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Mean Streets: Police and Stress
| Article
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20433 |
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Section : |
MODERN THOUGHT
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| Issue
Date : |
3 / 1992 |
4,864 Words |
| Author
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Edith E. Flynn
Edith E. Flynn is professor of criminal justice at
Northeastern University |
The subject of police stress is rapidly gaining widespread public attention. As reports of police excesses and shootings of civilians multiply around the nation, officer burnout and stress are increasingly cited as causes of such behavior. Last spring's savage beating of an unarmed black motorist by members of the Los Angeles Police Department is a case in point. The Rodney King incident, videotaped by a hobbyist photographer and televised from coast to coast, stirred national outrage. It also raised a firestorm of questions about racism in law enforcement, the use of excessive force, and police officers being out of control.
Social commentators and others responding to the incident were quick to point out that problems with police brutality, stress, and violence are not confined to Los Angeles alone but are national in scope. They also observe that police work is dangerous. It is especially so in cities, where social disintegration, anonymity, urban decay, and violence are rampant. If police use excessive violence, it is only a reflection of and response to the violence endemic in society. Indeed, the rate of violent crimes reported by the FBI has more than quadrupled since the 1960s, making the United States one of the most violent societies among Western industrialized nations. Given unacceptably high crime rates and distinct possibility of facing real violence every working day, it should not be surprising that a warlike mentality has developed in many police departments, in which officers see themselves as embattled crime fighters, overwhelmed by a rising tide of crime, under siege, and literally at war with the criminal elements of society. Pursuant to this scenario, police burnout and stress are the logical consequences of modern law enforcement efforts.
It is the purpose of this article to examine job stress and burnout in law enforcement. How does stress in policing compare with stress in other occupations? What is known about police stress? Are the high violent crime rates, gang warfare, and rising substance abuse in America's cities major causes of police stress? If not, what are the keys factors in police stress? Several myths concerning police work and police stress will be examined. However, it is first necessary to look briefly at policing as a profession. After all, it is the distinctive work environment of the police officer that is said to cause the stress.
The Police Role And Function In American Society
Law enforcement in this country is a highly complex profession and a multibillion-dollar enterprise.
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