Everyone has heard of the term “stress”, it is often used when someone is under pressure, scared, or anxious. Every person will experience this emotion, but police officers experience stress in a completely different way. This essay is going to cover the effects of stress in policing and the importance of resilience. A career in policing is inevitably stressful, with stress management education police forces will be able to prevent stress and help police officers cope with their stress.
A person can be stressed out in many different ways, it also affects each person differently. Stress is defined as “A state of mental or emotional strain or tension resulting from adverse or demanding circumstances” (Press, 2016). Police officers are subject …show more content…
There are four categories of stressors for police officers. The first being how stress is permanent and impossible to avoid in police work, the second being the rise of internal stress from the daily police practices and policies such as the use of a gun, dealing with violent crimes, and criminals. The third is the external stresses of policing which is coming from the criminal justice system and society itself, often court proceedings take up a lot of an officer’s spare time as well as work time. Also, they must prepare for court and maintain balance in work and their personal life, which causes additional stressors outside of the work place. The media has caused society to form a negative image around police officers, which can lead to hate crimes and profane word use from people within the community. This will cause a great deal of stress for police officers, as the majority of police officers do not act the way police officers are portrayed in the media. The fourth category is internal stressors that comes from the day-to-day communication with other police officers, this category is especially directed at women and minorities. These groups feel that they must “prove themselves” to the men within the police force. Women often struggle with the community’s perspective …show more content…
Stress management education would only benefit the police forces Canada wide. With many ways to experience stress as a police officer, there are also many ways to prevent stress and deal with stress in the moment. Allowing officers to understand that they are not alone in what they are feeling; will help the atmosphere of policing over all. While stress is inevitable, it must be prevented as much as possible. Also, if officers are aware of the symptoms and inevitability they may feel better about stomping the stigma around admitting they are experiencing a mental health
A person can be stressed out in many different ways, it also affects each person differently. Stress is defined as “A state of mental or emotional strain or tension resulting from adverse or demanding circumstances” (Press, 2016). Police officers are subject …show more content…
There are four categories of stressors for police officers. The first being how stress is permanent and impossible to avoid in police work, the second being the rise of internal stress from the daily police practices and policies such as the use of a gun, dealing with violent crimes, and criminals. The third is the external stresses of policing which is coming from the criminal justice system and society itself, often court proceedings take up a lot of an officer’s spare time as well as work time. Also, they must prepare for court and maintain balance in work and their personal life, which causes additional stressors outside of the work place. The media has caused society to form a negative image around police officers, which can lead to hate crimes and profane word use from people within the community. This will cause a great deal of stress for police officers, as the majority of police officers do not act the way police officers are portrayed in the media. The fourth category is internal stressors that comes from the day-to-day communication with other police officers, this category is especially directed at women and minorities. These groups feel that they must “prove themselves” to the men within the police force. Women often struggle with the community’s perspective …show more content…
Stress management education would only benefit the police forces Canada wide. With many ways to experience stress as a police officer, there are also many ways to prevent stress and deal with stress in the moment. Allowing officers to understand that they are not alone in what they are feeling; will help the atmosphere of policing over all. While stress is inevitable, it must be prevented as much as possible. Also, if officers are aware of the symptoms and inevitability they may feel better about stomping the stigma around admitting they are experiencing a mental health