Police Work Hours, Fatigue, and Officer Performance (From Police and Policing: Contemporary Issues, Second Edition, P 78-93, 1999, Dennis J. Kenney and Robert P. McNamara, eds. -- See NCJ-179842)

• NCJ Number: 179846
• Author(s): Bryan Vila; Erik Y. Taiji
• Date Published: 1999
• Length: 16 pages
• Sale Source: Praeger Publishers
• Publication Format: Book (Softbound)
• Publication Type: Report (Study/Research)
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America
• Note: An earlier version of this paper was presented at the 1996 meeting of the American Society of Criminology in Chicago, Ill., on November 20-23, 1996.

Annotation

This chapter examines a number of possible connections between administratively controllable causes of police officer fatigue and problems associated with officer performance, health, and safety.

Abstract

Official statistics, anecdotal evidence, and the authors' research to date indicate that excess fatigue may be prevalent in some and perhaps many police departments. Research on employees in other occupational groups shows that fatigue tends to decrease alertness, impair performance, and worsen mood, and that sleep loss and circadian disruption (disruption of the regular metabolic, glandular, and sleep rhythms) are the two primary physiological sources of fatigue. This problem is particularly crucial in community-oriented policing, which places additional demands on personnel resources, demands that are often met by increasing the amount of overtime officers work. Given that excess fatigue can have adverse effects on police-community relations and public safety, it is important to identify how many hours police officers are working and in what patterns. Such research must include attention to officer "moonlighting" and the impact of shift work. It is also important to determine how work patterns may contribute to fatigue and how fatigue affects officers' performance and their family lives. 3 tables and a 39-item bibliography