Why Cops are Different

1193 Words3 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Stress in the police

Why Cops are Different

10 REASONS COPS ARE DIFFERENT

And how these differences impact on their stress!

PERHAPS IT WEIGHS only 2 ounces overall. Large ones may run to 4 ounces. But when that badge is pinned on, there is a weight unknown to most law enforcement officers. The true weight of the badge is not overcome by muscle, not found in the gym, not measured on a scale. This weight requires a strength and conditioning for which few officers are trained. The badge is not just pinned on a chest, it is pinned on a lifestyle. The heaviness of the badge makes the law enforcement officer different from other professionals. Over the course of the last ten years, working as psychologists with police officers, we have identified ten areas which make the badge heavy.

10 REASONS LAW ENFORCEMENT OFFICERS ARE DIFFERENT

1) Law enforcement officers are seen as authority figures. People deal with them differently and treat them differently, even when they are not working. When a problem occurs, everyone looks to the officer to "take charge," to "solve the problem." Some say the cop is never off duty. Even when the officer is not working there is a tendency to attack problems and take charge. Sometimes taking charge is not preferable, and can cause particular strains in our world where many people like to linger with problems, never really solving anything. Recognizing the difference between a "problem solving" situation, where action is desirable, and a more passive situation, where action may alienate others, is difficult for the cop.

2) They are isolated. The wearing of a badge, uniform and gun makes a law officer separate from society. This segregation leads to many psychological effects which research shows can create negative personality traits. For example, psychological research shows the wearing of a uniform will tend to make any person de-humanize people who are without a uniform. Just wearing a badge or a gun can cause people to act more aggressively. These are changes that could happen to anyone wearing a uniform, badge and gun, thus these factors are expected to operate in some way on the police officer. Many officers suggest there is a "role," or "mask" which they put on along with their uniform. Sometimes this role leaks into their personal lives and changes the course of their relationships and leisure time.

3) Law enforcement officers work in a quasi-military, structured institution.

Show More
Related

  • P. O. Michael Dowd Case Study

    1380 Words  | 3 Pages

    The job of a law enforcement officer sometimes can be tough. Officer are sometimes plagued with situation that test their ability to enforce the law and maintain order. Police officers today face a constant battle to maintain higher ethical standards. This mission becomes tougher each day when one considers the importance of fighting terrorism, drugs, human trafficking,

    Read More

  • The Pros And Cons Of Racial Profiling

    1433 Words  | 3 Pages

    How these law enforcement officials are raised is how they are going to carry out their duties. If they are raised without morals or with racial influence, they will most likely use that influence and bad judgment during work. Additionally, terrorism and hate crimes instill great fear in today's society. With all the recent violence against law enforcement, I can understand why they profile or may come off defensive to the general public. At the same time, I can also understand why the public may fear police officials.

    Read More

  • History and Structure of Policing

    919 Words  | 2 Pages

    Many people know of the police officers of today’s world and that it is their job to enforce the laws set by their government, but not many people know the history of your typical everyday United States police officer or how they came about. The idea for neither your everyday police officer nor his or her department they work for or how a police department operates, originated in the United States. Over the years though America has made changes and adapted its system over the years to make it more suitable for its countries beliefs and practices.

    Read More

  • Beowulf Is Larger Than Life Essay

    762 Words  | 2 Pages

    They are always looking out for everyone to ensure their safety. I believe that strength and muscles make a police officer larger than life. It is the morals that they must uphold. This is what separates police officers from

    Read More

  • Police Authority vs Individual Rights

    1076 Words  | 3 Pages

    It is easy for police to get caught up in the idea that it is them against the rest of society (Barkan, 2012). Many citizens in today’s democratic society have a negative or fearful view of our law enforcement. Think back to grade school, who was that one kid in class that everyone was annoyed by or despised? Most people would answer the teacher’s pet or the tattletale. We have grown up from a young age to have a negative view towards those that get us into trouble when we think we can get away with something we know is wrong. In the adult world, the police force can equate to those tattletales.

    Read More

  • Police Tactics to Solve Crimes

    3125 Words  | 7 Pages

    Around the world police officers are trained to do their job effectively, and with six months or more of training to be well disciplined, and a coordinated team of professionals in what they do. Every move they make counts, anything done without technique could cost them their life or someone else’s. The have to be effective with all the weapons they are equipped with such as sharp shooters with their pistols or heavier weaponry like a shotgun or assault rifle. They also need to know when exactly to use their less lethal weapons such as the electric rifle known as a Taser or the OC spray also known as mace or pepper spray. They may also use the self-defense techniques taught during their time in training of mixed martial arts that they gained knowledge in, taking someone down with an arm maneuver or something similar.

    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

  • The Causes And Effects Of Stress In Police Officers

    1418 Words  | 3 Pages

    Some of the world’s most-loved and well-known superheroes include Superman, Batman, and Spiderman. However great these superheroes may appear, their fictional stories also include stressors that they face everyday, such as the villains that they encounter and the pressure of being a hero and an everyday citizen. In this way, stress often negatively impacts the lives of the ones who watch over every neighborhood, every street, and every house. Such is the job of a police officer. Because stress has become an important topic in the community of law enforcement, things that are commonly discussed are the causes of stress, the effects of stress, and the handling of stress in the lives of police officers.

    Read More

  • Law Enforcement: Past Perspective

    2552 Words  | 6 Pages

    Law enforcement is an important element of the United States’ system of criminal justice apart from the corrections and the courts. It is one of the major functions of the various governmental agencies of police. It is therefore concerned with police service or functions of police departments. In this paper, the author analyzes at law enforcement and related issues. Specifically, the author discusses law enforcement, theoretical understanding of the different models of policing as well as policing styles. The author also looks at the question of stress associated with the life of a police officer and how such stress affects them. This is a purely theoretical discussion based on secondary sources of information. Time and resources constraints could not allow for a more empirical, experimental fieldwork research. The materials relied upon are mainly journal articles from respectable academic journals and databases.

    Read More

  • Critical Analysis Of The Lack Of Training Police Officers

    1766 Words  | 4 Pages

    The lack of training police officers is causing unnecessary incidents, is it true? Does the lack of Critical thinking, values, Ethics and Understanding the role as a police officer contribute to hire number of incidents? There is a chance that answer to this questions might always be divided, why? Well because officers will tend to defend their side and how the view the problem and the public will also defend their side and how they view the problem, for example most officers would probably say that people do not comply with their orders or the public might outcry because of the use of excessive force, it is most certain that there will never be an agreement on who is wright or wrong. Regardless of the outcome of who is wright

    Read More

  • Blue Wall Of Silence Essay

    1910 Words  | 4 Pages

    It is both a result and a cause of police isolation from the larger society and of police solidarity. Its influence begins early in the new officer’s career when he is told by more experienced officers that the “training given in police academies is irrelevant to ‘real’ police work”. What is relevant, recruits are told, is the experience of senior officers who know the ropes or know how to get around things. Recruits are often told by officers with considerable experience to forget what they learned in the academy and in college and to start learning real police work as soon as they get to their Field Training Officers. Among the first lessons learned are that police officers share secrets among themselves and that those secrets especially when they deal with activities that are questionable in terms of ethics, legality, and departmental policy, are not to be told to others. They also are told that administrators and Internal Affairs officers cannot often be trusted. This emphasis on the police occupational subculture results in many officers regarding themselves as members of a “blue

    Read More

  • A Career as a Police Officer

    1108 Words  | 3 Pages

    Police officers have to accomplish many things in their workday. (Career Cruising.com) They have to write detailed reports and fill out forms.(Career Cruising.com) They are responsible for making sure that people obey the law and are kept safe at all times.(Career Cruising.com) They also observe the activities of suspects.(Career Cruising.com) Cops have to gather facts and collect evidence from many crimes.(Career Cruising.com) Many police officers duties depend on the size and type of their department or agency.(Career Cruising.com) They must conduct traffic stops and issue citations.(Career Cruising.com) On many occasions they must prepare cases and testify in court.(Career Cruising.com) Cops may work with special units or task forces.(Career Cruising.com) Police officers investigate criminal activity by interviewing witnesses and looking for evidence at the crime scenes.(Career Cruising.com) Cops help victims of many crimes or accidents.(Career Cruising.com) Many times they will have to respond to calls such as assaults, car accidents, or noisy parties.(Career Cruising.com) The police must work undercover when required to gain certain intelligence.(Career Cruising.com) They patrol areas on foot, motorcycle, bicycles, or in their patrol cars.(Career Cruising.com) While on a patrol, officers are always prepared to respond to all types of emergencies.(Career Cruising.com) A Police officer could be called to any type of situation wh...

    Read More

  • How Does Stress Affect Police Officers

    1257 Words  | 3 Pages

    Police officer works in one of the most dangerous and a very stressful environment, difficult circumstances are part of the profession. As an officer your duty is to protect the public. By the protecting the public you are putting yourself in harm way and you are an easy target for criminals. Police officers are usually are the first responders to serious crimes and dangerous events, and are constantly exposed to potentially traumatic situations such as pursuing armed suspect, hostage situation, accidental death of a child, shooting or taking a life in the line of duty, and witnessing violent death. The unpredictable nature of the job, being in a constant state of activation and always being on alert, and the idea an officer never knows when

    Read More

  • Police Socialization Process Paper

    402 Words  | 1 Pages

    (Public Safety Division, 2011). In many examples, casual principles and states of mind struggle with the formal or authority tents and dispositions that the general society anticipates that officers will cling to. They have become baffled with their area of expertise, the criminal equity process, people in general, and even themselves. While they have developed, disillusionment inflicts significant damage. Subsequently, these officers have come to understand that police work contrasts drastically from the fantasies they once

    Read More

  • The Importance Of Police Uniforms

    1136 Words  | 3 Pages

    The tradition was first established in London, where the world’s first police force was in London, United Kingdom of 1829. The first worn uniforms were red and white, so citizens can easily detect an officer, the decision was changed to dark blue. Dark colors make law enforcers easily detectable when out in public (Why are Police Uniforms blue?, 2012). Psychological studies that dark colors signify power. Unconsciously the color of authority uniforms changes the way people view them. Also darker shades have the advantage of being worn, as darker colors hide stains ensuring a clean look at all times. The style of police uniforms contributes to how society sees them. The shoulder always carry extra material, creating an illusion to broad shoulders. The uniforms are never form fitting, and the pants are in a cargo style, making legs look bulky and large. These features can create a muscular look that isn’t really there. The gold police badges worn on the left side of the chest right over the heart, symbolizes honor. Producing more honorable, muscular-looking officers creating a far more respected and imitating

    Read More

More about Why Cops are Different

Open Document