| NCJ Number: |
196238  |
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| Title: |
Physical Evidence of Police Officer Stress |
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| Journal: |
Policing: An International Journal of Police Strategies & Management Volume:25 Issue:2 Dated:2002 Pages:399-420 |
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| Author(s): |
Gregory S. Anderson; Robin Litzenberger; Darryl Plecas |
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| Date Published: |
2002 |
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| Annotation: |
This study identified common stressors and the magnitude of
stress reactivity in police officers during the course of general duty police work in Canada.
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| Abstract: |
Using heart rate as a primary indicator of autonomic nervous
system activation, coupled with observed physical-activity data
collected through 76 full shift ride-alongs, this study
differentiated between physical and psycho-social stress. These
data were collected as part of an earlier study of the physical
requirements of police work conducted in 1998 and 1999. That
study involved a systematic random sample of 297 general duty
police officers drawn from all 12 municipal departments in
British Columbia. The officers were surveyed through two separate
questionnaires about the physical aspects of their job and about
the most demanding critical incident of their prior 12 months at
work. A total of 287 officers responded to the survey. One
component of the study involved asking every other officer
surveyed to participate in a researcher ride-along exercise. The
exercise required a research assistant to observe and record all
activities performed by the officers. The study found the highest
physical stress to occur during pushing and pulling and fighting
sequences, when the largest proportion of the musculature was
active; however, police officers responding to critical incidents
also manifested marked psycho-social stress and stress
reactivity, being most notable during the interaction with a
suspect both during the critical incident, and then during each
subsequent interaction with suspects for the remainder of the
shift. The mean above-resting heart rate of those involved in a
critical incident remained elevated for the remainder of the
shift for all tasks, including a significantly elevated heart
rate during report writing in the last hour of the shift. These
results show that police officers experience both physical and
psycho-social stress on the job. The results also suggest that
officers anticipate stress as they conduct their work,
experiencing anticipatory stress at the start of each shift.
Suggestions are offered for future research. 8 tables and 59
references
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| Main Term(s): |
Police occupational stress |
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| Index Term(s): |
Canada; Foreign police; Police physical fitness testing |
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| Sponsoring Agency: |
British Columbia Dept of the Attorney-General
Victoria, BC, Canada |
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| Publisher: |
http://www.emeraldinsight.com/1363-951X.htm |
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| Page Count: |
22 |
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| Format: |
Article |
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| Type: |
Report (Study/Research) |
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| Language: |
English |
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| Country: |
United States of America |
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To cite this abstract, use the following link:
http://www.ncjrs.gov/App/publications/abstract.aspx?ID=196238 |
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