Factors Reducing Occupational Stress in Police Officers: Senior Officers' View
| Published date | 01 October 1982 |
| Date | 01 October 1982 |
| DOI | http://doi.org/10.1177/0032258X8205500410 |
| Subject Matter | Article |
DR.
GISLI H.
GUDJONSSON,
Lecturer in Psychology,
Institute
of
Psychiatry, University
of
London.
K. R. C.
ADLAM,
Senior Lecturer in Social Psychology,
Police
Staff
College, Bramshill.
FACTORS
REDUCING
OCCUPATIONAL
STRESS IN
POLICE OFFICERS:
SENIOR
OFFICER.S'VIEW
Occupational stress in police officers has become an area of growing
concern, particularly in the United States where systematic
research into various aspects of police stress is rapidly developing
(Niederhoffer and Niederhoffer, 1978; Davidson and Veno, 1980;
Clinton Terry, 1981). In their review, "Stress and the Policeman"
Davidson and Veno (1980) document the multifactorial aspects of
stress in American, Australian and British police officers. Their
paper suggests that police work is one of the most stressful
occupations, with stressors emerging from a large range of sources.
Some of the stressors associated with police work are: relatively high
risk of physical danger, having to deal with bloody car accidents,
being challenged in court, riot control duties, having to deliver
messages
about
death and serious injury to victims' relatives and
having to take charge and perform well in unpredictable and
demanding circumstances.
Some differences may, however, exist between different ranks, as
had indeed recently been shown by Robinson (1981) in his study of
British police managers; by and large, stress seemed, to originate
from the consequences of an autocratic management system, work
overload, lack of personal recognition, problematic police/public
relations and bureaucratic obstacles seen to inhibit the policefunction.
Therefore, stress was perceived aslargely originatingfrom within the
police service itself.
This paper investigates the type of factors that might reduce
occupational stress experienced by police officers. A 16 item scale
was constructed to cover a range of areas, that might be of potential
value in reducing police stress. The items were selected on the basis of
suggestions derived from papers quoted earlier and by a discussion
with a group of police officers attending acommand course at The
Police Staff College, Bramshill. Since major stressors appear to
October 1982 365
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