NCJ Number
202767
Journal
Police Chief Volume: 70 Issue: 10 Dated: October 2003 Pages: 108,110,114
Date Published
October 2003
Length
6 pages
Annotation
This article discusses police occupational stress as associated with family life.
Abstract
Police officer stress may manifest in ways that can hurt officers, their loved ones, their department, and the public. Some of these ways are burnout, poor judgment, health problems, low productivity, use of excessive force, and citizen complaints. Police administrators must recognize the negative consequences associated with work-related stress and implement proactive strategies to help the officers and the department. Departments can help reduce the negative consequences of officer stress for officers, families, the department, and the community by providing employee assistance programs and services to police officers and their families. Stress management programs are only used reactively after a critical incident or when the stressors build up to a point creating difficulties. The Irvine (California) Police Department provides an orientation and preparation of family and friends for the new officer’s transition into the police culture. In this program, the department hopes to help families and friends come to understand the potential pitfalls of policing; acquire insight and alertness to personality, attitudinal, and behavioral changes; and be familiar with the resources available for intervention before the situation deteriorates too far. The orientation program demonstrates that the department cares about the new police families and introduces them to police work and the potential pitfalls of the job. It also teaches them about the rewards of a career in law enforcement. One challenge of the program was to prevent a police spouses’ club from developing. It was concluded that it would not serve the best interests of the new officer or the department because it is likely that several new officers will not be successful during the field training officer program or their probationary period. Administrators and staff identified two ways to improve the orientation. The first way is to modify each orientation to serve the particular needs of that officer group. The second way is to present a more balanced perspective of police work by discussing the benefits and satisfaction that frequently come with a career in law enforcement. 15 endnotes