The Causes of Stress Among Police Officers Essay example

Friederich Nietzsche wrote, â€Å"Whoever fights monsters should seek to it that in the process he does not become a monster†. This aptly applies to police officers who face unexpected and potentially dangerous situations every day. Police officers are confronted with destructive and negative behavior on a regular basis. Law enforcement is one of the most stressful and demanding professions in the United States. Characteristics of police work are stressful because a situation can change at any time. An FBI report shows that approximately twelve out of every one hundred or 60,000 police officers are assaulted each year (Stevens, p. 587). Combined with many other factors, Stress is defined as â€Å"the wear and tear our bodies and minds†¦show more content†¦General stressors are not as crucial as critical incidents, but can be if not dealt with over a long period of time. Some examples of general work stressors most commonly cited by police officers that cause s tress are: paperwork, public disrespect, shift work, death notifications, domestic violence calls, or frustration with the courts (National Institute of Justice Journal, 2000). Organizational stress affects many officers but is not as obvious as other stressors that take place. Police departments vary in size and resources, in spite of this, most organizational structures of departments follow a hierachial bureaucracy. Organizational stressors may include Women account for 14.3 percent of the law enforcement population (Swanson, Territo, W, 2008, p. 559). Female officers are challenged with stressors identical to male officers’. Nonetheless, it is thought that female officers face higher levels of stress than male officers’. A great deal of stress for females is caused by a predominantly male workforce, which leads to feelings of isolation on the job (University at Buffalo, 2008). In a study conducted by Dr. John Violanti, found that seventy-two percent of femal e officers had higher than recommended cholesterol levels compared to forty-threeShow MoreRelatedThe Effects Of Stress On The Body s Normal State1402 Words   |  6 PagesStress is the body’s reaction to internal or external stimuli that upset the body’s normal state. A stimulus that causes stress that can physical, mental, or emotional. The term stress is used to refer to both the body’s reaction and the stimuli that caused it. The body’s reaction to highly stressful situations is known as the flight or fight response. Under stressful circumstances, quantities of adrenaline, a hormone produced by the adrenal glands that are released into the bloodstream. This stimulatesRead MoreEssay on Police Officers and Work Related Stress1643 Words   |  7 PagesStress is a term used by many, is somewhat misunderstood, and often used to describe a negative condition or emotional state. 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