Police Officer Stress and Coping in a Stress-Awareness Era

2021 ◽  
pp. 109861112098416
Author(s):  
Kerry Lynne Edwards ◽  
Yvonne M. Eaton-Stull ◽  
Sarah Kuehn
Keyword(s):  
Police Officers ◽  
Coping Mechanisms ◽  
Community Relations ◽  
Policy Recommendations ◽  
Statistical Correlations ◽  
Qualitative Thematic Analysis ◽  
Stress Levels ◽  
Community Conflict ◽  
Police Community Relations ◽  
And Coping

This study was conducted as controversy and turmoil engulfed police worldwide. Police-community conflict was widespread and conceivably increased officers’ stress levels. Because stress affects officers’ health and job performance, it is important to understand the phenomenon. This study was designed to ascertain officers’ stress levels, coping mechanisms, and perspectives regarding police-community relations, their perceived stress-related needs, and their perceptions of departmental assistance. Participants (N = 128) were police officers across several jurisdictions of various sizes in the northeastern United States. Both quantitative and qualitative data were collected; analytic methods included statistical correlations and regression, as well as qualitative, thematic analysis. Results indicated the following: Participants experienced stress across multiple areas; some coping mechanisms predicted higher expressions of stress, as did certain perspectives of police-community relations and years in law enforcement. Participants’ perspectives of their needs and their suggestions for action contributed to data-driven policy recommendations regarding both prevention and symptom reduction approaches.

scholarly journals Are College-Educated Police Officers Different? A Study of Stops, Searches, and Arrests

2018 ◽  
Vol 31 (2) ◽  
pp. 206-236 ◽  
Author(s):  
Richard Rosenfeld ◽  
Thaddeus L. Johnson ◽  
Richard Wright
Keyword(s):  
Urban Communities ◽  
Police Officers ◽  
Task Force ◽  
Performance Criteria ◽  
Community Relations ◽  
Police Departments ◽  
Police Community Relations ◽  
Primary Basis ◽  
Traditional Performance ◽  
College Educated

A study of more than 60,000 police traffic stops found that college-educated officers were more likely than other officers to stop drivers for less serious violations, perform consent searches, and make arrests on discretionary grounds. These results are consistent with those of prior research indicating that college-educated officers are more achievement-oriented and eager for advancement based on the traditional performance criteria of stops, searches, and arrests. The results raise questions regarding the recommendation of the President’s Task Force on 21st Century Policing to improve police-community relations by hiring more college-educated police officers, especially in urban communities where concerns about over-policing are widespread. If community engagement were to become a primary basis for professional advancement, however, the current results suggest that college-educated officers may adapt to the new standards as diligently as they have to the traditional criteria for reward and promotion in U.S. police departments.

#BlackLivesMatter: Remembering Mark Duggan and David Oluwale in Contemporary British Plays

2018 ◽  
Vol 6 (1) ◽  
pp. 69-86
Author(s):  
Lynette Goddard
Keyword(s):  
Black Men ◽  
Police Officers ◽  
Political Rhetoric ◽  
Community Relations ◽  
The Political ◽  
Inner Cities ◽  
History Of ◽  
Police Shooting ◽  
Police Community Relations ◽  
The Relationship

AbstractThis paper examines two British plays that respond to cases in which the police have been implicated in the deaths of black men. Gillian Slovo’s The Riots (Tricycle Theatre, 2011) uses interviews from witnesses and politicians to dissect the events leading up to and during the Tottenham riots that followed in the wake of the fatal police shooting of Mark Duggan by police on 4 August 2011 and spread to other inner cities in England over the following five nights. I examine how the first half portrays the local community’s concerns and locates the breakout of riots within a longer history of tense police-community relations in Tottenham, whereas the second half focuses on the political rhetoric surrounding the spread of rioting throughout England, which means that Mark Duggan disappears from the narrative. Oladipo Agboluaje’s adaptation of Kester Aspden’s The Hounding of David Oluwale (Eclipse Theatre, 2009) effectively uses dramatic strategies to remember the life of 38-year old Nigerian David Oluwale whose body was retrieved from the River Aire in Leeds on 4 May 1969 after allegedly last seen being chased towards the river by two police officers two weeks earlier. I explore the effectiveness of both plays as memorializations of black lives and consider how they contribute to ongoing debates about the relationship between black men and the police in Britain. #BlackLivesMatter #BlackPlaysMatter

Police officers’ attitudes toward citizen advisory councils

2018 ◽  
Vol 41 (4) ◽  
pp. 418-434 ◽  
Author(s):  
Justin Nix ◽  
Scott E. Wolfe ◽  
Brandon Tregle
Keyword(s):  
Organizational Justice ◽  
Police Officers ◽  
Ordinary Least Squares ◽  
Community Relations ◽  
Advisory Council ◽  
Least Squares Regression ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Public Scrutiny ◽  
Police Community Relations ◽  
Line Level

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to explore the antecedents of sheriff deputies’ perceived legitimacy of their agency’s citizen advisory council (CAC). Design/methodology/approach The authors obtained survey data from 567 sheriff deputies in a southeastern state. The authors first asked whether respondents knew their agency had a CAC, and then asked those who responded affirmatively a series of questions about the legitimacy of the council. The authors then ran an ordinary least squares regression that included organizational justice, self-legitimacy and public scrutiny as independent variables predicting perceived legitimacy of the CAC. Findings Deputies who perceived greater organizational justice from command staff were significantly more likely to perceive the CAC as legitimate. Originality/value In response to strained police/community relations, reform advocates have urged the police to embrace a more democratic style of policing, including allowing for more citizen oversight of agencies. The study sheds light on how line-level officers perceive such oversight.

The Police in the Middle of the Conflict

1969 ◽  
Vol 15 (3) ◽  
pp. 387-392
Author(s):  
David W. Craig
Keyword(s):  
Police Officers ◽  
Police Work ◽  
Community Relations ◽  
Selection Methods ◽  
Sophisticated Equipment ◽  
Police Community Relations

The key to real support of the police is to be found in the development of enhanced competence among police officers. The truly competent policeman performs effectively despite the diffi culties which stem from recent constitutional interpretations issued by the courts. Competency is more important than philos ophy in police-community relations. The development and im plementation of competency in police work depends upon scien tific recruit-selection methods, broad support of higher eduration of police, freeing police from irrelevant duties, and the wize use of more sophisticated equipment.

scholarly journals How the interplay between organisational ‘culture’ and ‘climate’ shapes police officers’ perceptions of community policing

2021 ◽  
pp. 146135572110640
Author(s):  
Liam Fenn ◽  
Karen Bullock
Keyword(s):  
Police Officers ◽  
Community Policing ◽  
Organisational Culture ◽  
Police Work ◽  
Community Relations ◽  
Discretionary Effort ◽  
Organisational Justice ◽  
Contextual Determinants ◽  
Police Community Relations ◽  
Culture And Climate

This article draws on interview data and the concepts of organisational ‘culture’ and ‘climate’ to critically assess police officers’ perceptions of community policing in one English constabulary. In so doing, it considers the cultural, organisational and wider contextual determinants of officers’ alignment to this style of police work. With an emphasis on developing community partnerships and engaging in problem-solving, rather than enforcement of the criminal law, community policing has been seen a primary way of rendering officers more ‘responsive’ to the needs of citizens, improving police–community relations and driving down crime rates. An important reform movement in police organisations around the world, the success of community policing nonetheless depends on officers’ willingness and ability to deliver it. Accordingly, the generation of evidence about the ‘drivers’ of officers’ attitudes to inform strategies to promote the delivery of the approach is essential. Findings suggest that officers value community policing as an organisational strategy but that the approach maintains a low status and is undervalued compared with other specialisms within the organisation. This is born of an organisational culture that foregrounds law enforcement as the primary function of police work and an organisational climate that reinforces it. This has implications for community officers in terms of their perceptions of and attitudes towards the approach, self-esteem and sense of value and worth, perceptions of organisational justice, discretionary effort and role commitment. Recommendations for police managers are set out.

Body Cameras and Policing

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bryce Elling Peterson ◽  
Daniel S. Lawrence
Keyword(s):  
Civil Rights ◽  
Police Officers ◽  
Strong Support ◽  
Community Relations ◽  
Privacy Concerns ◽  
The Public ◽  
The People ◽  
Citizen Complaints ◽  
Police Community Relations ◽  
The Impact

Body-worn cameras (BWCs) are small devices that police officers can affix to their person—in a head-, shoulder-, or chest-mounted position—that can audio and video record their interactions with community members. BWCs have received strong support from the public and, in recent years, widespread buy-in from police leadership and officers because of their ability to improve accountability and transparency and enhance the collection of evidence. Implementation guidelines recommend that officers activate their BWCs during each officer–citizen interaction and inform the people they encounter that they are being recorded. Early research on this technology found that officers equipped with body cameras were significantly less likely to engage in force and receive citizen complaints. However, more recent studies with larger samples have had mixed findings about the impact of body cameras on use of force, citizen complaints, and other police activities and behaviors. Numerous legal and ethical considerations are associated with BWCs, including their implications for privacy concerns and public disclosure. However, police officials, policymakers, civil rights groups, and the public must continue to weigh these privacy concerns against the potential for BWCs to enhance police accountability and transparency. Future scholarship should focus on the degree to which BWCs can improve police–community relations and yield valuable evidence for both criminal cases and internal investigations.

Racial Profiling and Policing Black Communities

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Joshua Kirven
Keyword(s):  
Job Performance ◽  
Black Males ◽  
Police Officers ◽  
Social Order ◽  
Racial Profiling ◽  
Community Relations ◽  
Contact Theory ◽  
Black Communities ◽  
The Public ◽  
Police Community Relations

Strained police-community relations are not new to distressed and black communities. However, recent decades of modern-day policing have become a challenging, stressful job for officers in terms of safety and social order, job performance, and being recorded (often on cell phones) and quickly judged by the public. This article looks at racial profiling, implicit bias, and how the heavy hand of order-maintenance policing is used to the detriment of black communities, especially black males. The relevance of contact theory will be discussed in terms of its relevance for reaching mutual ground between black males and police officers. This article offers practical strategies for (a) social workers (community practitioners), (b) black males and citizens of color , and ( c) police officers themselves. For officers specifically, this potential awareness can lead to healthier, neutral experiences with black males leading to positive policing of black communities.

scholarly journals Occupational stress and stress busters utilized among Saudi dental practitioners during the COVID-19 pandemic outbreak

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-21
Author(s):  
Sami Aldhuwayhi ◽  
Saquib Ahmed Shaikh ◽  
Sreekanth Kumar Mallineni ◽  
Vinutha Kumari Varadharaju ◽  
Amar Ashok Thakare ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Age Groups ◽  
High Stress ◽  
Coping Mechanisms ◽  
Private Practitioners ◽  
Dental Practitioners ◽  
Stress Levels ◽  
Do It Yourself ◽  
And Coping ◽  
Watching Tv ◽  
Self Administered Questionnaire

Abstract Aim: This study aims to assess the stress levels, stress busters (stress relievers), and coping mechanisms among Saudi dental practitioners (SDPs) during the COVID-19 pandemic outbreak. Methodology: Self-administered questionnaire was sent to SDPs via Google forms. Cohen’s stress score scale was used for stress evaluation, and the mean scores were compared based on age, gender, qualification, and occupation. In addition, comparisons of the utilization of stress coping mechanisms and stress busters based on gender, age, and occupation were evaluated. Descriptive statistics were carried out using SPSS (Version 21.0, Chicago, Illinois, USA). Results: A total of 206 SDPs (69% males and 31% females) participated in the study. Male SDPs showed a higher score than females (P>0.05). SDPs around 50 years and above obtained high-stress scores (25±7.4) as compared to other age groups (P<0.05). The occupational level showed higher stress scores (22.6 ± 4.6 than the other occupation groups (P<0.05). The majority of the SDPs used watching TV/mobile/computer (80%) as a stress buster, followed by binge eating (64%), exercise (44%), smoking (32%), do it yourself (DIY-23%), and meditation (17%). Conclusion: SDPs are experiencing stress levels during this COVID-19 pandemic time. Male SDPs above 50 years and private practitioners showed higher levels of stress scores. An overall commonly used stress buster was smoking in males and meditation in females.

scholarly journals PENGARUH TINGKAT STRES TERHADAP MEKANISME KOPING PASIEN KANKER BERBASIS MANAJEMEN TERAPI KANKER

2020 ◽  
Vol 8 (3) ◽  
pp. 346
Author(s):  
Yesiana Dwi Wahyu Werdani
Keyword(s):  
Cancer Patients ◽  
Short Form ◽  
Coping Mechanisms ◽  
Therapeutic Management ◽  
Maladaptive Coping ◽  
Radiation Group ◽  
Stress Levels ◽  
Physical Impact ◽  
And Coping ◽  
Management Groups

The management of cancer therapy is useful to improve the survival of cancer patients, but it has a physical impact on various functions of the body's organs. It can lead to stress and affect individual coping mechanisms. The aim of this study was to analyze the effect of stress levels on coping mechanisms of cancer patients based on cancer therapeutic management. This study used a mix method design and sequential explanatory approach. The population was cancer patients at the Indonesian Cancer Foundation, East Java Branch, Surabaya. The number of sample were 32 patients taken by total sampling method. The instrument used perceived stress scale and coping strategies inventory short form. The result of ordinal regression test and nagelkerle's pseudo R-Square in chemotherapy group 0.013 and R 0.621, in radiation group 0.016 and R 0.597, in chemoradiotherapy group 0.010 and R 0.737. It means that stress levels has a significant effect on individual coping mechanisms in all cancer therapeutic management groups. On the qualitative results showed that stress and maladaptive coping mechanisms caused by side effects of therapy, financial, relationships with caregiver was less harmonious, less able to think positively. The complexity of therapeutic stressors and the presence of poorly managed of external factors made respondents more likely to have maladaptive coping mechanisms.

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