Journal Article Review 2
Abstract
Law enforcement officers experience a lot of job-related stress. There are critical stressors as
well as work-related stressors that law enforcement officers must deal with on a daily basis.
These stressors affect both their professional lives as well as their personal lives. Unfortunately,
many law enforcement officers fail to acknowledge this because they do not want a label placed
on them, nor do they want to be declared unfit for duty. This paper will focus on perceived
stressors and forms of coping for law enforcement officers. Law enforcement officers are faced
with both organizational stressors and operational stressors which can have a negative effect on
law enforcement officers. These stressors can take their toll on the body of law enforcement
officers resulting in suicide, depression, cancer, PTSD, domestic violence, alcohol abuse, family
disruptions. It is important for law enforcement officers to have positive coping mechanisms
such as exercising, social support, and adequate sleep.
Keywords: law enforcement officers, police stress, coping mechanisms, PTSD
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Journal Article Review
Premise
Law enforcement officers experience stress on a daily basis that can have an impact on
their professional lives as well as their personal lives. According to Linebach and Kovacsiss
(2016) stress is common in every aspect of life and police work is one of the most stressful jobs
in the American workplace. Law enforcement organizations rank in the top 5 of the most
stressful jobs worldwide (Ermasova et al., 2020). Stress can have lasting negative effects that can
have a negative impact on the emotional, mental, and physical aspects of a law enforcement
officer. The article I chose for this review is “Perceived Stress and Coping Among Law
Enforcement Officers: An Empirical Analysis of Patrol Versus Non-patrol Officers in Illinois,
USA” by Natalia Ermasova, Ardis D. Cross, and Evgenia Ermasova.
Synthesis
For law enforcement officers the stress that they experience can evolve into fatigue which
can impair their ability to do their job accurately and safely. When law enforcement officers do
not properly manage these stressors, it can lead to lasting negative effects on their mental and
physical health (Ermasova et al., 2020). Mostly all law enforcement officers enter their job
knowing that they will more than likely experience occupational stressors daily which includes
exposure to traumatic situations. According to Linebach and Kovacsiss (2016) it is important to
consider the nature of the individual involved in respect to the effects of police stress.
My father was a law enforcement officer, he worked in a correctional institution for 27
years and I saw how the stress of his job affected him in his home life. He did not handle stress
very well; I would say he brought his work home with him. Somedays it was necessary to “just
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leave him alone” because he would be short fused with us. I would not say that the stress of law
enforcement affected him mentally or physically, but it sure did affect him emotionally. The
stress caused my mother and father to get divorced.
Evaluation
Law enforcement officers face greater challenges and do experience a higher level of
stress when compared to other occupations. The job of a police officer is considered by most
Americans to be one of the most stressful jobs because they are exposed to investigating violent
crime scenes, working long hours, and engaging with hostile suspects (Ermasova et al., 2020).
Research has found that work related stress such as that experienced by law enforcement officers
can result in negative outcomes for law enforcement personnel.
The article focuses on two types of stressors that law enforcement officers experience.
The first type of stressor is organizational stressors which includes insufficient training, working
long hours, excessive paperwork, shift work, lack of rewards for good job performance, little
input in decision making, The second type of stressors would be operational stressors which
includes internal investigations, required to fire their weapon, death or injury of a fellow officer
in the line of duty, responding to terrorism threats, investigating the victimization of a child.
Within the past 10 years or so there seems to have been an increase in hatred directed towards
law enforcement officers with the help of social media. This new type of stressor has only added
to the already existing operational stressors.
According to Ermasova et al. (2020) the longer an officer has been in service the higher
levels of stress they can experience. The effects of stress on law enforcement officers can cause
them to suffer significant mental, physical, and medical problems the longer they stay working in
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law enforcement. Potential health problems facing officers may be as minor as a headache or as
serious as coronary heart disease (Ermasova et al., 2020). Studies have also revealed a
connection between law enforcement officers and suicide, obesity, cancer, sleeplessness,
depression, and heart disease. Other research has found that law enforcement officers
unfortunately use negative coping techniques such as alcohol, violence, and substance abuse.
According to Ermasova et al. (2020) law enforcement officers also experience domestic
violence, high rates of family disruption, physical and psychological problems, and alcohol
abuse.
PTSD is a mental health difficulty of law enforcement officers, and the stress related to it
can result in suicide. Stressors which are related to law enforcement officer suicides would
include traumatic events, a lack of organizational support, problems fitting in with police culture,
shift work, stigma associated with asking for help (Ermasova et al., 2020). The stress from PTSD
can take a toll on the body including mentally and physically as well as trigger depression.
Everyone handles stressors differently and stress tolerance and resiliency are unique to everyone.
Many law enforcement officers find healthy coping mechanisms which include healthy eating,
exercising, social support, adequate sleep.
The study conducted in the article I reviewed was a qualitative study based on a
questionnaire provided to sworn law enforcement officers in Illinois. According to Ermasova et
al. (2020) their study found that the four top stressors of law enforcement in the sample
population were financial problems, a situation when a fellow officer was killed or witnessed a
fatality, a poor personal relationship with their supervisor, and being exposed to dead or battered
children. Out of the top four stressors, financial problems among officers was the number one
stressor of law enforcement. This study also refuted previous assertions that law enforcement
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officers turned to smoking tobacco, consuming alcohol, and angry outbursts as a coping
mechanism. Creating training programs which target combat stress and increasing access to
employee assistance programs which help the officer’s family as well.
There are several scriptures which pertain to stress that could be helpful for Christian law
enforcement officers. For some this could be an excellent coping mechanism. “Peace I leave with
you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be
troubled, neither let them be afraid” (ESV Study Bible, 2008, John 14:27).
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References
Ermasova,CN., Cross,CA.CD., & Ermasova,CE. (2020). Perceived stress and coping among law
enforcement officers: An empirical analysis of patrol versus non-patrol officers in
Illinois, USA.CJournal of Police and Criminal Psychology,C35(1), 48-63.
ESV Study Bible. (2008). Crossway Books.
Linebach,CJ., & Kovacsiss,CL. (2022).CPsychology in the justice systemC(2ndCed.). Verisega
Books, LLC.
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