Define and analyze stress related to police work. Citing at least two sources during your analysis, identify sources of stress for police officers and discuss how those stressors can impact police performance. Conclude by discussing the options that are available to alleviate those stressors.
Stress refers to a state of emotional or mental tension or strain that results from demanding or adverse circumstances. Police stress generally refers to the negative pressures that are relate to the works of the police. The following essay attempts to identify the stress factors related to the police work, looks into the impacts of the stress factors on the police. The essay concludes with an attempt to look into the ways to alleviate the factors that result in the stress of the members of the police force.
The members of the police force experience various stress factors during their work. These factors may range from the cumulative stress that result from the constant risk that they face due to their duties, their need to adhere to the regulations that are often conflicting and restricting. The police force members may also remain stressed due to the perceptions that exist among the common public about the force. The sources of the psychological stress faced by the police force may stem from the characteristics of organizations that lie within their own work field. The practices of criminal justice may also prove to be the reasons that lead to the stress of the police force. The police force may also face psychological stress due to the practices of the general public like the distortion in the press reports regarding the work of the police force and adverse decisions on the part of the government (Traumacenter.org, 2017). They also may face psychological stress due to their work too. The work factors may refer to the factors relating to the irregularity in the work schedule of the of the members of the force, the inability of the members to resolve the problems that are faced by the community, the seriousness of the consequences that arise due to the actions of a member of the force.
The stress faced by the members of the force may be reduced by a various number of ways. The hours of duty of the people serving the police force should be limited to a maximum of twelve hours a day. They should try to avoid the use of nicotine, caffeine and alcohol as mechanisms for coping in order to ease the stress that they are facing (Pastwa-Wojciechowska & Piotrowski, 2016). The use of these substances contribute to the stress levels of the members serving the police force. The members of the force should be advised to maintain a healthier lifestyle in order to reduce the stress that they might be facing. The stress among the members of the police force may be reduced if the members choose to seek the amiable solutions to the arguments that cannot be won by any of the parties that are involved in the argument. The upgradation of the resources and the facilities that are available to the academies related to the training of the members of the police force may also be considered to be a method that helps in the reduction of the stress.
The above discussion may be concluded on the note that the stress factors of the police force members may be reduced by efforts that they themselves undertake. The members of the police force should be helped to alleviate the factors that lead to the stress among them.
References
Pastwa-Wojciechowska, B., & Piotrowski, A. (2016). Sources, Consequences and Methods of Coping with Stress in Police Officers. Journal of Alcoholism & Drug Dependence.
Traumacenter.org. (2017). Traumacenter.org. Retrieved 21 November 2017, from http://www.traumacenter.org/resources/pdf_files/Police_Stress.pdf
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