1. Explain the major causes of stress for law enforcement personnel.
2. Describe the health risks associated with stress experienced by law enforcement personnel.
3. With officers working double shifts, rotating shifts, and sometimes 10 or 12 hour shifts, it can cause stress and fatigue. What steps would you take to ensure officers get enough rest between shifts?
There are many causes of police stress as outlined in the readings and lessons this week such as being exposed to traumatic events, rotating shifts, long hours, public scrutiny, pay, personal issues, and many others that you can discuss in detail. There are many health risks when someone has stress such as drug or alcohol abuse, heart disease, high blood pressure, lack of sleep, obesity, and suicide. In dealing with rotating and long shifts, departments should be aware of the risks and inform officers of the potential risks to mitigate them, offer EAP programs, ensure officers get enough time off, and supervisors should monitor employees’ performance for any shifts in behaviors or production.