Category: Police Officer

Racial profiling is a big issue its basically any police- initiated action that is only taken to place because of your ethnicity, race, gender, or religion rather than the action being required because of the behavior or someone or information that leads the police to engage in an arrest or any other stop (Schmalleger, 2017, p.196). In my opinion racial profiling is not a police problem only but a worldwide problem. I believe racial profiling happens everywhere such as the airport, school, grocery store, workplace, etc. Also, I believe racial profile happens because of someone hating something about a person or believing something about them that is not through. Racial profiling has become a big issue in policing today because I believe it is shown on social media how these cops are acting like and its showing what the police are doing is incorrect in these situations. Media is trying to make more awareness that racial profiling still happens and that it happens a lot. Due to the acts of some cops racially profiling the reputation of a police officer in the united states is decreasing. Lastly I believe that not all cops do racial profiling but, there are some that do and that I think it’s not right to pull up the race card when you are getting arrested or detained by an officer and then recording it and stating that the officer has pulled you because of your race, ethnicity, gender, or religion when this might not be true at all, you are degrading an officers reputation and the whole departments name.

Police officers are only allowed to use force in some situations. Situations where the person being detained is hitting the officer or threatening the officer the officer has the right to protect himself by pulling his gun out, holding or restraining the person, baton, pepper spray, etc (Schmalleger, 2017, p.199). Also, if the suspect is resisting arrest or is under the influence of marijuana or alcohol the officer has the full right to use force (Schmalleger, 2017, p.199). I believe that there have been various amounts of situations where police have used excessive amounts of force. From 1986-1990 it was reported that there were about 1800 LAPD officers who used (Schmalleger, 2017, p.199). The amount of excessive force used by a police officer has probably increased by now. I believe some officers thinking that they have authority over everyone use their “power” they have in bad ways when their duty is to serve the people. There have been bunch of situations where an officer has used excessive amounts of force, situations where an officer has shot a person for no reason, where an officer has beaten someone for no reason, where an officer has tased someone for no reason, etc. These acts of violence need to be stopped, if higher authority takes action on these events there can be a change. By giving an officer a small punishment such as an admistration leave there will be no change because the person will think there’s no punishment for the crime he has committed.

The dangers of a police officer are very high when he is on duty because he can get killed at any time. Also, an officer can get infected by a disease while aiding a victim, the affect of fatigue, stress, and shock the police officers receive (Schmalleger, 2017, p.181). The amount of police life’s lost because of gun fires, heart attacks, automobile accidents, vehicular assault, fires, drowned, stuck by vehicle, vehicle pursuit, motorcycle accident, assault, duty related illness, etc has been outrageous high (Schmalleger, 2017, p.179). The way we can reduce some dangers are by making laws more harsher, making sure officers are trained to protect themselves properly from any danger, making sure they have first aid kits so they don’t receive any diseases, making sure officers get backup when they need it, maybe by having two officers in each car for extra support, making sure officers receive therapy, and etc. I believe by giving officers these benefits and types of help we can reduce the amount of police life’s lost.

References

1. Schmalleger, F. (n.d.). Chapter 3/General categories of crime. Criminal Justice: A brief introduction (p.67).
2. Schmalleger, F. (2017). Criminal justice (12th ed.). Boston: Pearson.

Stress plays a part in the lives of everyone. That’s the way our body reacts to any changes that require an adjustment to a response. Police Officers are in a position of authority and making split second life or death decisions on a regular basic making the stress level be at the higher percentage than other jobs. The stress relate to that can have a major negative impact on their lives. According to the Cross study performed to Police Officers theirs four categories that fall under stress level. One of the biggest problems for officers is that stress can go unrecognized and don’t take the time to seek treatment.

Stress is a silent disease that can be harmful to us and people that surround us. Police officers face many different types of stress that are work related. According to the National Institute of Justice the following are work related and individual factors that are likely to cause stress and fatigue in law enforcement officers. The theoretical models used in the research have been The Demand Control Social Support model (Karasek and Theorell, 1990) and the Effort Rewards Imbalance model (Siegrist, 1998).These models state workers experience stress and excessive work demands with little to no control over them and the imbalance between the effort invested in their job and the rewards obtained in return. This component is called psychosocial risk factor and its contributions are poor management in the department leading to many officers having to do excessive overtime, work overload or excessive work demands frequent rotating shifts, regular changes in duties, broken equipment and constant rotation of partners or working alone. According to Velasco “Women police officers are probably under more stress than male officers”. Female officers may experience even higher levels of stress due to lack of social support, negative attitudes of male officers, overcoming perceived barriers that they aren’t “equipped” or fit to do the job and sexual harassment on the job and have more responsibilities to worry about at home.

These are some of the work-related issues that can put the officer under stress and continues exposure to which it can cause chronic stress or burnout. The burnout effect refers to a chronic stress and one of the big contributors to police burnout is vicarious trauma according to the “Experiencing Burnout” article. Vicarious trauma is also known as second hand trauma and it comes from witnessing traumatic events and interacting with the people who have faced severe trauma. Just like any other job untreated stress can lead to serious consequences mentally, emotionally and physically. Police officers have a high risk of cardiovascular disease, high blood pressure, ulcers, digestive disorders weight gain and severe headaches. These can affect the individual officer and those whom the officer has daily contact including family and friends. Stress contributes not only a physical disorder but also emotional problems.

Post-traumatic stress Disorder is a disorder in which a person has difficulty recovering after experiencing or witnessing a terrifying event. This can lead to flashbacks, nightmares depression, excessive drinking, insomnia, anxiety and guilt. According to the crime report research study about 17%of policemen experience symptoms of PSTD compared to the general population. One of the officers said “When I became a cop in 1985, we were told nothing should bother you, just keep moving” and that’s how many officers deal with PTSD because their told to toughen up and grab a drink after work. Another contribution to PTSD it leads to obesity respiratory problems and many more health issues. Last is the substance use disorder and going back to the officer that was told to toughen up and grab a drink this can become an alcohol and drug abused to cope with the PSTD. Mentally drained can be a serious problem and according to the Reducing and Preventing it article police officers reported that cynicism and suspiciousness can also contribute to the high levels of stress. Officers having to deal with many of these issues for a long period of time can lead to the lazy syndrome effect on that officer or early retirement. (Talavera-Velasco).

The stress that was built has a negative effect even when the officers are off duty. They have an emotional detachment from various aspects of daily life because it becomes difficult to deal with any more stress involving extra activities. The percentage of marital problems for example divorce, extramarital affairs and domestic violence is higher for police officers. Being marry to a police officer has its pros and good cons and their partner also develop a stress disorder from fear of having to think about death or a serious injury as part of their partner job.

Suicide has been an issue that’s build from chronic stress the most recent data suggest that the rates of police suicide have sharply increased during the past few decades. Data showed that 23% of male and 25% of female officers reported more suicidal thoughts than the general population (13.5 percent) In a previous study, suicide rates were three times higher in police than in other municipal workers. (Velasco) But what can be the cause for an officer to even think about committing suicide. According to this article trauma can cause a feeling of lack of control, vulnerability and not being able to cope with future occurrences and these are risk factors for suicide.

So, what can we do to reduce stress as an officer and how to approach this unacknowledged disease? UB research is carrying one of the first large scale investigation on how stress of police work affects an officer’s physical and mental health, funded $1.75 million grant from the National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH). The NIOSH added $750,000 to the study to measure police officer fatigue and the impact of shift work on health and performance. (Velasco) In the meantime, here are some ways to deal with stress seek for help from programs or a therapist in your department and conduct programs in effort to support others with the same problem. When there is evidence of excessive stress officers are ordered to undergo a psychological fitness for duty evaluation (FFDE), it determines one’s capacity to perform the functions required of a police officer.

A few police officers deal with the work stress by hardiness which is a strategy that motivates the person to preserve stressful working circumstances as opportunities of development growth. These officers have a commitment to a hobby outside of work and focus on that specific activity which can control that specific activity and that stimuli to their own benefit which can reduce stress. Other suggestions are taking your day off serious and do as little “policing” as possible. Enjoy the time with family and friends and make a point to not talk about work on your downtime. Start planning meals and making healthier choices as an Officer I’m sure fast food gets old and eating something you cook can make a difference in your mood and your health. Start scheduling vacations and personal downtime the overtime money can look lovely but too much investment into working long over can be stressful. Seeing your doctor regularly for checkups can prevent many unwanted health issues. Living within your financial means so that moonlighting with a second job is not necessary. While at work create a patrol buddy program or just incorporate another officer and make time to check on each other even have a lunch date if possible.

Not all stress can be bad its being shown that it can help officers get out of dangerous situations and motivate individuals. We need stress to get some work done at time and it can be a good motivation to helps us strength our minds and cope with many unpredictable situations in our lives. If you are experiencing negative stress in your life there are ways in which you can manage it effectively. These are a few suggestions but not everyone is the same or not every situation can be forgotten so easily but the key is to keep moving forward and remain positive as often as you can. Make time for things that are important to you and set realist goals. Set a plan to ensure that there is balance in your life. Ensure you get as much sleep as you can. Meditation can also help with reducing stress. The smallest changes can make a difference in your life and it doesn’t take a lot of effort. One of my favorites is when you set a goal stick to it and avoid procrastinating because when we fail to meet that goal, we tend to be hard on ourselves.

In conclusion there is no question that police officers experience unique stressor that can result in physical and psychological symptoms. The belief that being a Police officer is the most stressful job is not very accurate those in other public safety occupations also experience high levels of stress. Many research studies are investing time and money to search for way to help officers improve their abilities to cope. Many departments are more aware of the post-traumatic stress disorder and are not taking this lightly as a matter of fact these department provide assistance for their officers. Theirs many LEO supporters who invest their time to help officers on social media which is a very efficient method since everything is online now. Stress can be a dangerous mental illness when not treated and unfortunately officers do committee suicide. My suggestion is making time to balance your life and take your mental health serious, start planning you schedule according to the stress-free lifestyle you wish to have. Family and friends support is another key to a happier stress free life.

What is racial profiling? Why is it involved? Why does it typically occur with police officers? Why it must end? “Racial profiling” has become a big issue for many years in the united states, and still occurs today. In fact, it refers to the discriminatory practice by law enforcement officials of targeting individuals for suspicion of crime based on the individual’s race, ethnicity, religion, or national origin. In other words, it observes or assumed characteristics of suspicious behavior. Usually, when a police officer or officers in such are involved, they typically stop or do searches based upon someone’s will of race appearance and ethnicity. However, threatening the police by using characteristics may reduce the effectiveness of policing. In other words, they say those who engage in certain criminal activities often tend to share their characteristics of ethnic backgrounds.

In some states racial prohibited, they may be file as a complaint and investigated by employee supervisor. In fact, if an incident occurred from racial profiling, the complaints must be reported within 60 days, and it also goes for witnesses as well.

The effectiveness of racial profiling on human rights typically involves the fourth amendment upon every citizen’s protection against unreasonable searches as well as unjustifiable seizure. Generally, the amendment made it a must that all citizens must face a fair trial in accordance with the law without considering their racial backgrounds. Unfortunately, some states avoid going by the fourth amendment for the protection of citizens, they rather base their argument on variance demographic factors to higher crime rates in certain communities made up of larger percentages and minority populations. I say that racial profiling should be handled a better way, I honestly think it shouldn’t matter the color of skin or nationality of people is. I also believe that police officers nor society should not be able to be assumed that some aren’t the same color should determine if their wrongdoing.

An example of an article I found in the New York times, about two black men that walked into Starbucks in sat down to wait on a friend, officials said they asked to use the restrooms, but they had not bought anything. An employee refused the appeal, agedly assumed the men looked suspicious. The staff then reportedly called the police because Starbucks does “not allow nonpaying people from the public to come to use the restroom”. when the police officers got to the scene, he then arrested the two men for trespassing star bucks in Philadelphia, the two men were just two innocent people that were being assumed. I believe that two men were being accused by the color of their skin, and the employees automatically thought that they were criminals. In other words, if they weren’t doing anything to hurt anyone why were they arrested. After they’ve got arrested the video of someone recording the situation, had been surfing all around the Internet and so that caught everyone’s attention and the corporate of Starbucks. The Starbucks company decided that they wanted to apologize to the two men, which was from the CEO, and told them that this situation will never happen again some of the stores had been closed because of boycott situations which were racial profiling from the employees of Starbucks and from the police officers which believe that the two men were as soon of performing wrongdoing situations.

My point of view from the situation that occurred, The employees were very wrong for calling the police officer assuming that they were bad people because of the color of their skin, I agree that the two men were right that they stayed inside the building because they did nothing wrong but just waiting on a friend Because Starbucks is a public restaurant. After reading this article, I felt very devastated and thought that this situation was very disgraceful because no one shouldn’t be treated based upon the color of their skin nor nationality, or ethnicity. In the employee’s dot, they were right with calling the police because they assume did the two men were minding their business Furthermore if Starbucks wasn’t a public place I feel as though they should have signs for certain people to enter that restaurant or why should they have lounging areas for people meet and discuss things amongst each other. If I were involved in the same situation with two men we’re in, I believe I would have done the same thing they did and continue to fight every right as to why Starbucks employees felt the need to kick people of color out, being that it was public restaurant/ lounging place. However, it doesn’t matter what race or that you are anybody is welcome into any public restaurant or should want to feel like they’re welcome. Racial profiling should not be able to decide public places to lounge, to walk, to communicate with another race or ethnicity. I believe everyone should come together as one unit because everyone deserves to be treated nicely not based upon color or assumed actions. When police officers are typically involved, they tend to force people against their color, which could also lead to death. In other words, people of color are the ones who are usually killed by police officers at a discorporate rate. My point of view is that I think it’s very wrong all people tend to make mistakes daily, honestly, it doesn’t matter the color all people of color aren’t criminals. The biggest problem is that law enforcement does not address profiling issues, they just feel like it’s the right to do instead of solving the issues. However, when they tend to ignore those issues local policies design their own plans of how they perform their display actions towards citizens. another problem with their guidelines is that they accept many activities in which they avoid homeland security and they expect to abide by rules. Typically, the rules don’t make their guidelines, ethnic minorities skepticism the government.