Police Organizational Stress: A Case Study

Police officer’s that serve and protect the community are challenged on a daily basis when it comes to using the correct amount of force during an arrest or detention of a person. These officers are critiqued and questioned regularly when they use force, whether it is deadly force or less lethal force. Police officers are put in positions where they have to use the amount of force to control the situation and they do so by following a guideline such as the Force Continuum or other policies and procedures the department has set in place. Regardless of the amount of force an officer uses they are put through extensive training to learn how to handle certain situations. The lack of training or rehearsing scenarios can cause a situation to

The actual life of a police officer is spent responding to crimes, interviewing witnesses and suspects, apprehending fugitives, and collecting evidence. They witness and experience many traumatic events, such as having to respond to a murder call or a rape situation. Things, such as the ones mentioned lead to Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder in Police officers (PTSD). PTSD is a disorder that may be triggered by witnessing or experiencing traumatic events. Law enforcement officers’ experience these events at one point while on duty, which is why PTSD is common within this line of duty. A police officer with PTSD suffers social stress around friends and family, and instead of seeking help they turn to unhealthy habits.

This essay will go in further detail on providing examples of police misconduct and will also describe the criminal behaviors of sworn law enforcement officers with research and controlling methods to reduce these

Police subculture may, however, be changed through external pressures, such as new hiring practices, investigations into police corruption or misuse of authority, and commission reports that create pressures for police reform” (Schmalleger, 2015, p. 243). The integration of new technology, both on the side of the public (think Facebook Live and smart phone video recordings) are already making a huge impact questioning the regular negative behaviors of policing. I also believe that situational training of officers, and stronger consequences for officers who demonstrate poor behaviors, need to be in place and upheld by leadership. Frankly, it should not just be the judicial system that puts an impactful spotlight on bad behavior, but internal processes which give no excuse for poor

It is no secret that there is abuse towards law enforcement these days. People are not respecting authority like they should, and it will only get worse as time goes on if nothing is done about it. “The research on police body

The traditional paramilitary management model in police departments impact labor relations by bring a bit of professionalism to law enforcement, but it did i through old practices that law enforcement was trying to get away from. A paramilitary police model evolved in response to widespread corruption

The NPIA (National Policing Improvement Agency) notes that effective performance management framework for police assesses individuals on 12 hallmarks spread over three areas: people and relationships, structures and processes, data and analysis. [footnoteRef:11] [11: KPMG, cutting through the complexity, Toronto Police Services Board, Opportunities for the future for the Boards Consideration]

Throughout the past decades, every time you turn on CNN or your local news channel, they’re talking about shootings involving police. Police use of deadly force is the amount of force that could cause injury or bodily harm to a person. Police use of deadly force is a controversial topic that has been towering over the news stations and radios lately with different shooting insistences. Many concerns have been brought up as to why this topic is controversial and problematic. In result, many court cases have addressed this issue.

At the top of the organizational chart, we have the Chief of Police and under him, the assistant Chief of Police; at which point, the chart further divides into other areas with lesser ranked individuals in charge of each of them. This provides a clear example of how “authority flows downward in the organization”. (Swanson, Territo & Taylor, 2012, p. 221).

Altogether, there are a vast number of jobs whether it is a lawyer, teacher and doctor that many people inspire to be. For every job, each person develops distinctive qualities in order to adapt and respond in their environment. For a police officer, however, they are mainly focused on authority, danger and efficiency. To be a police officer is a challenging and dangerous job. A police officer protects and serves the public. In a way, they control order in a society. A police officer possesses courage, integrity, loyalty, trust, and passion. Many individuals that become police officers are affected by the stress of the job and adapt a police personality. A police personality is based upon the belief that police officers possess different characteristics from the public. For instance, police officers are faced with danger and authority on a daily basis. Therefore, the police are always suspicious, on the lookout, and they do not trust anyone. The police are subject to isolation, solidarity and cohesion. There are many officers that are able to balance the job and their personal lives, while some abuse their power. Therefore, a contemporary issue in the criminal justice system is police personality.

Collins' micro-sociological theory of violence has generated much discussion and critiques. Armstrong (2008) argues that Collin's theory is a quite limited perspective, which neglects other important cultural factors. For instance, Collins uses the concept of "forward panic" as a fundamental variable that focuses on a specific emotional state and this is generalised across time, place, race, gender, economics, and culture (Armstrong, 2008). This dismisses the cultural interpretation of the Rodney King beating as a case of racism. However, Collins (2008) explains that racism has little effect on whether individuals will be violent in confrontations, or how successful the violence will be, because racism by itself cannot overcome the barrier

The concept of disasters in providing mental health assistance when there has been a traumatic and devastating event. One of the concepts according to (Everly & Mitchell, 2008) would be psychological reactions to disaster may cause serious psychological impairment. In an over all study according to Norris et al . (2002) There was a study of severity of impairment of 60,000 disaster victims between 1981 and 2001. The sample studies showed 11% had minimal impairment, indicative of transient stress; 51% had moderate impairment, indicative of prolonged stress; 21% had severe impairment. There was significant psychopathology or distress; and 18% had severe impairment. PTSD, MDD, GAD and PD were found and considered specific psychological problems

Police officers enforce laws, but also held to those same laws they are enforcing on a daily basis. Laws influence how police behave and how to handle some situations. While also telling them how they can and cannot act. Some author’s feel this influence from the law may be why officers, “run roughshod over legal restrictions on such activities as searches and seizures” (Herbert, 1998; Chambliss, 1994; McBarnet, 1979). Officers are rarely supervised while on patrol and if they are, it is by a fellow officer rather than a superior officer. Because of this, officers have discretion in almost every situation they encounter. Each officers uses this discretion in their own way, whether they want to be strict or let someone off with a warning that

The literature used for this subject is closely related to one another with key differences between each different articles approach. They all address the concept of police corruption and deviance in general but take different stances on the cause of it and how it’s fundamentally made within a flawed system. The articles to follow suit all provide insight to previous methods of addressing the matter. The Effect of Sanctions on Police Misconduct by

One of the challenges includes job responsibilities and expectations. The law enforcement community and officers may have varying responsibilities when it comes to their jobs, missions as well as professional cultures with varying expectations in regards to the definition of bullying, what constitutes suitable response4s to bullying and the ways it can be prevented. Law enforcement officers and school personnel’s more often operate according to various rules. For instance, school officials have a set of school rules and codes to enforce while law enforcement officers must at all times uphold the law. Another challenge is negative perception. In some cases, the communities in and around schools develop a negative perception towards law enforcement personnel’s and the roles they play in schools and in working towards addressing specific issues like