Guest editorial

Policing: An International Journal

ISSN: 1363-951X

Article publication date: 5 June 2007

523

Citation

Burke, R.J. (2007), "Guest editorial", Policing: An International Journal, Vol. 30 No. 2. https://doi.org/10.1108/pijpsm.2007.18130baa.002

Publisher

:

Emerald Group Publishing Limited

Copyright © 2007, Emerald Group Publishing Limited


Guest editorial

I, as have many others, have undertaken various police studies over the past 20 years, very much influenced by the stressor-strain framework. These studies have contributed a great deal to our understanding of the work experience of police officers, their satisfactions and health, and as relevant prevention and treatment programs for those needing such help. Unfortunately, less attention has been given to the more positive character traits (courage, optimism) and the more enriching experiences (work engagement, helpfulness) of their jobs These also contribute to the psychological and physical well-being of police officers and their families.

Although it has been suggested that suicide rates are higher in policing than in other occupations, the evidence presents mixed results. Ronald Burke and Aslaug Mikkelsen consider potential predictors of suicidal ideation in a large sample of Norwegian police officers. Only one officer in the sample had indicated an annual suicide attempt. Single police officers, officers reporting higher levels of both exhaustion and cynicism and, officers reporting less active coping and lower levels of social support indicated more suicidal ideation. Implications for prevention are discussed.

Policing is a unique profession in several ways. Few others entrust individuals with responsibility for the safety and security of the general public at large, allocate powers of stop, search and seizure to them and, in some cases, equip them with lethal weapons. It is also a profession that occasionally places officers in situations with hostile individuals, and fortunately less frequently, requires them to discharge their weapons.

There is a lot of mythology among the general public about police work. It is commonly believed that police work is among the most stressful and demanding occupations of any. The evidence supporting such a conclusion is mixed however. It has been shown that police officers are less burned out than the average occupation (see Schaufeli and Enzmann, 1998) In addition, studies have police stress have shown that the most common and negative aspects of policing are the result of bad police management and bureaucratic structures while stopping citizens, making arrests and discharging their weapons were reported as less stressful. Officers are trained in ways of dealing with the general public; it is harder to equip them in ways of dealing with a bad supervisor, potential bias in promotion processes, and courts that are soft on criminals.

Other researchers have reported that the police profession is characterized by higher levels of marriage breakdown, spouse abuse, consumption of alcohol and suicide (Violanti, 1996). In addition, Kop et al. (1999) reported that levels of officer burnout were associated with more negative attitudes towards the general public, greater advocacy for the use of force in particular situations and greater force observed in actual dealings with the public.

It seems important to better understand the antecedents and consequences of police stress given the important functions policing serves in any community, leaving moot the question of whether policing places officers under more, the same or less stress than members of other professions.

The Toronto Star (Monday, December 4, 2006, p. A1) contained the following story headline “Toronto cops have pots: Survey”. It reported the results of a police sponsored health survey of Toronto police officers and concluded that too many officers were overweight, drank too much, smoked and had unhealthy eating habits. About 20 percent admitted they were obese. These health challenges were likely to have adverse effects on both job performance and health care costs. Shift work was identified as one possible cause of the poor eating habits and obesity. We are fortunate in having contributions in this collection that consider police officer lifestyles, sleeping patterns, and health.

Given the role that policing plays in society, there is an inevitable tension in the police-public relationship; wariness by officers in their dealings with the public, police officers are more likely to “let their hair down” with other officers. We are fortunate in having several former and current police officers, some turned academic, among the contributors to this special issue. In addition, some of our contributors have devoted much of their personal and professional lives to understanding the policing experience and attempting to work with forces to improve the effectiveness and wellbeing of officers, and have, as a result, earned well-deserved reputations among the pre-eminent authorities in this field. They are a well-respected but difficult to sway audience.

Contributors to this special issue present data from four countries having varied cultures, values and policing challenges: Norway and the USA. Norway reports relatively lower crime rates than does the USA. As a result the nature of policing and the challenges faced by police officers are likely to be slightly different in various countries. This collection attempts to capture this diversity. In addition, this collection emphasizes in a balanced way both research findings and practice, and the demands of the profession as well as the rewards.

1 Overview of the contents

Judith Waters and William Ussery, in a powerful way, highlight the stressors in an occupation at potential risk, serving as the launch pad for the articles that follow. They first review the history of police stress studies. They then describe prevention and treatment programs which unfortunately have not been sufficiently utilized because of the police culture. They conclude with a description of COP-2-COP. a confidential hotline for officers and their families staffed by retired officers and licensed professionals.

Although work stress researchers are encouraged to include objective health indicators, few do. We are fortunate in having some contributions that do just that. John Violanti and his colleagues examined the association of post-traumatic stress disorder (PSTD) symptoms and salivary cortisol parameters. Police offers in the moderate and severe PSTD symptom categories had higher mean cortisol values. Events in police work may produce a constant hyper-vigilant state of arousal. Exposure to traumatic work events emphasize the need for more work on the impact of PSTD on police personnel.

Luenda Charles and her colleagues examined obesity and sleep problems among police officers. Previous research has suggested that police officers are more sleep deprived than the general public, that police officers are at least as obese as the general public, and that both sleep deprivation and obesity are associated with physical health problems. They found some support for the relationship of both sleep disorders and breathing problems and obesity in a randomly selected sample of 115 police officers from a single urban department. Most police officers (905) reported being tired upon awakening. The high incidence of tiredness among officers is a cause for concern however.

In a related study, Luenda Charles and her colleagues use the same randomly selected sample of police officers in an examination of the effects of working the night shift on sleep disorders. They found, after controlling various personal and work situation factors, that police officers working nights slept fewer hours and had an increased prevalence of snoring.

Finally, Ronald Burke and Aslaug Mikkelsen considered potential predictors of suicidal ideation among a large sample of Norwegian police officers. Although there is some evidence suggesting that suicide is a leading cause of death among police officers, only one officer indicated that he had attempted suicide. Single officers, officers indicating higher levels of burnout (exhaustion, cynicism) and officers engaging in less active coping and having less social support indicated more suicidal ideation. They conclude with some suggestions on suicide prevention.

AcknowledgementsPreparation of this special issue was supported in part by the Schulich School of Business, York University. Louise Coutu managed the correspondence with contributors.

Ronald J. BurkeGuest Editor

References

Kop, N., Euwema, M. and Schaufeli, W.B. (1999), “Burnout, job stress and violent behavior among Dutch police officers”, Work and Stress, Vol. 13, pp. 326–40

Schaufeli, W.S. and Enzmann, D. (1998), The Burnout Companion to Study and Practice: A Critical Analysis, Taylor & Francis, London

Violanti, J. (1996), Police Suicide: Epidemic in Blue, Charles Thomas, Springfield, IL

Related articles