Police Admin & Management Research Paper

© 2011 Delmar, Cengage Learning

Part III
People in the Police Organization

Chapter 9
Managing Stress and Fatigue

© 2011 Delmar, Cengage Learning

Learning Objectives

State the nature and symptoms of stress.

Understand the sources of stress for police administrators.

Understand the sources of stress for officers not in administrative ranks.

Understand the effects of stress on health and family.

State the differential responses to stress.

Develop strategies for responding to stress.

Explain the consequence of stress for police organizations.

Identify the problems caused by stress.

Discuss the means by which management can respond to fatigue in the ranks.

© 2011 Delmar, Cengage Learning

Types of Stress

• Eustress
• Positive
• A stressful event that doesn’t harm the individual
• Pleasurable, challenging, or exciting stress
• Distress
• Negative
• Harmful stimulus that threatens the functioning of the individual
• Likely to overload an individual’s capacity to cope with environmental stimuli

© 2011 Delmar, Cengage Learning

Symptoms of Stress

• Physical
• Intellectual
• Emotional
• Social
• Spiritual

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Symptoms of Burnout

• Job dissatisfaction
• Inefficiency at work
• Fatigue
• Sleep disturbance
• Escape activities

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Sources of Stress for Police Administrators

• Position
• Educational attainment
• Control over the hiring process
• Decision-making autonomy
• Legitimacy issues
• Organizational complexity
• Belief in public service
• Ethnicity

© 2011 Delmar, Cengage Learning

Career Stages and Stress among Administrators

• Crisis (0-2 years)
• Interregnum (3-4 years)
• Institutionalization (5-9 years)
• Concretion (10-14 years)
• Demise (15 years and beyond)

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Sources of Stress for Police Officers

• Organizational and administrative practices
• The criminal justice system
• The public
• Stressors intrinsic to police work

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Critical Incidents

• Any high-risk encounter with officer-civilian contacts when officers reasonably believe they might be legally justified in using deadly force, regardless of whether they use such force or avert its use
• Five stages of coping:
• Denial
• Anger and resentment
• Bargaining
• Depression
• Acceptance

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Symptoms of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)

• Persistent and recurring memories of the event
• Loss of interest and feelings
• Problems sleeping and concentrating
• Hyper-vigilance

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Police Career Stages and Stress

• Alarm stage (0-5 years)
• Disenchantment stage (6-13 years)
• Personalization stage (14-20 years)
• Introspection stage (20 years and over)

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The Effects of Stress in Policing

• Health-related problems
• Family problems
• Changing work schedules
• Emotional exhaustion
• Negative public image
• Overprotection of the spouse and family
• Hardening of emotions
• Sexual problems
• Identity problems
• Problems with children
• Police suicide

© 2011 Delmar, Cengage Learning

Police Officer Coping Mechanisms to Stress

• Changing job assignments
• Escaping by ignoring the situation or avoiding people
• Expressing feelings of anger or hurt
• Taking action such as seeking professional help
• Forming racial bonds
• Blowing off steam with co-workers
• Seeking support from co-workers, family members, and others

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Dealing with Stress among Law Enforcement Executives

• Assessment
• Planning
• Action
• Follow-through

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Strategies for Dealing with Stress

• Proactive strategies
• Designed to prevent the development of stress
• Reactive strategies
• Deal with eliminating sources of stress or alleviating their consequences

© 2011 Delmar, Cengage Learning

Causes of Fatigue

• Lack of a standardized schedule
• Shift length
• Shift assignment policies
• Personal issues
• Commuting
• Moonlighting