Stress Management in Law Enforcement - Research Paper Example

? Stress Management in Law Enforcement Type Type Introduction This paper is about the stress management in the law enforcement organizations acknowledging the fact that the law enforcement officers are highly expected by the public as the strong personalities who do not undergo stress that would adversely affect their capability to protect the common citizens. The paper would look into the importance of stress management in law enforcement agencies with a focus on stress management techniques actually implemented in these organizations in contrast to other private companies to keep their employees’ performance up to the mark through effective stress management trainings and techniques. Objective The Objective of this paper is to look into the importance of stress management in the law enforcement organizations and focus on the implementation techniques by the law enforcement agencies in contrast to the private organizations for managing this menace for their employees’ performance. Methodology Stress Management is quite generic topic which is wide spread over various professions. There is no profession or social activity in which stress is not produced. However there is an interaction among the people and there is a thinking capability of each person that distinguishes one from another, stress is there. Thus in order to approach the purpose of this paper, secondary research data is prominently used. There is a good material available online which needed to be carefully read and understood to extract the findings behind the main topic. Stress Management in law enforcement is interesting in the terms it has grown more important as the criminal activities around the globe are increasing nod thus more accountability surrounds the law enforcement personnel and police officers causing a state of mental stress. In order to find out the implementation activities by law enforcement agencies in order to train their staff to effectively cope up with the stress produced in their daily routine or in the cases of unpredictable incidents is studied through the journals and articles on this topic. As per Law Enforcement Stress Program, topics like anger management, self confidence, self esteem, performance stress; accountability handling and relationship building envelope the overall topic of stress management in law enforcement for which perception based strategies as well as action based strategies are employed. What is Stress? In any field, wherever there is a person to person contact, conflicts are the natural things to happen. People are reluctant to accept other’s opinions and the fact that every person is independent and different in terms of the perspective, he looks towards an issue creates conflicts. These conflicts are the primary reason of mental distress that we refer as stress. Stress keeps the person buy in unwanted distress of mental state and therefore it affects the capability of a person to focus or even think about a particular task. This advisedly affects the performance of a person in any activity he performs. This is also important to note that stress is not just an instantaneous state of the mind. Rather a mind can undergo stress that can affect the mental power and capability to focus for the lifetime. The state of stress keeps a person thinking about some particular issue with no direction and sometime even nothing is under focus but even then the mind is under stress. Mental stress does affect and propagates itself into physical stress too. Hence, a person under stress condition is unable to perform his or her tasks with a value addition input. There are various indications of persons who are under stress. However, these indications may differ from one person to another and also depend upon factors such as internal or external conditions. Some of these internal conditions are psychological pressure, cut-throat competition and incompetency issues. External conditions may be in the form of stressful conversations with colleagues, bosses, and staff at work or on duty. The other subjective factors depend on the person’s surroundings and capabilities. (Dunning, 1991) If compared to the stressful job regarding workplace stress, the United Kingdom has been seen as the most stressful workplace in terms of professions like nursing in pharmacy and education in the academic field, said in an official report on health. Moreover, almost two percent of the employees are victim of a few types of stress, i.e. depression in terms of stress as well as anxiety. Irrespective of gender in terms of workplace stress, men as well as women are equally baring this workplace dilemma, almost in the same way as one of the two genders suffering from. Discrimination begins to soar with the soaring age of employee. Hence, young employees are said to suffer less as compared to those in their forty’s at workplace. Concluding to the point, with almost the entire workforce is said to be suffered of this workplace stress almost the same way and in same ratio regarding gender. (Gender, Workplace Problems, and Stress in Policing, 1995) There may be some perplexing regarding the data collected on stress at workplace, leaving behind no way to refute the statistical pin point to certain rates. According to the various studies discussed later, the numbers have been doubled in past two decades in the United Kingdom over cases from clinical ward at hospitals. Moreover, stress education certainly is said to be playing its role in stress reduction at workplaces but the numbers are indication that there’s hardly any improvement in numbers getting down. Besides factors causing stress at workplace, there are other factors as well causing stress not only at workplace but to the world a person meets outside workplace each day the whole year. That can be seen as a world of stress that is internal to a person and a world of stress that is external to a person. The stress that is external can be seen or called as stress due to physical happenings to a person, i.e. physiological, psychological stress, interpersonal relationships, the nature of sensation and etc. While the stress that is internal to a person can be caused by any medical reactions, thoughts, over-thinking daily life issues etc. Hence, making us certain that those stress situations can either be internal or external that can further be seen as explain below. Stress, again, can be seen as shortsighted called the acute stress or longsighted called the chronic stress. The stress called acute is a result of instant intimidations to a person. The brain sooner as it is intimidated goes into some kind of reaction causing body to be under severe stress. The body cools down the system as soon as it in the state of calmness that again depends person to person. While the chronic stress are seen as long term stress situations i.e. regular workplace issues and troubles. Comparing the mental calmness and coolness in terms of stress, stress is the most evident reason for mental illness and distortion. Evident effects are on heart, and immune system of a human being, and contributing to the issues of blood pressure as well. According to Haine (2003), stress can leads to issues like premature birth, bone pains and, etc (p. 12). Not only stress causes the brain to malfunction, it also results in short term memory loses and balance work-family life subject as well. Hence, sometimes stress is the said to be the reason of depreciated workplace performance. However, stress is said to be the cause of few positive attitudes in human nature i.e. the feeling of being excited about a job/work or the feeling to be determined of doing a job/work perfectly. But again, it depends on situations from person to person. If taken positively and truly, it can have effects like determination or motivation else it can lead to severe brain or body damages that are said not to be healed so soon. Stress Management Of all the pros and cons about stress that are discussed above there are certain ways to bring that stress under human control or betterment i.e. stress management. However, these ways can be taken as just the tested methods, not the exact way out of stress. It is only with time and patience that stress is managed. According to the St. Louis report, the stress management concept can lead to a better mental positions and decisions in today’s fast competing society. However, since life throws different challenges and tests on us each day, the only possible way to be in race of competition is the management of tasks or stress in a logical order. Hence, the brief provided below would take the audience towards the study of levels of stress measurement, models of stress management and the modern practices of handling stress in daily life. Modern day science sees stress as a controlled behavior or measure. Hence, there are certain ways by which stress can be calculated. Holmes and Rahe is the relevant scale to measure stress. Blood pressure can be seen as another important tool to measure level of stress. And there are many other tools that can be used to approximate digitally the level of stress in a human body. Comparing the level of stress managed or caused to the law enforcement officials, the following mentioned are the most evident to cause those officials sudden or severe stress at work. First, since officials of law enforcing department are to face incidents of controlling violent masses, hence they can be under harass subject during any operation, second, the pressure of good performance on ground, third, the poor interpersonal communication because of their strict nature of work, fourth, long distances with friends and family and lastly the extensive hours at workplace or on duty. Stress in Law Enforcement Law Enforcement agencies have been facing strong challenge since very beginning. The reason being, they are looked as the strong pillars of the society who provide shelter and protection to the common people. A common person builds up a perception that the law enforcement staff is strong enough to provide them protection regardless of the situations and thus they do not undergo into the state of mental distress or stress as we defined that would adversely affect their performance in providing protection to the common people. This expectation has grown more and more difficult for the law enforcement personnel with the passage of time and increasing trend of criminal activities worldwide. Especially after the event of World trade center that is 9-11 tragedy, people have elevated their expectation and began to look at law enforcement personnel and police officers as strong prudent persons, rightfully earning the title of the ‘Finest Men’. They are supposed to be ‘rough and tough’ but always available and ready to protect and serve. It has also been observed that those people who live in communities who obey the law and see law enforcement officers around them feel safer and more comfortable. This is especially observed in the cases of localities where law enforcement officers are seen marching or escorting civilians. Such inhabitants live a healthy and stress free life which trickles down into their respective families too. (Bureau of Justice Statistics, 1994) This position needs to be juxtaposed to the predicament of the law enforcement officers. The U.S. Department of Justice in association with the Bureau of Statistics have observed that the widespread rise in violent crime has greatly enhanced the stress levels experienced by these officers. The law enforcement personnel have to deal regularly with the worst of what is happening in the society, and they have to make sacrifices so that the harmony and peace in the society can be maintained. These difficult situations can affect the law enforcement officers adversely by contributing to both internal and external stress which subsequently affects their performance as well as their private lives. It has been observed that the mental and physical health of these officers has deteriorated with increase in the time spent discharging their duties. (U.S. Department of Justice, 1994). There are various scientific studies which have observed the different sources of stress for law enforcement officers. These sources of stress can be broadly categorized in accordance with their origin. For instance, there are various kinds of stress which arise directly from the organizational structure of most law enforcement agencies. The paramilitary structure combined with varying shifts of work and patrol have been scientifically proven to be stressful. Moreover, the bureaucratic structure with excessive paperwork coupled with the perceived favoritism by administrators regarding assignments and promotions also contributes to occupational stress. (Hurrell, 1992) Ironically, it has been found that many police officers feel under great stress due to the criminal justice system. For instance, most officers are under constant pressure to ensure that enough evidences are gathered during the investigation to ensure a conviction. In scenarios where a long and hard fought case results in an acquittal, it has been observed that the stress levels experienced by the police department is fairly high. Even perceived premature release of offenders on bail, probation and parole are also sources of stress. However, the most peculiar source of stress is the severe antogonization of the officers by the public and the media. Accusations of human rights violations as well as a negative perception by the public leads the officers to believe that they are individuals who are not respected within the society. This coupled with the lack of understanding from friends and family members does not provide the required work satisfaction in relation to the effort and time invested by these officers. The apprehension of further disrepute is a massive source of stress. (Mohandie,1997). As discussed above, the officers also experience increased levels of stress due to internal factors which are common place in any occupation today. For instance, the anxiety over the responsibility to protect the public coupled with the disappointments when these high expectations are not met create an everyday pressure cooker situation for these officers. Although competency complex is not peculiar to the law enforcement agency alone, the magnitude of stress related to this pressure is far greater sue to the overtly public sensitive nature of the job. Furthermore, studies have revealed unconventional sources of stress within the law enforcement agencies. Several Caucasian officers have complained of not only what they perceived to be positive discrimination within the recruitment and training process, but also a strong emphasis on ‘political correctness’ in their actions and conduct. Some of them have even complained of being superseded by minority and female officers despite scoring higher than them. Irrespective of whether the departmental policy or the perceived pressure from administrators and colleagues, increased scrutiny of behavior and language is reportedly a large source of stress within various police departments. Surprisingly, these stipulations are also reported to have severely contributed to the lack of humor within departments. Officers are exchanging fewer jokes due to the fear that they might possibly offend somebody. This argument is equally applicable to the minority officers themselves. Most colored police officers complained of being at the receiving end of very strong negative vibes form the Caucasian officers due to the favorable position of law protecting the minorities. In order to gain respect, these officers had to often work excessive hours to prove themselves. Female and homosexual officers complained of being under constant stress and fear of sexual harassment or discrimination. (Borum and Philpot, 1993) Furthermore, the private lives of local law enforcement officers are very different from that of a fire brigade officer or the like. For instance, firemen are used to working in small groups or units during emergencies, which is also the time when they are experiencing peak levels of stress. Some eminent authors have opined that since most police departments have only 10 or fewer officers, they normally are required to work alone. The lack of a peer group or a partner to divide the tension also contributes heavily to the stress experienced by them. (Kirschman et al, 1992).  One of the most important and often ignored areas is the officer’s personal or private life. The effects of work related stress on law enforcement officers’ family members have been studies upon for many years. Arthur and Elaine Neiderhoffer have published a detailed report based on an 8 week program for spouses of recruits. The report noted that many of the sources of stress for law enforcement officers end up affecting the people closest to them. In some cases, even events and conditions which normally does not bother the officer themselves, such as shift work or undercover work can be the cause of serious problems for their families. Alternatively, family members can be a source of stress for officers; the most prevalent being marital difficulties. In some of these cases, the spouses of these officers neither understood the demands of the police duty nor were keen on cooperating with them. However, it is the fear of injury or death during dangerous assignments which has been the largest cause of concern for the family members. (Niederhoffer, 1978) Suggestions for stress management: According to studies, the workforce effectiveness has been continuously at risk and reducing time to time mainly because of stress as well as pressure from top level employers. Moreover, employees are being subjected to mental productivity because of mentioned issues. In the United Kingdom, stress is said to be the cause for patients to increase number of visits to hospitals each year, said HSE United Kingdom. Moreover, organizations are said to have negative feedback from employees in terms of that stress dilemma. According to Personal Development 2010, a great amount of time is needed by an organization to control stress inside a workplace other than taking social and other economical issues in consideration. For a successful organization and a successful career, stress management is considered a key element to work upon specifically to workplace well-being. It becomes increasingly important when it comes to the law enforcement agencies. Stress is at peak in law enforcement works due to the fact that they are bound to challenging situations where a common citizen is not expected to act. Also, they are accountable to a higher degree due to critical responsibilities and they have less opportunity to go social and relieve their mental stress through social activities.  In order to effectively combat the stress in any workplace including the law enforcing organizations, it is important to identify the factor and types of stress build up. Following considerations help the person to recognize which direction t go toward for stress management i.e. Stress in long term that is the work out methodology, work out on stress reduction, how to coup stress for healthy life, and others. There may be several techniques that can be employed for the stress management especially in law enforcement agencies. Here we would highlight few that are employed by the private organizations as well to keep their employees’ performance up to mark by effectively managing their stress level at workplaces. Several team development exercises are useful in managing the stress level as it divides the attention from the factor of stress and focuses on a combined task or activity that the team performs(Wimberger, 2010, p. 3). According to Carolina Academic Press 2011, diversion from stressful situations can only be successful if cured on day to day basis instead of one time healing (p. 4). Law enforcement personnel require stress relievers that work on simple techniques due to the nature of work and environment they are into. However, the nature of work which they are involved in could render these techniques counter-productive. Since these techniques can be significantly different than the conventional techniques, excessive training and practice is necessary in such circumstances. Few of the simple but effective ideas that are employed by law enforcement organization are, Humor Humor is the easiest natural way to quit stress out of the workplace. It helps employees to create a happy friendly atmosphere to work with other colleagues. According to Business Balls 2010, to distract mind from the reasons that cause stress is also one of the many ways to relax mind. Hence, by such way, stress is reduced via natural modes of diverting thoughts to other normal thinking issues. Hence by, diversion to humorous instances can lead to mind calmness and stress reduction. Brisk walk and self-talk Law enforcement personnel often find less time for themselves, however the effective way to get rid of the mental stress and keep their physical stress away from overcoming their performance, a brisk walk works as an effective tool to handle stress. Changing the environment and breathing in the fresh air to smell pleasant atmosphere simulate senses and relieves out the stress forces from the body and mind. It is the same rationale behind training for these officers being conducted in open areas such as fields and parks. Playing games like football or cricket also relieves their stress as it manages to keep their mind away from the daily routine stressful forces. Rehydrate Police officers and law enforcement personnel often are so busy in their work that keeps them away from taking proper diet. They may often consume coffee or juices, but water is essential. Thus drinking water and rehydrating is also an effective way of getting the stress level reduced. Since, most of the people at the workplaces are for high fever jobs and require most mental attention. Personality Training Police officers often need to undergo personality training so that they can effectively learn to identify the situations when the stress or anger is overcoming them. They must be able to deal with such situations through their internal personality strengths and mange to relieve the stress. Besides the reason explained above, physical exercises, i.e. daily workout effectively relieve stress. A physical training program may be developed and included within the daily routine, for the simple reason that exercise helps human body to dispense the extra chemicals that cause stress or stretched in human body. Moreover, exercise helps human body to cool down and relax the whole body time to time. Family Counseling As note earlier, stress on family members also affects the officers drastically. While there are exiting mechanisms of safeguards such as additional support for officers’ families under the Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act, 1994, the emphasis needs to be placed on counseling of family members. The spouses need to be ensured that the officers are safe and secure while discharging their duties. A detailed presentation on support system given to the bereaved family members coupled with interactions with other widows and children who view their sacrifice as one essential to the society must be organized. Moreover, special counseling must be provided to the spouses to ensure that they are not only competent to handle pressure but are also able to effectively counsel their spouses during tough times. Reference List 1. "Firearms and Crimes of Violence: Selected Findings from National Statistical Series," U.S. Department of Justice, Bureau of Justice Statistics, Washington, D.C., February 1994. 2. Kirschman, E., E. Scrivner, K. Ellison, and C. Marcy, "Work and Well-Being: Lessons from Law Enforcement”, in “Stress and Well-Being at Work: Assessments and Interventions for Occupational Mental Health”, ed. J.C. Quick, L.R. Murphy, and J.J. Hurrell, American Psychological Association, Washington, D.C., 1992, pp.178-192. 3. Martin, D., "Officers on Diet Patrol to Shed an Old Image," New York Times, August 18, 1995. 4. 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Hurell, Jr., U.S. Government Printing Office, Washington, D.C.  8. Borum, R., and C. Philpot, "Therapy With Law Enforcement Couples: Clinical Management of the `High-Risk Lifestyle”, American Journal of Family Therapy, 21 (1993): p. 122-135. 9. Dunning, C., "Mitigating the Impact of Work Trauma: Administrative Issues Concerning Intervention," in “Critical Incidents in Policing”, 1991, eds. J.T. Reese, J.M. Horn, and C. Dunning, U.S. Department of Justice, Federal Bureau of Investigation, Washington, D.C. 10. Haine C., 2003 “Police Stress and the Effects on the Family.” Retrieved January 16, 2012, from EMICHS: http://www.emich.edu/cerns/downloads/papers/PoliceStaff/Shift%20Work,%20%20Stress,%20%20Wellness/Police%20Stress%20and%20the%20Effects%20on%20the%20Family.pdf Read More