Police officer stress and occupational mental health

Police Officer Stress

One of the toughest jobs is working in law enforcement. Part of the reason for this is because police officers are expected to go between two different extremes. As, their jobs can be very boring and tedious due to the routine patrols along with paperwork that they have to submit to their supervisors on a regular basis. Then, there are those times when they will be called to deal with intense situations that cause their levels of adrenaline to increase exponentially. As they must become involved in activities that are considered to be dangerous, to the general public based upon the action that criminals are engaging in (i.e. armed robbery, shootouts and car chases). These two different extremes can cause many officers to go through tremendous ups and downs as part of the job. Over the course of time, this can have an impact on their mental and physical health. Evidence of this can be seen by looking at comments from John M. Violanti (a 23-year veteran of the New York State Police) who said, "Policing is a psychologically stressful work environment filled with danger, high demands, ambiguity in work encounters, human misery and exposure to death." ("Impact of Stress on Police Officers," 2008) This is significant, because it is showing how police officers must go through different extremes during the process of conducting their jobs on a regular basis. To fully understand how this can have an impact on the well-being of an individual requires examining the way bad stress can have an impact on police officers, how this can influence suicide rates and what measures must be taken to deal with these kinds of situations. Once this takes place, is when we can develop strategies that will help officers to be able to effectively cope with the continuing amounts of stress that they will face on the job.

Bad Stress and its Consequences for Police Officers at Home, on the Job as well as in Terms of their Mental / Physical Health

On the job stress can have a major impact on the quality of life for law enforcement officers. This is because, they are called upon by the community to deal with situations that are considered to be life threatening and dangerous. Once their shift is over, is when it is expected that these individuals should become productive members of the community that are supporting their basic values. The problem with this kind of thinking is that most people assume that police officers can turn off these emotions whenever they want to (without discussing the long-term impact of them on their underlying mental state). Over the course of time, this kind of stress can build up to the point that officers will react negatively. Once this occurs, is when there will be serious declines in their mental and physical health. This is the point that they will become more distant and unable to effectively cope with a wide variety of challenges. ("Impact of Stress on Police Officers," 2008)

How does Bad Stress Influence Police Officer Suicide Rates?

The stress that police officers are dealing with can have an impact on their underlying levels of health. According to a study that was conducted by University of Buffalo, they found that these individuals have a number of health issues. Most notably: high blood pressure, cholesterol and heart rates. Moreover, researchers determined that ten-year veterans on the force will more than likely have higher thoughts of suicide. As 23% of males and 25% of female officers, reported having these kinds of issues. This is higher than the national average of 13.1% for the general public. To corroborate these findings, a study was conducted by the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department. They found that on average there are 18 suicides for every 100 thousand officers nationwide. This is significant because it is showing how these high rates are illustrating the way the total amounts of on the job stress is having adverse effect on: the physical and mental well-being of law enforcement officers around the country. ("Impact of Stress on Police Officers," 2008) (Ritter, 2007)

Discuss what measures police officers can take to cope with this type of stress?

To deal with the high amounts of stress that police officers are facing requires that law enforcement agencies must create a program that will improve their quality of life. The best way that this can be accomplished is through using various tools in conjunction with one another. A few of the most notable include: having everyone go through suicide counseling / a psychological examination at least once a year and having consultants show officers various techniques they can use to reduce stress. As far as having everyone go through suicide counseling / a psychological examination is concerned, this is focusing on how the pressures they face on the job could have an impact on their mental well-being. The reason why, is because only 2% of the police departments across the country have these kinds of programs in place. If you have a way of working with officers about: these issues and evaluating them is when you reduce the chances of suicide. ("Impact of Stress on Police Officers," 2008) (Ritter, 2007)