Psychological Risks In Law Enforcement Essay

479 Words1 Page
bulb-icon

Recommended: Some causes of police officers' stress

Psychological Risks Law enforcement officers have to meet various demands and adapt to various situations which can be stressful. There are four types of stress that individuals endure who works within law enforcement: (a) organization stress – emotional and stressful effects that is brought on due policies and practice; (b) task-related stress – stems from being overworked, conflict in roles, situations requiring use of force, etc; (c) external stress – frustration from the courts, prosecutor’s office, media, or correctional system; (d) personal stress – stress that have to do with marriage, health, addiction, and lack of accomplishments (Bartol & Bartol, 2012). Police psychologist can assist law enforcement officers with conducting trainings on the importance of promoting emotional self-care while in the police academy and during their tenure as a law enforcement officer. The psychologist can teach them how to identify their emotional triggers and develop outlets through peer support, exercising, and counseling. The psychologist can also teach them emotional intelligence to identify when something is wrong with their colleague. Oginska-Bulik (2005) mentions individuals with high levels of emotional intelligence will perceive their work environment less stressful.
Challenges in …show more content…

When the use of excessive force is displayed in the media it damages the police-community relationship nationwide. One way to assist with preventing the use of excessive force is ensuring that officers are cultural competent, as well as having no preconceived bias toward other cultures. With this being said, it is important the law enforcement officer receive training on diversity. Studies have indicated that in service training on implicit bias and cultural responsiveness tend to promote unbiased behaviors (U.S. Department of Justice,

Show More
Related

  • Police Risk Assessment Essay

    409 Words  | 1 Pages

    Throughout the risk assessment process, ideas for action were identified and documented. The documentation of these ideas led to the development of potential action item worksheets which were then selected, prioritized, and refined. Detailed risk assessment information for each hazard is included and located through this document.

    Read More

  • Emotional Survival for Law Enforcement

    1038 Words  | 3 Pages

    Gilmartin, K. M. Emotional survival for law enforcement, a guide for officers and their families. 1st ed. Arizona: E-S Press, 2002.

    Read More

  • Underrepresentation Of Asian-American Law Enforcement Case Study

    1028 Words  | 3 Pages

    law enforcement agencies. The underrepresentation of Asian-American officers will affect how the Asian community view law enforcement in terms of building credibility and improving community relations (Dempsey & Frost, 2015). As previously stated, the cause of such underrepresentation is due to the fact that law enforcement agencies do not understand the cultural and historical distrust, which Asian immigrants have with law enforcement back in their native countries and here in the United States (Zhao et al., 2013). Underrepresentation of Asian police officers will create conflicts between police and Asian communities (White et al., 2010). The lack of diversity in police departments will also show Asian communities that a police organization does not reflect its community racial

    Read More

  • Is Excessive Force in Police Brutality Related to Race

    655 Words  | 2 Pages

    Many cases of police brutality where the victim is of different ethnicity can be highlighted more significantly. According to the book “Continuing the Struggle for Justice” (p.216), many people believe that the issue of race and police brutality should be treated as one and that on occasion police officers do...

    Read More

  • Police Hiring Process Essay

    1519 Words  | 4 Pages

    In order to diminish police brutality, excessive force, and prejudice behaviors in the police officers, several actions must be set in motion. The police hiring process, training, in-field monitoring, and disciplinary actions must be adjusted to eliminate discriminatory actions against citizens. Likewise, it is a necessity for citizens to be informed of their rights, civil liberties, and how they can resolve corruption within the justice system. These actions seek to shrink the number of minorities who are racial profiled and brutalized by police officers. A more stringent hiring process, it will help curtail unethical and unprofessional police officers. Police training must be altered so that situations are handled safely and impartial. In-field monitoring with eliminate police officers from managing to catch police officers who brutality handle citizens. Disciplinary actions help to prosecute police officers to break the law. Lastly, if citizen are informed of what they should about corrupt police officers and a poor justice systems.

    Read More

  • Minority Groups Underrepresented In Police

    574 Words  | 2 Pages

    Minority groups have always been underrepresented in police forces across the United States. One of the main reasons minority groups are underrepresented in police department is due to the negative interaction White officers have had with citizens of minority groups. According to McNamara and Burns (2008), members of minority groups feel police officers abuse of their authority by overstepping the boundaries of procedural laws, which dictates how the police are to use their powers. The conflicts between minorities and White officers has caused many individuals from minority groups to not be attracted to the police work. Moreover, individuals from minority groups do not apply for police work because they feel they would not be accepted in policing,

    Read More

  • The Causes And Effects Of Stress In Police Officers

    1418 Words  | 3 Pages

    The negative views of everyday people often make work hard for officers, adding more stress to their careers. The general public regularly criticizes officers for using excessive force and brutality, especially when a police officer ends up killing a suspect or criminal. Oftentimes, especially when a white police officer shoots a citizen of a minority race, the general public is quick to find faults in the officer, blaming the officer for being racist. However, cold, hard statistics show that the majority of police officers are, in fact, white, and the neighborhoods in which these officers are placed in tend to be high-crime areas with many minority citizens living there (Miller “When Cops Kill”). In addition, people might say that a citizen who was shot was not armed; however, almost anything close to the shot individual could have been turned into a deadly weapon that he or she could have used to wound or kill the officer involved. Whenever officers are in this position, the natural reaction is to defend themselves. Everyday, police officers confront the most aggressive, immoral, and sick-minded individuals of society. Officers jeopardize their own lives every time they report for work. Officers witness things that no person should ever have to encounter. They see the most horrific and gruesome scenes that the general public turns away from and

    Read More

  • Analysis Of Police Myths Of The Police

    1066 Words  | 3 Pages

    Police stress is viewed as a structural problem that is amongst the police culture (Kappeler & Potter, 2005). The argument made is that the working environment causes the stress. Even though a police officers job is not as dangerous officers still determine the danger as a source of stress. Police stress can be split up in to three sources: occupation, job-related and external stress (Kappeler & Potter, 2005). Just the thought of the job gives officers stress. Job-related circumstances such as responding to calls can also create stress. Finally, external sources such as personal stress can all lead to an officer being highly

    Read More

  • Use Of Force Essay

    1524 Words  | 4 Pages

    Everyday law enforcement personal have the possibility to face dangerous events in their daily duties. In performing such duties a police officer could come by a seemingly ordinary task, and in a blink of an eye the event can turn threatening and possible deadly. When or if this happens to an officer they won’t have

    Read More

  • Police Mental Illnesses Essay

    892 Words  | 2 Pages

    Micah Jester repeatedly told police officers to kill her in Austin. She was shot by police because she was holding a BB gun that looked like a handgun. Later, authorities determined she was mentally ill. Police officers aren’t trained on how to handle calls that involve mentally ill people. In order to fix it, police officers should undergo a 40 hour training to be able to understand when a person is in a crisis and when they should not be held accountable for their actions.

    Read More

  • The Importance Of Police Discrimination

    1272 Words  | 3 Pages

    A police officer is a law enforcement official whose job is to protect and serve all people, not to ignore racial equality. Because the U.S consists of many different races and ethnic groups, the ongoing conflict between police officers and citizens of color is constantly rising. Although police officers today are no longer allowed to have racial bias, which can be described as, attitudes or stereotype used against individuals of color to define their actions and decisions, officers sometimes abuse their authority going around racial impact tools and policies. This results in citizens viewing it as discrimination and mass criminalization. By changing the way laws and regulations unfairly impact Black and Brown communities can improve the justice

    Read More

  • Police Brutality a Violation of Human Rights

    992 Words  | 2 Pages

    Police brutality is one of the most serious human rights violations in the United States and it occurs everywhere. The reason why I chose this topic is because police brutality happens all the time in the United States and still remains unrecognized by many. Additionally, the public should be knowledgeable about this topic because of how serious this crime can be and the serious outcomes that police brutality can have on other police officers and the public. The job of police officers is to maintain public order, prevent, and detect crimes. They are involved in very dangerous and stressful occupations that can involve violent situations that must be stopped and controlled by any means. In many confrontations with people, police may find it necessary to use excessive force to take control of a certain situation. Sometimes this makes an officer fight with a suspect who resists being arrested. Not all cops in communities are great cops. At least once a year, the news covers a story about a person being beat by an officer. The article “Minority Threat and Police Brutality: Determinants of Civil Rights Criminal Complaints in U.S. Municipalities” by Malcolm D. Holmes from the University of Wyoming, uses the conflict theory to explain why officers go after minorities sometimes causing police brutality. It explains the police’s tension with African American and Latino males. Those minorities are the ones that retaliate more against police officers which causes the officer to use violent force to defend themselves.

    Read More

  • Police Misconduct and Corruption

    2505 Words  | 6 Pages

    Weitzer, Ronald, and Steven A. Tuch. "Race and Perceptions of Police Misconduct." JSTOR. Aug. 2004. Web. 19 Mar. 2015.

    Read More

  • We Must Stop Police Brutality

    835 Words  | 2 Pages

    Police brutality is an act that often goes unnoticed by the vast majority of white Americans. This is the intentional use of “excessive force by an authority figure, which oftentimes ends with bruises, broken bones, bloodshed, and sometimes even death” (Harmon). While law-abiding citizens worry about protecting themselves from criminals, it has now been revealed that they must also keep an eye on those who are supposed to protect and serve. According to the National Police Academy, in the past year, there have been over 7,000 reports of police misconduct; fatalities have been linked to more than 400 of these cases (Gul). Police brutality is often triggered by disrespect towards the police officer.

    Read More

  • Police Psychology Essay

    2086 Words  | 5 Pages

    Police psychology is broadly defined as the application of psychological principles and methods to law enforcement. With the popularity of television shows like Criminal Minds and Law & Order: SVU, the job of a police psychologist has become more well known and even popular. As seen on these shows, a police psychologist can be helpful in profiling a criminal, but they also provide many other services to the members of a police department. Although the development of this field has a long history, police psychology as a separate entity is still relatively recent and growing. This intimate relationship between psychology and law enforcement can be traced back to almost a century ago.[1] It first developed out of a need for a variety of psychological services in the law enforcement field, including screening applicants and counseling during grief and stress situations. In the time that it has been around, it has proved to be a valuable resource for the law enforcement profession.

    Read More

More about Psychological Risks In Law Enforcement Essay

Open Document