The Police Culture and Work Stress

Culture is a set of beliefs and expectations that govern a professional environment
Police subculture dictates many aspects of the job
Strong sense of the importance of the role
Subculture varies between different agencies
Professional subculture guides behavior
Subculture is perpetuated through socialization process
organizational culture helps reduce anxiety and uncertainty
Police teamwork generates dependency and shared values
Subcultures can make an agency insulated
Some subcultures can make jobs harder and more stressful
Police cynicism can form after many negative encounters

Socialization, Isolation, and the Code
- “Blue fraternity” begins at the police academy
- Subculture may require may require secret and unity
- Code of silence or blue wall
- Police culture may be viewed negatively form the outside
- Recent events have increased mistrust
Erosion of the Public’s Trust
- Public belief that blue wall shields police from accountability
- Calls for civilian review boards
- At least half of complaints are filed within the agency
Coping
- Resources to cope with isolation which results from job stress
- Mistakes can have critical consequences
- Police must recognize and address ethical issues

Police subculture is based on tradition and passed from generations to generation
A department’s culture may change with new generations
New officers learn rules from veterans
Artifacts are most visible forms of the organizational culture
Embedded values drive cultural behavior
officers often suppress emotions that could be seen as weak
Officers view each other as teammates
Emphasis on an “us vs. them” mentality
Officers may view administrators as outsiders
Contributing Factors: Danger
- Danger is always a possibility
- Officers are trained to treat citizens as symbolic assailants.
- Constant vigilance can lead to stress and burnout
- Minimizing danger by being prepared
Contributing Factors: Authority
- Instructors teach officers to asses ability to physically handle individuals if necessary
- Police have authority other than intervene in many situations
- Many citizens resent police intervention
- Post-truamatic stress disorder
Contributing Factors: Performance
- The public expects police efficiency
- Technology increases efficiency demands and reduced budgets increase pressure
- Officers exceeding standards are considered rate-busters.
The Police Personality: How Real?
- Some suggest police work leads to a distinctive personality.
- Desire to be in control, authoritarianism, cynicism.
- Police applicants are more psychologically sound than general population
- Research does not support police personality.

Stress can lead to cynicism, burnout, ailments.
High levels of stress can lead to deviance.
Stress is most common occupational hazard
Compassion fatigue is the desire to help traumatized victims.
Concern for fellow officers also a top stressor.
No clear association between danger and level of stress.
Other stressors are red tape, discrimination, competition.
Task Demands,
- Hyper-stress results from too many demands for the time allowed.
- Quantitative vs. qualitative hyperstress
- Number of cases and pressure can affect investigation quality.
- Low levels of activity can cause hypostress
Role Demands
- Inconsistent expectations can create role conflict
- Society’s expectations of police can conflict with police principles and beliefs.
- Role ambiguity is confusion based on expectations of others.
Interpersonal Demands
- Police perceive public as harsh critics
- Feeling of never being off-duty.
- Leadership styles play important roles in stress levels.
Physical Demands
- Environments, activity, hazardous substances.

Report in 2000 reported new levels of police stress.
Physical and emotional effects of stress.
- After age of death of police officer is 67

Personal Pitfalls: Desensitization
- Officer training includes desensitization to physical confrontation.
- Psychological desensitization to trauma can have negative effects
Personal Pitfalls: Prejudice
- Unfavorable attitudes toward a group not based on facts
- Prejudiced individuals tend to adhere to stereotypes
- Actions based on stereotypes are inappropriate
- General adaption syndrome
Personal Pitfalls: Cynicism
- Loss of faith in people, pride, and integrity
- officers may develop cynical attitudes
- Cynicism may involve different issues depending on subculture
Personal Pitfalls: Burnout
- Characterized by emotional exhaustion, cynicism
- View victims as case numbers and have little empathy
- Police may experience higher burnout rate
- Burnout can lead to alcohol or drug use, or suicide
Stress and Police Families
- Work-Family Conflict (WFC)
- High levels of WFC can cause many adverse conditions
- Family issues or violence often kept secret
- Family stress can impact job and vice versa
Police Officer Suicide
- Stigma surrounding mental health issues.
- Research on police suicide.
  - More police die form suicide than line-of-duty deaths
  - Law Enforcement Suicide Data Collection Act
  - Mixed results on whether suicide rate is higher for officers
  - Many factors contribute to police suicides
  - Suicide attempts more likely after exposure to suicide of another
  - international Association of Chiefs of Police recommendations

Handling stress should be inherent in policing.
Departments should identify and lessen impacts of stress.
Stress-reducing training should be provided.
Subculture may make recognizing stress and seeking help difficult
Suicide prevention programs.
Administrators can help manage stress,
- Employee assistance programs.
- orientation programs.
- Emphasizing physical conditioning.
- teaching coping mechanisms.
Increasing positive interactions with citizens can alleviate stress.