Shift work and overtime across a career in law enforcement: a 15-year study

2021 ◽  
Vol 44 (2) ◽  
pp. 200-212
Author(s):  
Samantha M. Riedy ◽  
Desta Fekedulegn ◽  
Bryan Vila ◽  
Michael Andrew ◽  
John M. Violanti
Keyword(s):  
New York ◽  
Law Enforcement ◽  
Shift Work ◽  
Police Officers ◽  
Night Shift ◽  
Police Department ◽  
Work Hours ◽  
Negative Effects ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Long Work Hours

PurposeTo characterize changes in work hours across a career in law enforcement.Design/methodology/approachN = 113 police officers enrolled in the BCOPS cohort were studied. The police officers started their careers in law enforcement between 1994 and 2001 at a mid-sized, unionized police department in northwestern New York and continued to work at this police department for at least 15 years. Day-by-day work history records were obtained from the payroll department. Work hours, leave hours and other pay types were summarized for each calendar year across their first 15 years of employment. Linear mixed-effects models with a random intercept over subject were used to determine if there were significant changes in pay types over time.FindingsA total of 1,617 individual-years of data were analyzed. As the police officers gained seniority at the department, they worked fewer hours and fewer night shifts. Total paid hours did not significantly change due to seniority-based increases in vacation time. Night shift work was increasingly in the form of overtime as officers gained seniority. Overtime was more prevalent at the beginning of a career and after a promotion from police officer to detective.Originality/valueShiftwork and long work hours have negative effects on sleep and increase the likelihood of on-duty fatigue and performance impairment. The results suggest that there are different points within a career in law enforcement where issues surrounding shiftwork and long work hours may be more prevalent. This has important implications for predicting fatigue, developing effective countermeasures and measuring fatigue-related costs.

Addressing tent cities: an example of police/non-profit collaboration

2019 ◽  
Vol 42 (5) ◽  
pp. 931-943
Author(s):  
Brittany Solensten ◽  
Dale Willits
Keyword(s):  
Law Enforcement ◽  
Police Officers ◽  
Qualitative Interviews ◽  
Police Department ◽  
Small Sample ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Non Profit ◽  
Non Profit Organizations ◽  
The City

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to examine a collaborative relationship between non-profit organizations and a Midwest police department to address issues of poverty and homelessness. Design/methodology/approach Qualitative interviews were conducted with five non-profit organization workers along with three police officers about social problems in the city between September and December of 2017. Findings The collaboration between non-profit organizations and law enforcement was largely helpful and successful in integrating residents of tent city into existing housing programs within the city, limiting future law enforcement calls addressing latent homelessness issues. Research limitations/implications This qualitative study was exploratory in nature and data were drawn from a single city. Although key stakeholders were interviewed, results are based on a small sample of police and non-profit social service workers. Also, individuals who lived in the tent city were not interviewed. Practical implications This study demonstrates how an approach in addressing tent cities through non-profit organizations and law enforcement collaboration are arguably effective in humanely moving residents of tent cities into housing for a long-term solution to homelessness. Originality/value There is limited research about tent cities especially the long-term effectiveness of dismantling them with various methods. This paper demonstrates one city’s approach to combat homelessness by dismantling a tent city, with a follow-up a few years later showing the effectiveness of a more humane approach, which can set an example for future cities also combating homelessness.

scholarly journals Fatigue and short-term unplanned absences among police officers

2020 ◽  
Vol 43 (3) ◽  
pp. 483-494
Author(s):  
Samantha Riedy ◽  
Drew Dawson ◽  
Desta Fekedulegn ◽  
Michael Andrew ◽  
Bryan Vila ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Police Officers ◽  
Night Shift ◽  
Police Department ◽  
Sleep Loss ◽  
Short Term ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Female Officers ◽  
Day By Day ◽  
Practical Implications ◽  
Potential Tool

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to assess whether shift work, sleep loss and fatigue are related to short-term unplanned absences in policing.Design/methodology/approachN = 367 police officers from the Buffalo Police Department were studied. Day-by-day work and sick leave data were obtained from the payroll. Absenteeism was defined as taking a single sick day on a regularly scheduled workday. Biomathematical models of fatigue (BMMF) predicted officers' sleep–wake behaviors and on-duty fatigue and sleepiness. Prior sleep, fatigue and sleepiness were tested as predictors of absenteeism during the next shift.FindingsA total of 513,666 shifts and 4,868 cases of absenteeism were studied. The odds of absenteeism increased as on-duty fatigue and sleepiness increased and prior sleep decreased. This was particularly evident for swing shift officers and night shift officers who were predicted by BMMF to obtain less sleep and have greater fatigue and sleepiness than day shift officers. The odds of absenteeism were higher for female officers than male officers; this finding was not due to a differential response to sleep loss, fatigue or sleepiness.Practical implicationsAbsenteeism may represent a self-management strategy for fatigue or compensatory behavior to reduced sleep opportunity. Long and irregular work hours that reduce sleep opportunity may be administratively controllable culprits of absenteeism.Originality/valuePolice fatigue has consequences for police officers, departments and communities. BMMF provide a potential tool for predicting and mitigating police fatigue. BMMF were used to investigate the effects of sleep and fatigue on absenteeism.

Spatial risk factors of felonious battery to police officers

2014 ◽  
Vol 37 (4) ◽  
pp. 823-838 ◽  
Author(s):  
Joel M. Caplan ◽  
Phillip Marotta ◽  
Eric L. Piza ◽  
Leslie W. Kennedy
Keyword(s):  
Law Enforcement ◽  
Police Officers ◽  
Physical Environment ◽  
Empirical Studies ◽  
Police Department ◽  
Dense Area ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Calls For Service ◽  
Spatial Risk ◽  
Chicago Police

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to examine the spatial influence of features of the physical environment on the risk of aggression toward law enforcement. Design/methodology/approach – The spatial analytic technique, risk terrain modeling was performed on felonious battery data provided by the Chicago Police Department. Findings – Out of the 991 batteries against law enforcement officers (LEOs) in Chicago, 11 features of the physical environment were identified as presenting a statistically significant spatial risk of battery to LEOs. Calls for service within three blocks of foreclosures and/or within a dense area of problem buildings pose as much as two times greater risk of battery to police officers than what is presented by other significant spatial factors in the model. Originality/value – An abundance of existing research on aggression toward law enforcement is situated from the perspective of characteristics of the suspect or officer. The research advances the field of violence studies by illustrating the importance of incorporating physical features of the environment into empirical studies of aggression.

scholarly journals 0179 Poor Sleep Quality Increases Odds of On-Duty Injuries in Policing

SLEEP ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 43 (Supplement_1) ◽  
pp. A71-A71
Author(s):  
S M Riedy ◽  
D Fekedulegn ◽  
B Vila ◽  
M Andrew ◽  
J Violanti
Keyword(s):  
Sleep Quality ◽  
Shift Work ◽  
Police Officers ◽  
Sleep Disturbances ◽  
Sleep Loss ◽  
Work Hours ◽  
Poor Sleep ◽  
Disciplinary Actions ◽  
Poor Sleep Quality ◽  
Long Work Hours

Abstract Introduction Shiftwork is inevitable in law enforcement. Officers are scheduled around-the-clock to protect and serve communities. Many police departments are also understaffed; consequentially, officers’ work schedules often include long work hours. Shift work and long work hours can result in sleep loss, poor sleep quality, and fatigue. In turn, these factors can impair police officers’ operational performance. We investigated whether sleep loss and poor sleep quality increase odds of on-duty injuries or disciplinary actions in policing. Methods Officers (n=113) that started their careers as police officers at the Buffalo Police Department between 1994–2001 were studied. Work and injury data were obtained for each officer starting with their hire date and continuing day-by-day for 15-years. Between 2004–2009, officers reported any disciplinary actions in the prior two years and their sleep quality was assessed using the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI) and Survey Screen for Apnea. Data were analyzed using logistic regression with logit link functions (PROC GLIMMIX, SAS 9.4). Covariates included sex, ethnicity, experience, shift type, workload, and secondary employment. Results Seventy-four percent of officers had poor sleep quality (PSQI global score ≥ 5). Officers with poorer sleep quality had greater odds of injury (OR=1.3 [95% CI: 1.0–1.5], p=0.03). Officers’ sleep duration was not a significant predictor of injuries (OR=1.0 [95% CI: 0.3–3.2], p=0.96). Officers with sleep disturbances (OR=3.5 [95% CI: 1.0–11.8], p<0.05) and/or using sleep medications (OR=15.7 [95% CI: 2.8–89.3], p<0.01) had higher odds of injury. None of the variables were significant predictors of disciplinary actions. Conclusion Poor sleep quality was prevalent among the officers. The natures of the injuries were likely multi-factorial and complex. Notwithstanding, poor sleep quality was associated with higher odds of on-duty injuries. The source of officers’ sleep disturbances (e.g. shift work, insomnia, and/or policing-related stresses) remains to be determined. Support CDC/NIOSH grant 1R01OH009640-01A1; NIJ grant 2005-FS-BX-0004

A machine learning analysis of misconduct in the New York Police Department

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Timothy I.C. Cubitt ◽  
Philip Birch
Keyword(s):  
Machine Learning ◽  
New York ◽  
Police Officers ◽  
Police Department ◽  
Police Misconduct ◽  
Prevention Policy ◽  
Policy And Practice ◽  
Data Set ◽  
Content Type ◽  
New York Police Department

PurposeThere is a paucity of data available relating to the misconduct of police officers in larger policing agencies, typically resulting in case study approaches and limited insight into the factors associated with serious misconduct. This paper seeks to contribute to the emerging knowledge base on police misconduct through analysis of 28,429 complaints among 3,830 officers in the New York Police Department, between 2000 and 2019.Design/methodology/approachThis study utilized a data set consisting of officer and complainant demographics, and officer complaint records. Machine learning analytics were employed, specifically random forest, to consider which variables were most associated with serious misconduct among officers that committed misconduct. Partial dependence plots were employed among variables identified as important to consider the points at which misconduct was most, and least likely to occur.FindingsPrior instances of serious misconduct were particularly associated with further instances of serious misconduct, while remedial action did not appear to have an impact in preventing further misconduct. Inexperience, both in rank and age, was associated with misconduct. Specific prior complaints, such as minor use of force, did not appear to be particularly associated with instances of serious misconduct. The characteristics of the complainant held more importance than the characteristics of the officer.Originality/valueThe ability to analyze a data set of this size is unusual and important to progressing the knowledge area regarding police misconduct. This study contributes to the growing use of machine learning in understanding the police misconduct environment, and more accurately tailoring misconduct prevention policy and practice.

scholarly journals Aggressive Policing and the Educational Performance of Minority Youth

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Joscha Legewie ◽  
Jeffrey Fagan
Keyword(s):  
New York ◽  
African American ◽  
Police Officers ◽  
Social Life ◽  
Minority Groups ◽  
Police Department ◽  
Minority Youth ◽  
Educational Performance ◽  
High Crime ◽  
The Impact

An increasing number of minority youth experience contact with the criminal justice system. But how does the expansion of police presence in poor urban communities affect educational outcomes? Previous research points at multiple mechanisms with opposing effects. This article presents the first causal evidence of the impact of aggressive policing on minority youths’ educational performance. Under Operation Impact, the New York Police Department (NYPD) saturated high-crime areas with additional police officers with the mission to engage in aggressive, order-maintenance policing. To estimate the effect of this policing program, we use administrative data from more than 250,000 adolescents age 9 to 15 and a difference-in-differences approach based on variation in the timing of police surges across neighborhoods. We find that exposure to police surges significantly reduced test scores for African American boys, consistent with their greater exposure to policing. The size of the effect increases with age, but there is no discernible effect for African American girls and Hispanic students. Aggressive policing can thus lower educational performance for some minority groups. These findings provide evidence that the consequences of policing extend into key domains of social life, with implications for the educational trajectories of minority youth and social inequality more broadly.

scholarly journals Perception of Fatigue Among Surgeons During Night Shifts

2013 ◽  
Vol 95 (7) ◽  
pp. 1-5 ◽  
Author(s):  
I Amirian ◽  
AK Danielsen ◽  
J Rosenberg
Keyword(s):  
Time Pressure ◽  
Night Shift ◽  
Sleep Time ◽  
Work Hours ◽  
Impaired Performance ◽  
Impaired Cognition ◽  
Long Work Hours ◽  
Call Night ◽  
Night Shifts ◽  
Increase In Risk

It is well known that sleep deprivation induces fatigue and that fatigue induces impaired cognition. Studies have demonstrated that long work hours, restricted sleep, time pressure and high demands may cause impaired performance in physicians. Some studies have shown through laparoscopic simulation that surgeons, when deprived of sleep, take longer to perform the procedure, make more unnecessary movements with their instruments and significantly more mistakes. Surgeons with an opportunity for sleep of less than 6 hours on the previous on-call night shift had an 83% increase in risk of postoperative complications when working the following day.

Social Climate Change and the Modern Police Department

2017 ◽  
pp. 296-313
Author(s):  
Adrienne C. Bradford ◽  
Heather K. McElroy ◽  
Rachel Rosenblatt
Keyword(s):  
Law Enforcement ◽  
Mental Health Professionals ◽  
Police Officers ◽  
Health Professionals ◽  
New Technology ◽  
Police Department ◽  
Body Art ◽  
Policy Makers ◽  
The Public ◽  
Organizational Challenges

The advent of social media, blogs, smartphones, and the 24-hour all access news channels make information available to us constantly on the television, the internet, and even while mobile. This chapter highlights contemporary social and generational trends including the arrival of the Millennial generation into the workforce, legalization of marijuana, the mainstream acceptance of body art as a form of self-expression, and the influence of mass media on the lives of police officers, particularly in officer-involved shootings. These emerging factors challenge law enforcement managers to consider complex issues in the workplace while maintaining the core values, camaraderie, and professional standards inherent in policing. The public safety psychologist's role is also evolving with new technology, social developments, and organizational challenges. This chapter aims to encourage dialogue between mental health professionals, law enforcement managers, and policy-makers.

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