Police Need People (From Police Human Relations, P 149-169, 1981, George Henderson, ed. - See NCJ-75046)

• NCJ Number: 75054
• Author(s): G Henderson
• Date Published: 1981
• Length: 21 pages
• Sale Source: Charles C. Thomas
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America
• Note: *This document is currently unavailable from NCJRS.

Annotation

This article on police stress outlines various stress-related defense mechanisms, identifies good communication as a stress reliever, and discusses aspects of communication pertinent to stress reduction.

Abstract

Discussion of police reaction to stress focuses on the two major stress reactions, withdrawal and aggression. Events over the past 15 years that have increased police officer stress are pointed out, including U.S. Supreme Court decisions complicating arrest procedures and the civil rights movement. Discussion of police efforts to cope with stress defines coping as emotions and behavior allowing an individual to adjust to problems and covers three major categories of stress defense mechanisms: deception, or hiding the perception of a threat; substitution, replacing stressful with nonstressful goals; and avoidance, or removing oneself from the stress. Various mechanisms within these categories are defined, including repression, projection, and rationalization. Maladjusted behavior results when defense mechanisms cease to relieve the stress; alienation or despair, loneliness, and cynicism are common forms of police maladjustment. A program to reduce police stress must be based on communication. Police officers, finding talk painful, will often not discuss their work problems. Moreover, contradictions in how the police and public view the police role inhibit communication by the police, although increasing an officer's communication skills will often reduce the disparity. Communication is verbal and nonverbal; discussion of nonverbal communication covers the use and importance of gestures, manner and speaking tone, zones of territory, and eye contact. Guidelines for effective verbal communication are also provided. Discussion of maintaining healthy relations with friends and family, a key to stress reduction, covers problems incurred through night shift work and lack of friendships outside law enforcement, the effect on police performance of bad or broken marriages, and the problems families face from police work. A final section on the healthy police officer points out that self-esteem and self-knowledge are most important to low stress and good decisionmaking. Twenty-eight references are included.