NCJ Number
155722
Journal
International Criminal Police Review Issue: 446 Dated: (January- February 1994) Pages: 22-25
Date Published
1994
Length
4 pages
Annotation
One of the long-term effects of stress felt in police departments is professional exhaustion, commonly referred to as burnout.
Abstract
Some police officers try to deal with long-term stress by partially withdrawing and toning down their reactions. In the end, they become indifferent and detached from work, physically tired, depressed, and cynical. Professionals agree that burnout has physical, psychological, and behavioral components and that burnout develops within a dynamic process of exchanges between individuals and their environment. Burnout can also be characterized by withdrawal that resembles depression. Two definitions of police burnout are appropriate: (1) emotional exhaustion and lassitude that set in insiduously after 7 to 12 years of policing; and (2) syndrome of exhaustion and cynicism often present in individuals who work in the social service field. Psychometric tools used to measure signs of burnout include the Maslach Burnout Inventory and the Jones Staff Burnout Scale by Health Professionals. Police burnout can be reduced by decreasing the number of people the burnout candidate has to deal with at work, reducing the amount of time the police officer is exposed to emotionally or mentally stressful situations, providing greater institutional flexibility that enables police officers to select duties on the basis of their abilities, and improving physical working conditions. 11 references