U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government, Department of Justice.

NCJRS Virtual Library

The Virtual Library houses over 235,000 criminal justice resources, including all known OJP works.
Click here to search the NCJRS Virtual Library

Reasonable and Unreasonable Fear in Police Encounters

NCJ Number
127976
Author(s)
R M McCarthy
Date Published
1989
Length
6 pages
Annotation
This training pamphlet identifies unreasonable police fears that may undermine effective and safe job performance and suggests ways to control unreasonable fear.
Abstract
Reasonable fear stems from a truly dangerous circumstance, and it is a necessary ingredient for survival and defensive measures. Unreasonable fears cause perceptions of danger that may not exist and can lead to tragic overreactions or failure to act when a response is required. Types of unreasonable fear are racial fear, cultural fear, fear of physical harm, fear of doing harm, positional fear, psychological fear, and fear of peer disapproval. Fear of interactions with persons of races and cultures different from one's own can produce unwarranted aggression or withdrawal from such persons. An overabundance of fear of physical harm can lead to the carrying of unauthorized equipment, overreaction, and a reluctance to answer calls that are potentially dangerous. Positional fear involves the fear of decisionmaking associated with management positions. Ways of controlling unreasonable fear include holding open discussions about unreasonable fear among officers, the development of techniques for officer self-assessment, supervisory guidance in recognizing and dealing with unreasonable fear, and appropriate officer selection and training. Test questions and answers on the material are provided.

Downloads

No download available

Availability