Police Stress Preventing Police Officer Thesis

The focus of every police administrator should be to prevent officers from experiencing overwhelming stress with which they do not have the means to cope.

Discussion and Conclusion

Finding ways to help managers and administrators to help officers cope with the daily chronic stress of their jobs should be a key priority. Although the statistics disagree as to the severity of these problems as compared to the general population, they still pose a significant problem for the officers and the departments for which they work. Officers need to be at their peak performance every day that they are on the job. Departments need to focus on providing the opportunity for optimum performance for every officer on the force. In order to do this they need to develop strategies for helping officers to effectively cope with the daily stresses that they face.

Administrators and manager often cannot do anything to reduce the stress experienced by officers. They cannot prevent traumatic events from happening or many of the chronic stresses that occur daily on the job. There are certain stresses that can be minimized. Administrators need to maintain an open-door policy where officers can come to their superiors for advice and support. They need to feel that their administrators care about them as individuals and that they matter in the bigger equation of the force.

Debriefings are often the most utilized form of stress management after a critical incident. However, research demonstrates that these group session are ineffective as a means to relieve stress. In some cases, evidence supports the position that these debriefings can cause more harm than good, as the officer must relive the experiences (Curran, 2003). Administrators need to address this issue by providing individual help for all officers involve in critical incidents. They need to enlist the help of professionals and specialists in treatment of trauma. It is not enough to provide help; they must provide the most effective help possible in order to reduce stress for police officers.

Training and education were found to be effective interventions in reducing stress for police officers (Curran, 2003). Providing ongoing training in relationships, family dynamics in times of stress, and the risks associated with the job would prove effective tools for prevent to build up of stress to critical points. This type of program would reflect a proactive, rather than a reactive stance regarding the daily stresses of police officers on the job.

There are many actions that administrators and managers could take to reduce the affects of tensions and stress in the lives of police officers. Reducing stress in police officers needs to become an administrative priority. The costs associated with these programs far outweighs the consequences of stress on the police force.

References

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Morash, M., Haar, R., & Kwak, DH. (2006). Multilevel Influences on Police Stress. Journal of Contemporary Criminal Justice. 22 (10: 26-43.

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