Hidden danger

2020 ◽  
Vol 43 (2) ◽  
pp. 330-344
Author(s):  
John M. Violanti ◽  
Desta Fekedulegn ◽  
Mingming Shi ◽  
Michael E. Andrew
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Law Enforcement ◽  
Police Officers ◽  
Law Enforcement Officers ◽  
Wellness Programs ◽  
The United States ◽  
Health Issues ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Health Related ◽  
Rate Frequency

PurposeLaw enforcement is a dangerous profession not only due to assaults, accidents and homicides but also due to health risks. This study examined trends in the national frequency and rate of law enforcement job-related illness deaths in the United States over a 22-year period (1997–2018).Design/methodology/approachData were obtained from the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund (NLEOMF) on death frequencies related to health issues at work. Death rates were based on the total number of police officers in the United States [rate = (frequency/population at risk) × 100,000]. Trends were examined using standardized regression.FindingsA total of 646 deaths were attributed to job-related illness. There was a significant upward trend in overall job-related illness deaths (frequency analyses: β = 0.88, p < 0.0001; rate analyses: β = 0.82, p ≤ 0.0001) mainly driven by a significant increase in 911 cancer deaths (frequency analyses: β = 0.88, p < 0.0001; rate analyses: β = 0.88, p ≤ 0.0001). Nearly 82 percent of circulatory deaths were from a heart attack, with an average death age of 46.5 years.Research limitations/implicationsDeaths were not included if they failed to meet medical requirements of the NLEOMF. The data are descriptive, do not estimate risk and should be interpreted cautiously.Practical implicationsPolice wellness programs may help to reduce the danger of deaths associated with job-related illness.Originality/valueThis is among the first studies to examine frequency and rate of police health–related deaths due to job exposures.

The Environment of Death and its Influence on Police Officers in the United States

2001 ◽  
Vol 43 (2) ◽  
pp. 145-155 ◽  
Author(s):  
John D. Sugimoto ◽  
Kevin Ann Oltjenbruns
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Law Enforcement ◽  
Police Officers ◽  
Stress Disorder ◽  
Law Enforcement Officers ◽  
The United States ◽  
Self Control ◽  
Traumatic Grief ◽  
American Law ◽  
Grief Reactions

Exposure to the threat of death or to death events is acknowledged to be a factor in the manifestation of Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). Police officers in the United States are immersed in a professional and cultural environment replete with death. Given for consideration is the notion that inescapable, death-related stressors of wide variety and intensity, some of which are constructs of the police profession, contribute to the manifestation and maintenance of PTSD as well as traumatic grief reactions in American law enforcement officers. Personnel who continue police work while symptomatic may incur risks of reduced self-control, escalated use of force, and other inappropriate behavior due to irritability or outbursts of anger associated with PTSD. Because of the primacy of the element of death, those who are involved in the field of thanatology may hold the key to discovering and effecting palliative measures on behalf of this population.

A national study of the availability of law enforcement agency wellness programming for officers: A latent class analysis

2021 ◽  
pp. 146135572110640
Author(s):  
Bruce G Taylor ◽  
Weiwei Liu ◽  
Elizabeth A. Mumford
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
United States ◽  
Substance Use ◽  
Law Enforcement ◽  
Latent Class Analysis ◽  
Latent Class ◽  
Wellness Programs ◽  
The United States ◽  
Substance Use Treatment ◽  
Class Analysis

The purpose of this study is to understand the availability of employee wellness programs within law enforcement agencies (LEAs) across the United States, including physical fitness, resilience/wellness, coping skills, nutrition, mental health treatment, and substance use treatment. The research team investigated whether patterns of LEA wellness programming are identifiable and, if so, what characteristics describe these patterns. We assess using latent class analysis whether there are distinct profiles of agencies with similar patterns offering different types of wellness programs and explore what characteristics distinguish agencies with certain profiles of wellness programming. Data were from a nationally representative sample of 1135 LEAs: 80.1% municipal, 18.6% county and 1.3% other agencies (state-level and Bureau of Indian Affairs LEAs). We found that many agencies (62%) offer no wellness programming. We also found that 23% have comprehensive wellness programming, and that another group of agencies specialize in specific wellness programming. About 14% of the agencies have a high probability of providing resilience coping skill education, mental health and/or substance use treatment services programming. About 1% of the agencies in the United States limit their programming to fitness and nutrition, indicating that fitness and nutrition programs are more likely to be offered in concert with other types of wellness programs. The analyses revealed that agencies offering broad program support are more likely to be large, municipal LEAs located in either the West, Midwest or Northeast (compared with the southern United States), and not experiencing a recent budget cut that impacted wellness programming.

Politics, Safety, and Officer-Involved Intimate Partner Violence

2019 ◽  
pp. 227-245
Author(s):  
Leigh Goodmark
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Intimate Partner Violence ◽  
Law Enforcement ◽  
Police Officers ◽  
Partner Violence ◽  
The United States ◽  
Intimate Partner ◽  
Three Dimensions ◽  
Political Decision ◽  
Political Decisions

The United States relies heavily on law enforcement to protect people subjected to intimate partner violence. The decision to prioritize law enforcement intervention may seem natural, but it is, in fact a political decision, with consequences along three dimensions. First, prioritizing the law enforcement response has precluded the development of other policies to address intimate partner violence. Second, channeling money into law enforcement helped to facilitate the growth of a hypermasculine, militarized environment where violence against women flourishes. Third, the decision to rely on law enforcement ignores research establishing that police officers are more likely than other groups to commit intimate partner violence. These political decisions have profound consequences for all people subjected to abuse, particularly the partners of police officers.

Police officers, stigma, and the opioid epidemic

2020 ◽  
Vol 22 (4) ◽  
pp. 393-406 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nathan E Kruis ◽  
Jaeyong Choi ◽  
Richard H Donohue
Keyword(s):  
Law Enforcement ◽  
Police Officers ◽  
Social Distance ◽  
Disease Model ◽  
Law Enforcement Officers ◽  
The United States ◽  
Policy Implications ◽  
Opioid Epidemic ◽  
Front Line ◽  
Multivariable Analyses

Researchers have suggested that provider-based stigma of substance use disorders is one barrier to fighting the opioid epidemic. Yet, to date, virtually no study has examined provider-based stigma among law enforcement officers who are on the front line of the opioid crisis. This study attempts to fill this gap in the literature by assessing provider-based stigma toward opioid-using persons among a sample of 208 police officers working for departments located in the Northeastern Region of the United States. Results show that officers hold relatively high levels of stigma toward this vulnerable population, as measured by perceptions of dangerousness, blame, and social distance; however, comparatively, officers hold less fatalistic views toward this group of persons. Additionally, our multivariable analyses indicated that officer rank, support for the disease model of addiction, and beliefs about the demographic characteristics of a substance-using person are significantly associated with provider-based stigma among officers. Potential policy implications are discussed within.

Western fears of encryption lack substance

2015 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
United Kingdom ◽  
Law Enforcement ◽  
The United States ◽  
Terrorist Attacks ◽  
Consumer Trust ◽  
The Political ◽  
Political Debate ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Negative Effect

Significance In the wake of the terrorist attacks in Paris, the political debate on law enforcement 'going dark' due to encryption has resurfaced again in the United States and United Kingdom. However, governments have yet to demonstrate evidence of a loss of security capability because of encryption. Impacts The 'going dark' debate may be being used to distract from security agencies' existing surveillance capabilities. The debate's outcome could have a severe negative effect on consumer trust in internet-based businesses. Businesses will see opportunities in relocation to jurisdictions with robust laws that do not weaken cryptographic systems.

scholarly journals Firearm Prevalence and Homicides of Law Enforcement Officers in the United States

2015 ◽  
Vol 105 (10) ◽  
pp. 2042-2048 ◽  
Author(s):  
David I. Swedler ◽  
Molly M. Simmons ◽  
Francesca Dominici ◽  
David Hemenway
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Law Enforcement ◽  
Law Enforcement Officers ◽  
The United States

scholarly journals Social Media and Men’s Health: A Content Analysis of Twitter Conversations During the 2013 Movember Campaigns in the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom

2015 ◽  
Vol 11 (6) ◽  
pp. 1627-1641 ◽  
Author(s):  
Caroline A. Bravo ◽  
Laurie Hoffman-Goetz
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Content Analysis ◽  
United Kingdom ◽  
Health Risks ◽  
The United States ◽  
Men’S Health ◽  
Men's Health ◽  
Health Issues ◽  
The United Kingdom ◽  
Health Related

The Movember Foundation raises awareness and funds for men’s health issues such as prostate and testicular cancers in conjunction with a moustache contest. The 2013 Movember campaigns in the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom shared the same goal of creating conversations about men’s health that lead to increased awareness and understanding of the health risks men face. Our objective was to explore Twitter conversations to identify whether the 2013 Movember campaigns sparked global conversations about prostate cancer, testicular cancer, and other men’s health issues. We conducted a content analysis of 12,666 tweets posted during the 2013 Movember campaigns in the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom (4,222 tweets from each country) to investigate whether tweets were health-related or non-health-related and to determine what topics dominated conversations. Few tweets ( n = 84, 0.7% of 12,666 tweets) provided content-rich or actionable health information that would lead to awareness and understanding of men’s health risks. While moustache growing and grooming was the most popular topic in U.S. tweets, conversations about community engagement were most common in Canadian and U.K. tweets. Significantly more tweets co-opted the Movember campaign to market products or contests in the United States than Canada and the United Kingdom ( p < .05). Findings from this content analysis of Twitter suggest that the 2013 Movember campaigns in the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom sparked few conversations about prostate and testicular cancers that could potentially lead to greater awareness and understanding of important men’s health issues.

EU-US will clash on artificial intelligence regulation

2020 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Artificial Intelligence ◽  
United States ◽  
Law Enforcement ◽  
Facial Recognition ◽  
The United States ◽  
Public Authorities ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Regulatory Strategy ◽  
Innovative Potential

Significance Its guidance will probably be at odds with the approach adopted by the United States. Impacts European AI firms will criticise a tougher regulatory strategy, fearing restrictions on their innovative potential, as well as from abroad. Larger tech companies will be better able to adapt to AI regulations than their smaller competitors. Public authorities, and law enforcement especially, will push back against facial recognition bans.

Regional differences in gang member identification methods among law enforcement jurisdictions in the United States

2020 ◽  
Vol 43 (5) ◽  
pp. 723-740
Author(s):  
Daniel Scott
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Law Enforcement ◽  
Rural Communities ◽  
Regional Differences ◽  
The United States ◽  
Gang Member ◽  
Gang Members ◽  
The West ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Identification Methods

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to compare gang member identification methods across regions in the United States as reported by law enforcement.Design/methodology/approachThe data were collected through surveys with various law enforcement jurisdictions in both urban and rural communities across the United States. Methods of gang member identification were compared across the United States. Region through the use of Ordinal Logistic Regression and Multiple Imputation.FindingsThe results reveal that there are systematic variations in methods of gang member identification across regions in the United States. Specifically, the West is significantly more likely to identify gang members through associations or arrests with known gang members, symbols and self-nomination compared to other regions. The South, Northeast and Midwest regions are significantly more likely to identify gang members through a reliable informant compared to the West.Originality/valueResearch has not compared gang member identification methods across region in the United States or examined how variations in gang member identification methods potentially impact the accuracy of reported gang problems and prevalence.

Online Well-Being Focused Curriculums

2017 ◽  
pp. 1415-1429
Author(s):  
Michelle Lee D'Abundo ◽  
Stephen L. Firsing III ◽  
Cara Lynn Sidman
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Quality Of Life ◽  
United States ◽  
Medical Model ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Health Behavior Change ◽  
The United States ◽  
Health Issues ◽  
Health Related

Education and health are among the most salient issues facing Americans today. The field of public health has moved away from a physical health medical model to a more well-being focused quality-of-life perspective. K-20 curriculums in the United States need to reflect this ideological shift. In this chapter, content-focused curriculums with process-focused health behavior change-oriented learning are proposed as a strategy to promote well-being. Other issues that need to be addressed in the current education system are that the delivery of health-related curriculums is often inconsistent and taught by untrained personnel. Well-being-focused curriculums delivered online can provide consistency to improve the quality of health courses. This innovative approach has the potential to improve educational and health outcomes for K-20 curriculums while addressing public health issues by promoting well-being and quality-of-life for children and adults throughout the United States.

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