Everybody experiences stress on the job sometimes – the pressure of deadlines, of performing well and meeting (if not passing!) expectations, and balancing work/life can sometimes be difficult to manage. However, the types of stressors undoubtedly vary from profession to profession, and even workplace to workplace. However, the stressors experienced by police are rather unique, given the “bureaucratic and quasi-military nature of police organizations” (Chopko, Palmieri, & Adams, 2013, p. 483).
In other words, in addition to the usual ‘business’ of any workplace – filling out paperwork, meeting deadlines, and handling personnel issues – police organizations also face violence and combat scenarios similar to military personnel. The complexity and multidimensional nature of law enforcement has been well-established (Lyman, 2010), undoubtedly contributing to the stressful nature of law enforcement work. The purpose of this paper is to examine police stress by identifying common stressors and describing their effects, concluding with how police stress may be managed or treated.
One has but to look to recent events extensively covered in the media to immediately appreciate some of the stressors that police experience. The Alton Sterling and Philando Castile shootings were enough to draw criticism regarding the police from the public and governmental officials alike. However, these incendiary situations were followed swiftly by other events which also made it clear why law enforcement is stressful: the killings of five police officers in Dallas, TX, and three officers in Baton Rouge, LA, likely the results of retaliation for the Sterling and Castile cases. Being killed in the line of duty constitutes a significant job hazard and therefore job stressors for police officers, not to mention being assaulted (Kachurik, Ruiz, & Staub, 2013; Lyman, 2010). And many people would agree that the threat of death – or even traumatic injury – would be enough to stress anyone out.
However, there are other aspects to law enforcement which expose officers to other kinds of stress. Craun, Bourke, and Coulson (2015) note that officers who work with Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) taskforces “face the difficult task of working with the darker side of human beings” (p. 393). Such taskforces are charged with “finding, apprehending, and prosecuting those who sexually exploit children through the Internet,” work which requires those officers to view and review evidence such as photographs or videos of the sometimes violent sexual exploitation and abuse of children (Craun, Bourke, & Coulson, 2015, p. 393). Officers to who attend crime scenes or participate in crime scene investigation are likewise exposed to dramatic and traumatic scenes which can negatively affect them, including prompting post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) (Chopko, Palmieri, & Adams, 2013; Lyman, 2010).
However, there are other stressors which are less traumatic but still stressful. Police work can involve working long and/or odd hours which can be difficult to get used to (Craun, Bourke, & Coulson, 2015). Organizational stressors which may be common to other non-police organizations also come into play – stressors such as inter-agency tensions, interpersonal conflict with colleagues, inadequate policies, lack of coworker and/or administrator support, “little reward for job performance,” “punishment for minor infractions,” and feeling as though their actions or decisions in the field were being second-guessed or undermined have been cited as problematic and contributing to low morale, which also causes stress (Chopko, Palmieri, & Adams, 2013, p. 483), not to mention public backlash or hostility from the public (as was seen in the previously mentioned Sterling and Castile cases). In short, police officers have to deal with some very big stressors (as in life-threatening situations) and some that many people encounter (like meeting deadlines for paperwork and dealing with workplace tensions).
Much like the overlap described between the stressors that people in both police and non-police organizations describe, the effects of stress as experienced by police are seen in other professions as well. The experience of and effects of stress may be thought of as universal. For example, unsurprisingly, being put in quasi-military work environments (that is, the threat of being killed in the line of duty), experiencing trauma or traumatic injury, and/or the death of colleagues in the field can lead to the development of PTSD (Chopko, Palmieri, & Adams, 2013; Lyman, 2010). These experiences can also lead to alcohol and substance abuse, depression, anxiety, and familial and marital discord (Chopko, Palmieri, & Adams, 2013; Craun, Bourke, & Coulson, 2015; Lyman, 2010; Lucas, Weidner, & Janisse, 2012). These have been connected to physical problems such as cardiovascular disease and other physical health problems (Lyman, 2010; Lucas, Weidner, & Janisse, 2012).
Prevention is important when it comes to health issues, whether they are physical or mental. While no one can necessarily predict when an officer may get physical hurt or killed on the job, or even predict how a work-related experience might affect their mental health, police organizations can take steps to help their officers cope with and manage work-related stress. Research suggests that police officers often employ “a variety of coping techniques,” one of which is to use or access social support – that is, support from family and friends (Craun, Bourke, & Coulson, 2015). Having access to mental health resources is also critical. A variety of therapies can be employed to treat and manage work-related stress (Chopko, Palmieri, & Adams, 2013). The police are a critical component of public safety; they put their lives on the line every day to help protect society and help bring criminals to justice. The very nature of their job exposes them to hazardous situations as well as more mundane sources of stress. It is important to understand the effects of those stressors and help those officers cope with their experiences.
