NCJ Number
75055
Date Published
1979
Length
10 pages
Annotation
This discussion of police job stress discusses seven major causes of stress and suggests coping methods.
Abstract
The major cause of suffering and death among police offices and their families is an inability to cope with psychological stress. Stress, defined generally as the body's reaction to circumstances that frighten, excite, or irritate, is not necessarily bad, but it must be coped with so it will not command the officer's life. Moreover, excessive stress over a long period can be devastating, causing heart attacks, asthma, ulcers, and other diseases, as well as psychological ailments. Causes of police officer stress include low self-esteem, resulting from the unusually great demands of police work; constant exposure to the evil side of life; close observation of a chronically faulty court system, leading to cynicism; and continual exposure of the mind and body to emergencies. The exposure to emergencies causes constant physiological changes from surges of adrenaline that wear the body down. Finally, night shift work causes stress through social and physical disruption. Nevertheless, the adverse consequences of stress can be reduced through adequate preparation, physical exercise, hobbies and other diversions, relaxation, regular and frequent vacations, friendships with persons outside law enforcement, and counseling. A stress quiz, a graph, and 19 references are included.