Psychological Risks In Law Enforcement Essay

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

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,