Towards a better understanding of police experience: An assessment of the unique shifts, crime areas, and duty assignments that officers have worked

Using the survey data from 791 officers in a large western police department in the United States, the current study assesses how officers’ unique work experiences (i.e., shifts, crime areas, and duty assignments) vary and culminate throughout a career in policing. Findings provide a glimpse into the early socialization and work experiences of novice officers and how experiences manifest across officers as they gain years on the job. The results also show that there is particularly high variation in the career work experiences amongst the most tenured officers, which calls into question the validity of using only length of service to measure officer experience. This study closes by discussing the implications that these findings have for future research and practice.

Homework completion program in Atlantic County, NJ: The first five years

This research examined the Homework Completion Program in Atlantic County, NJ, where college students and police officers tutored children with homework. Children ( N = 154) reported their impression of police officers and perception of the program. Across 5 years and three program sites, children chose completing homework as the best part about the program and they mostly reported feeling happy when seeing a police officer and finding police officers if they needed help. In summary, the program has shown promise in achieving the goals of preparing children for a college education and building trust between children and police officers.

Pre-career exposure to violence as a predictor of emotional distress among police recruits

The occupational risks to police mental health are widely known; however, less is known about how early life experiences and pre-academy stressors influence the emotional wellness of recruits in an academy setting. The present study investigated the links between pre-career exposure to violence and emotional wellness among a sample of 1,072 police recruits. Results of path analyses revealed that direct exposure to physical violence prior to age 18 was a significant factor for recruit emotional distress, whereas indirect exposure to violence did not significantly predict emotional distress. Findings carry implications for considering a lifespan approach to understanding police stress.

Impacts of organisational role and environmental factors on moral injury and trauma amongst police investigators in Internet Child Abuse Teams

Little is known about how the effects of moral injury and trauma manifest amongst police Internet Child Abuse Teams. This article reports on the impacts of organisational role and environmental factors on moral injury and trauma amongst this population. Six participants were recruited from two police constabularies in the United Kingdom. Data were analysed using interpretative phenomenological analysis. Findings indicated that the participants’ moral injury and trauma were predominantly attributable to excessive workloads and stigma in relation to mental health within policing. Generic psychological interventions were insufficiently responsive to the complex needs of the police investigators.

‘Swinging the lead and working the head’ – An explanation as to why mental illness stigma is prevalent in policing

Policing can be injurious to the mental health of those delivering the service. The causes can be operational, organisational or a mixture of both. Mental health related stigma is prevalent within policing; thus, help seeking is avoided. Those who do seek help are often thought to be malingerers. Managers are considered to be ill equipped to identify and support those at risk. The processes and policies that are meant to support recovery do not meet the needs of the officers and staff living and working with mental ill health. Consequently, disclosing a mental health issue is seen as career destroying.

Further evidence on the extent and time course of repeat missing incidents involving children: A research note

This study examines the extent and time course of repeat missing incidents involving children. Using data from one UK police force (n = 2,251), we find (1) that the majority (65%) of missing incidents are repeats, (2) that a small group of repeatedly missing children (n = 43; 6%) account for a sizable proportion of all missing incidents (n=739, 33%) and (3) that the likelihood of a child going missing repeatedly is elevated in the weeks immediately following a previous missing incident. The implications of our findings for future research and for the prevention of missing incidents are discussed.

A price paid? A review of the research on the impact of investigating serious crime on the wellbeing of police staff

Research pertaining to the wellbeing of police focuses on the job at a macro level, neglecting that policing is an occupation made up of thousands of roles. The needs of staff in various roles differs according to the situations that they are exposed to. This paper provides a review of the literature pertaining to the impact of criminal investigation on employees’ wellbeing. Three discernible categories regarding the wellbeing of criminal investigators are revealed and the paper demonstrates that criminal investigation has a negative effect on the wellbeing of staff. The paper concludes with recommendations for future research, training and support.

Lost in transition: The effects of transitioning between firearms and electronic control devices (ECDs) on perception-response times (PRTs)

The research described in this article tested the perception-response times for experienced police officers to transition from a firearm to a TASER and from a TASER to a firearm. The theoretical models and police training on use of force have largely ignored the temporal space between force modalities. Escalating through force modalities has by default been treated as equivalent, in task and timing, to deescalating through force modalities. This study employed a randomized controlled experiment using a police firearms training simulator and 139 active law enforcement officers. The average perception-response time for transition from a TASER to a firearm was 2.49 seconds for experienced police officers in response to an anticipated visual stimulus in a laboratory setting. The average perception-response time for transition from a firearm to a TASER was 4.7 seconds for experienced police officers in a response to an anticipated visual stimulus in a laboratory setting. 70% of the officers that participated in the study had never participated in department training that required them to transition between a firearm and a TASER. The findings demonstrate that moving from TASER to firearm and from firearm to TASER are not equivalent tasks. In the case of firearms and TASERs, it is significantly faster to move up the force continuum—from TASER to firearm—than it is to move down the force continuum. This research has implications for police training, tactics, policy, research, and post hoc investigations involving the use or potential use of force.

Taking the strain? Police well-being in the COVID-19 era

Drawing on survey and interview data collected in one police force area, this article considers the varied impacts on police well-being arising during the COVID-19 pandemic. Approximately one-third of police officers surveyed reported feeling less safe in their role during the pandemic, and nearly half suffered increased anxiety. The toll on well-being appears to be most acute for frontline officers and those with caring responsibilities, and is strongly associated with increases in workload. The task of ‘repairing’ well-being will require detailed and sensitive consideration involving genuine efforts to hear the voices of those who have endured this prolonged tour of duty.

Protecting others, compassion, and sacrifice: The toll of disaster policing on law enforcement officers in the United States

This study used a qualitative grounded theory approach to explore disaster experiences of law enforcement officers (LEO)s ( n = 56), in two high disaster areas of the United States. Respondents indicated that disasters cause increased stress on LEOs from fatigue, extended shifts, changing duties, increased workload, work–family role conflict, and new operational expectations and challenges within the agency during disasters. Family safety was also identified as a critical stressor and pre-occupation for LEOs during disaster policing, as well as an enhanced reliance on critical thinking as an adaptive response to untrained for challenges that are unique to disasters.