Stress and Law Enforcement

Paper Summary:

The paper explains that too much stress or prolonged stress can be debilitating and certain kinds of stress are more pronounced for law enforcement officers. The paper relates that significant stressors are events in which children are involved, coping with death, being threatened with a weapon and mostly, the death of a fellow police officer. The paper discusses how police officers not only experience greater levels of stress, but they often haven't learned to cope with it effectively. The paper concludes that police officers can learn to cope more effectively with the stressful challenges of their careers and they can benefit from therapy when stress gets overwhelming, but law enforcement agencies can do their part by removing unnecessary stressors.

From the Paper:

"Police officers report a higher incidence of stress-related illnesses and complaints such as headaches, ulcers, skin rashes, gastrointestinal disorders, high blood pressure, and cardiovascular disease (Albert, 1982; Alkus & Padesky, 1983). Severe nervous conditions and emotional disturbances leading to suicide are found at higher levels than for other occupations (Burke, 1993). Younger officers seem to suffer greater impairment than older and more experienced officers, the first year on the job being the worst."

Sample of Sources Used:

• Albert, S. R. (1982). A scientific examination of occupational stress of the South Wales police force. NSW Police News (January), 19-31.
• Alkus, S. and Pedesky, C. (1983). Special problems of police officers: Stress issues and interventions. Counseling Psychologist, 11, 55-64.
• Anshel, M. H., Robertson, M. and Peters, D. (1997). Sources of acute stress and their appraisals and reappraisals among Australian police officers as a function of previous experience. Journal of Ocupational and Organizational Psychology, 70 (4), 20-41.
• Burke, R. J. (1993). Work-family stress, conflict, coping and burnout in police officers. Stress Medicine, 9, 171-180.
• Cooper, W. H. (1982). Police officers over career stages. Canadian Police Officer's Journal, 6, 93-112.

More papers on Stress and Law Enforcement:

• Research Paper # 150401 : "Stress Management in Law Enforcement"
• Essay # 43852 : "Law Enforcement: A Stressful Situation."
• Term Paper # 106129 : "Psychology in Law Enforcement"

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