Police officer; a twelve letter occupation that is so much more than simply protecting the community in which they serve. Hundreds of thousands of police officers, both men and women, are employed throughout the United States in both local, state, and federal agencies. While becoming a police officer is seen as both a prestigious and rewarding profession full of honor, there are many hidden dangers that lurk beneath the surface of this title. Young children and college students across the world who “want to be a cop when they grow up” are fascinated by the gun and the police car, but are often unaware of the negative effects that plague all too many police officers today. It is essential to look at the physical and mental dangers, hidden workplace stresses, poor retention rate, and professional burnout rate of men and women officers who are employed within the law enforcement field, as it is time to start putting implications in place to protect those who risk their lives to protect us. Fatigue; a growing issue among careers and demanding occupations, is a huge issue …show more content…
Officers turning to alcohol and drug abuse is a growing concern among the law enforcement field as a study conducted that examined 29 departments found that 23% of police officers suffer from substance abuse in the form of alcohol and that many consider their abuse a “serious issue” (Hurrell et al., 1984; William, 2012). A history of alcohol dependency or out of hand alcohol consumption accounted for 15% of police officers who had tried or want to commit suicide (Kirschman, 2006; William, 2012). In order to prevent this number from increasing, police departments need to implement educational programs and all officers need to receive some type of alcohol training in order to be able spot an officer who may be struggling with substance
the psychological health of police, fire, and ambulance officers.” International Journal of Stress Management, Vol. 11, pp. 227-44.
There are virtually an unlimited amount of aspects about police work that places them in harm’s way every day. The debate still continues over whether policing is a craft or profession. As stated in Law Enforcement in the United States by James A. Conser, “A craft usually involves the development of skills that are generally learned through experience, not in a classroom (Conser, 2011, p.216). Conser also states, “the following are the typical characteristic identified criteria of profession: extensive preparation through education and training, a specific and specialized body of knowledge, a code of ethics (Conser, 2011, p.215).
Being a police officer sounds like a good job to have for anyone who wants to do good things for their community. To begin, the daily routine as an officer is always changing; it does so because the central goal of law enforcement is to serve and protect people and their property in addition to keeping the public as safe as possible. Also, a typical day of a police is not that of a normal occupation. There are also requirements that need to be met in order to an officer of the law.
When choosing an occupation, one has hundreds of different opportunities that are available. Throughout childhood, every person has had some form of a dream job they wanted to reach. Some people wanted to be astronauts, others firefighters, and yet some wanted to be police officers. The lifestyle that is portrayed of a police officer on the television looks glamourous and action packed, with high speed chases all the time and frequent doughnut stops. But this is not necessarily the reality of the situation.
Over the past few years, the nation has faced a "crisis" with the shortage of police officers (Axtman, 2006). It is well known that crime rates increase with the decrease in the number of police officers. Researchers have looked for the cause of such a decline and have identified low pay as a major reason for the deficiency.
The law enforcement officers suffer quite more job-associated stress than the people living in the community. Many have had to realize that the nature of the profession itself may be exposing officers to the increased levels of stressors. In essence, job-associated stress is among the major health concerns of the law enforcement community, and this is because it can have some impact on the physical, mental and emotional well-being of the officers. The difference in the stressors between the law enforcement personnel and other individuals is the fact that, the enforcement officials get to interact with the human population that are quite angry, upset or even uncooperative, in which case it takes some toll on
First, stress in the lives of police officers often result in poor performance from sleep deprivation and panic. Sleep deprivation is one effect that stress can have on officers. The fatigue that stress causes can very literally kill the affected officer. Many times, officers hold anxiety inside them. When they are in bed, they are oftentimes let alone to think, which leads to many “racing thoughts” and “what if’s” (Koeling). Thinking about such things can keep officers awake for hours, leaving them fatigued and sleep-deprived when they report for work the next day. More causes of sleep deprivation are due to stressful, long shifts and odd hours (Casey). As a third-shift security guard for four years, Carl Koeling has had his share of sleep deprivation. In a recent interview, he said that when he stood a sleep-deprived watch, he remembers feeling “lightheaded and woozy” (Koeling). As a psychologist for thirty-eight years, Koeling also knows that fatigue caused by stress can also affect officers’ judgement, balance, and physical health (Koeling). It is vital that these three things be working properly for those in law enforcement, as the work they do often depends on good decision-making, decent balance, and high levels of physical fitness and well-being (Miller “Law Enforcement”). Panic is another effect that stress can have on police officers.
“There are three kinds of people in the world. There are wolves and there are sheep. And then there are those who protect the sheep from the wolves” (Christopher Shields qtd, Police Line). There are many sheep in the world, but for every sheep there is a wolf. In this quote, those protecting the sheep are police officers. The men and women of the police force choose to defend the “sheep” everyday. These “sheep” are everyday citizens, while the wolves are the criminals. Those protecting the sheep in this quote are often in danger just like police officers are often in danger while protecting citizens. Though police cadets go through many months of training, it does not help to fully prepare the new officers for everyday situations. It is necessary for the community that cadets are provided with more complete training that will benefit the officers once they are on the job.
The job of a law enforcement officer sometimes can be tough. Officer are sometimes plagued with situation that test their ability to enforce the law and maintain order. Police officers today face a constant battle to maintain higher ethical standards. This mission becomes tougher each day when one considers the importance of fighting terrorism, drugs, human trafficking,
Steven Seagal once said , “It is a lot harder now to be an Police Officer than what it used to be.” When I was six years old my family and I had got into really bad accident, a Police Officer pulled out my mother, brother and me before the car caught on fire. He could have saved the younger man in the other car, but he made the decision to save my family. Ever since then I have always admired Police Officers and their service. The career of a Police Officer is a eye opening and amazing experience ,because you 'll come in contact with parts of society that you never knew existed . The research will describe the career of a Police Officer, what is required to become a successful, and the impact this career has on society.
The authors also explain that there are no real statistics to help explain how many times an officer has used a firearm. The text explains that there is no significant data to help explain police shootings and how many occur each year (Kappeler & Potter, 2005). Most of the data that can be found does not clearly state the numbers of times a firearm was used. Majority of data is found through data bases such as Vital Statistics (Kappeler & Potter, 2005). Even data bases such as Vital Statistics do not provide clear information on police
A police officer’s duty is to maintain public order, preventing, and detecting crime. The concept of police officers, also known as cops, and law enforcement has been around ever since the ancient Romans had a theory that an organization of “peacekeepers” would reduce the crime and violence being committed. This theory stuck with society and is still around today. People of law enforcement have a mission when they step into their police car, that mission is to enforce the rules of conduct or law. Of course, accomplishing this mission can be dangerous. Often when a cop leaves his or her house to go to work worries start to set it, such as “will I be coming back home when my day is over” or “will a simple traffic stop go sour and someone ends up dead?” These thoughts are apart of the stress that comes with the job and most people are trained to deal with this stress.
There are many duties that come along with being a police officer. It’s not just about wearing the uniform, driving the nice car, and arresting people. Police officers need to set good examples to the people around them. They also have to talk and give information to any pedestrians that may need help. They heck for any law violations, respond to radio calls, watch for anything suspicious going on, and they also need to investigate any dangerous conditions that could harm anyone.
A law enforcement officer, one who is honest and dedicated to his profession, has to remain in perfect physical and mental condition, and never let his guard down. He has to survive on black coffee and half-eaten meals and be able to deal with heinous crimes, coax a confession out of a hardened criminal, and be a source of comfort to a victim's family. He should never complain about working late and should earn the respect of his family and friends.
If you decide to become a Police officer you must be available for shift work at any time of day and any day of the week, including holidays. Some Shifts can be longer than the standard eight-hour office day. The routine of the job can also be dangerous, as well as physically and e...