the situation better, it makes it stressful knowing that both sides will not be happy in the end. But in that split second you need to make the call to keep everybody safe. Whether it be the right call or not in the long run” (KB, 2013). The challenge of making the split second decisions is not necessarily always the right actions, the problem that comes along with that is the public eye, in a lot of cases of police brutality. We never know the events
leading up to the officer’s reaction. Whether it could be life threatening to himself or others around. “The pressures of law enforcement put officers at risk for high blood pressure, insomnia, increased levels of destructive stress hormones, heart problems, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and suicide, University at Buffalo researchers have found through a decade of studies of police officers” (Buffalo 2008). “Christopher Higgins, a professor at the Richard Ivey School of Business at Western University in London, Ont., collected survey data from 4,500 officers from 25 police agencies. Half of the officers surveyed reported high stress levels and 46 per cent reported moderate stress levels. Two-thirds of officers miss about 14 days of work each year, mainly due to health problems or fatigue. One key gripe was the sheer volume of work. The study found that officers are typically working 53.5 hours each week and are dealing with multiple competing and complex demands, such as completing reports and preparing court cases, where everything is supposed to be treated as a priority.” (Quan, 2012)
“Exposure to violence, suffering, and death is inherent to the profession of law enforcement officer. There are other sources of stress as well. Officers who deal with offenders on a daily basis may view some sentences as too lenient; they may perceive the public’s opinion of police performance to be unfavorable; they often are required to work mandatory, rotating shifts; and they may not have enough time to spend with their families. Police officers also face unusual, often highly disturbing, situations, such as dealing with a child homicide victim or the survivors of vehicle crashes” (National Institute of Justice Journal, 2000) With the job of a police officer stress will be a factor in your life. But what causes stress …show more content…
in policing? With not being able to talk to families about certain events that happen in your career can be a main stress factor all on its own.
“Not being able to go home and have my fiancé understand my emotions is one of the hardest things I have to deal with” (KB, 2013). “Canada's police officers may be well-paid, but they are paying dearly in terms of their mental and physical health, according to the findings of a major study of officer wellness to be by Ottawa's Carleton University” (Quan, 2012). Inside everyday life as a police officer you have to make split second decisions whether it be aggressive or passive. But in that split second you need to make up your mind on what could happen if I don’t do this action. You’re never going to have both sides happy in any situation. “When the public or your Staff Sergeant have months to analyze the situation and come up with a reasonable way you could have dealt with the situation better, it makes it stressful knowing that both sides will not be happy in the end. But in that split second you need to make the call to keep everybody safe. Whether it be the right call or not in the long run” (KB, 2013). The challenge of making the split second decisions is not necessarily always the right actions, the problem that comes along with that is the public eye, in a lot of cases of police brutality. We never know the events
leading up to the officer’s reaction. Whether it could be life threatening to himself or others around. “The pressures of law enforcement put officers at risk for high blood pressure, insomnia, increased levels of destructive stress hormones, heart problems, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and suicide, University at Buffalo researchers have found through a decade of studies of police officers” (Buffalo 2008). “Christopher Higgins, a professor at the Richard Ivey School of Business at Western University in London, Ont., collected survey data from 4,500 officers from 25 police agencies. Half of the officers surveyed reported high stress levels and 46 per cent reported moderate stress levels. Two-thirds of officers miss about 14 days of work each year, mainly due to health problems or fatigue. One key gripe was the sheer volume of work. The study found that officers are typically working 53.5 hours each week and are dealing with multiple competing and complex demands, such as completing reports and preparing court cases, where everything is supposed to be treated as a priority.” (Quan, 2012)