Emotional Survival Reaction Emotional Survival For Law Enforcement is a book written by Kevin M. Gilmartin, Ph.D. His purpose of this book was to help keep the officers healthy, by providing skill sets physically and emotionally, to survive the career. Also, by not losing one’s identity to only being a cop, while remaining committed, engaged and productive on and off-duty. Gilmartin went on to use personal experiences and other real-life stories effectively so that many law enforcement officers can relate and connect with the topic of the book. Cops faced a set of unknowns on every day shift. These unknowns can either be harmless or life threatening. The way for an officer to be kept safe while on duty is to always assume every unknown is …show more content…
Instead, the biological rollercoaster of hypervigilance takes the officer time away from families and damage the fabric of their lives. When the officers are on duty, they feel alive, engaged, and excited. It is what drives them to do more, be more, and get more. But, an off-duty cop, it’s completely the opposite for him or her. They head dive into a disconnected, withdrawn, worn-out, and indifferent state of being. Cops that experiences this biological roller-coaster is a “heat seekers.” Therefore, their interaction and on duty stimulation take a dive when they get home, making it difficult to respond to any kind of normal interactions. With the workloads on them, it’s difficult for them to spend time with love ones. A relationship that was once loving becomes destroy by lack of emotional investment and energy. The significant in the officer’s life also describe the lower phrase of hypervigilance cycle. They experience hypervigilance and, in many ways, live in two different biological worlds. For instance, people who get involved, socialized, and stay alert and those who become isolated, exhausted, angry and so on. I know that officers do change. However, without recognizing these issues and the changes they face, the complications of divorce, substance abuse, and broken relationships will continue to get bigger. In my opinion, I believe this biological roller coaster is what makes officers to cheat, gamble, and drink. Without the constant thrill of their job, they need that stimulation of excitement and
He emphasizes how unsound tactical decision-making usually accompanies every situation that produces negative or harmful results. Nevertheless, although it is frequently possible for others to identify the officer’s mistake upon review of an incident, Noble explains how this fails to consider the context and complexity of the entire situation. As an example, the author uses the idea of a courtroom judge critically examining the decisions of an officer who was involved in a failed situation. The judge has no insight on how the officer was feeling, what he was thinking, etc… in a dangerous and traumatic situation. Therefore, Noble describes the trouble involved in holding officers liable for an event in which the accuser has never personally experienced.
Highway patrol works a little more independently as the officers have a lot more freedom and their own say. There is no reporting to a police department daily and checking in with your boss frequently. You are based out on your own so following the rules is important because many of the time reports will be filed against the officer. Many of the troopers are watched closely to where if they mess up the circumstances are not good. So many of them do not try to take advantage of their job and just put a bad representation out
I recognize the same elements that shape police officers behavior to have an influence on my behavior at work. I work as a production assistant /security officer at a performing arts venue. Just as police officers often times have an exaggerated sense of mission towards controlling crime and are continually suspicious, I too have a sense of that feeling. At times, I have felt that intense pressure to protect too as at the center as I have to address any calls about suspicious people in the building. The center is a public building and has often times been vandalized, misused, and stolen from.
Some officers could allow their anger and adrenaline interfere with their professional judgement. This is sometimes done by exerting excessive force for personal gratification.
Also they serve and get involved with the community. N.Y.P.D police officers are held to the highest standard possible, so it is their job to set the example and remain sharp because that is what is expected from them.
Often police officers build up negative feelings towards certain races, sexes, or religions. Officers tend to get the idea that if one or a few people treat them with disrespect, then other people of that same sex or creed will behave the same.
The information obtained allowed the researchers to develop five specific types of officers, only one of which was similar to the bad apple stereotype. These include personality disorders, previous painful job-related experience, young inexperienced or macho officers; officers who learn improper patrol styles, and officers with personal
They don't understand without these police officers it would be chaos without any order, but a result from this is technical advancements like the camera on the officer's chest that records video and audio helps solve little problems people claim. The types of vehicles they drive are way different. Troopers drive chargers or suv’s and most sheriffs drive older impalas, vans, or a suv’s most of the troopers have newer cars mainly because they are funded by the state that's another benefit I really like the retirement and benefits the state gives you are awesome for you and your
There is definitely more stress, both good and bad, in the criminal justice field than most other fields. The good stress is the excitement of catching criminals and helping the public, which is like the good stress of scoring a touchdown in football or hitting a homerun in baseball. The bad stress come from things that those in other fields do not see such as “exposure to murders, numerous car accidents, seeing hurt kids, and other types of secondhand trauma” (Herships, 2015, par. 2). On the job bad stress also comes from the tough administrative policies and procedures that accompany the criminal justice field (Cronkhite, 2013). These stresses can lead to suicide if not kept under control as police officers have a higher suicide
Police officers educational background also plays a factor
Due to the nature of their job, police officers are first responders to crises. They see things that normal people are not meant to see. People depend on officers to help them through some of the worst moments of their lives. Officers do not need a degree in counseling or a license to offer support to people going through a crisis or a traumatic incident. The most important tips for police officers is to 1) stop and ask yourself "how would I feel if this were happening to me?", 2) Communicate empathy, and 3) ask the person "what are you going to do if we cannot help you?".
This might happen when there is a death at the scene or seriously injuries. Stress can also make it hard for first responders to have a relationships. Some of the causes of stress can be Death of a spouse, Divorce, Marriage separation, Imprisonment, Death of a close family member, Injury or illness, Marriage, Job loss, Marriage reconciliation, Retirement. “If you are distressed by anything external, the pain is not due to the thing itself but to your own estimate of it; and this you have the power to revoke at any moment” (Marcus
Many young people aspire to become police officers. However, not everyone is fit for the role as police work is extremely demanding both physically and mentally. In order to be effective in the job, a policeman should possess superb communication skills, extra-ordinary courage, excellent judgement, empathy, and a high degree of professionalism, to name a few. Choosing this career in law enforcement can be a quite challenging yet rewarding. If you aspire to join the police force, then you are bound to make a difference in your community as well as your own personal life.
‘’Most officers enter law enforcement with minimal experience in the field or in handling the moral dilemmas that officers typically encounter. They learn how to perform their jobs, as well as recognize the organizational norms, values, and culture, from their peers and supervisors. While supervisors provide direct, formal reinforcement, officers’ peers offer friendship and informal rewards that, in many cases, hold greater influence than official recognition from the agency’’ (Fitch, 2011). Officers who come across situations where they are unsure what is morally and ethically best to do often turn to their peers for assurance and guidance. Good ethical behavior can easily be influenced by officers and those in law enforcement.
LICEING THE 21ST CENTURY The police are the public and the public are the police - Robert peel When we talk about the criminal justice system the public at large plays a very important role right from the prevention to reporting to the investigation of the case. The criminal justice system cannot achieve its goal without the active participation of the general public. If we take a look at the ancient police setup in medivial and ancient india we come across that there were various provisions for the participation of the public working with the police. The word police, inspires confidence inspires a sense of truse, security, commitment, and public service.