The Police Culture and Work Stress

3 page Summary/Critique on The Police Culture and Work Stress in APA format

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The Police Culture and Work Stress

Throughout the world, each organization has a unique culture that dictates how individuals perform their duties within the workplace. An important aspect is the existence of different cultures depending on the organization’s structure. Particularly, police organizations have various cultural layers based on individual ranks within the force. Similar to organizations, the police culture changes with emerging generations and technology. Despite having different cultures, the police occupation is a strenuous job. This paper provides a summary and critique of the police culture and work-related stress.

Police Culture and Work Stress

Firstly, a community’s culture plays a major role in shaping police response. According to Antony, (2018), every police unit department holds a different cultural worldview. In this sense, police culture dictates the relationship between officers and the community, as it contributes to the decision-making process. To highlight the difference between different police unit cultures, it is essential to consider the experiences of police officers through the cultural perspective. For instance, military officers have different cultures from the police departments. As many retired military officers seek out occupation within police departments, they integrate their former behaviors into the unit. A police officer’s occupation is concerned with saving lives and securing the property. However, soldiers in battle have a different mission is characterized with aggression, as they focus on eliminating the enemy and destroying property. As s result, retraining is deemed critical to transition such officers into the police job.

Police culture determines the relationship between officers and the community, as it dictates communication between the two parties. With the rapid rise in migration rates, countries such as the United States experience changes in culture, as immigrants introduce different cultures. As such, the changing situation compels police units to alter their previous perspectives and adopt new ways of conducting their duties. Credible studies have found a connection between police culture and their interaction with the community (Antony, 2018). Moreover, individual and even organization culture is cultivated over specific periods of time, training members to behave in a certain manner. Thus, social learning is a critical factor in assessing police conduct and why officers opt for certain decisions. However, constructing an organization’s culture begins with an individual worldview, followed by modification of beliefs to adapt to the current environment.

The idea to create a police culture is based on the belief that constructive behavior improves respect, trust, and legitimacy within the force. Nowadays, the police force is characterized by the use of dashboard cameras, computerized record systems, and drones (Antony, 2018). The rapid technological change has brought a new dimension within the police department. Among the major benefits of this transformation are increased efficiency and accountability among police officers. The new technology has revolutionized the way police handle different scenarios while interacting with the citizens.

Fundamentally, policing outcomes depend on race, age, gender, criminal history, and social class of the citizens. The technological and social changes significantly contribute to work-related stress among police officers. First, stress is defined as an emotional response due to a lack of capabilities or resources to execute a specific position. In this case, the police working environment demands resilience and effective coping strategies to prevent stress. Contrary to traditional policing, the current structure demands changes within the police force to conform to the conditions of modern society. The inability to adhere to the current requirements, combined with a lack of understanding results in confusion, causing stress among employees. Besides, police officers are exposed to extreme conditions, often with bad lighting, constant noise, and unventilated rooms. In addition, officers face different scenarios ranging from the use of force, exposure to crime, encounters with dead people, and distressful situations.

A study in the International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health found an individual’s age, job experience, and gender as significant in determining their ability to cope with police work stress. Based on the research, women and older police officers are more susceptible to emotional exhaustion than young officers (Queirós et al. 2020). Presently, police officers operate in a multicultural society, characterized by people from different ethnicities and cultures. More current police culture is therefore needed to address issues of equality, discrimination, race, ethnicity, culture, and beliefs. Luknar & Subosic (2018) suggest that counseling, exercise, and talking with a colleague can help police officers develop effective coping mechanisms. Therefore, it is imperative for police organizations to build police cultures that empower their employees to approach everyday stress in a productive way. During training and recruitment, police departments should focus on shaping individual personalities to align with the goals and objectives of the police organization.

Conclusion

In summary, the paper has offered a comprehensive analysis of police culture and work-related stress. Police culture is an essential element in the police unit, as it shapes the way officers interact with citizens. Technological advance has led to the development of new work environments that demand behavioral transformation. In addition, immigration has created multicultural communities, requiring officers to address racial and ethnic issues, while performing their duties. The inability to transition to new cultures is a source of stress for many police officers. The paper also highlights extreme working conditions as characterized by exposure to crime and deaths. Given the nature of the occupation, officers are expected to develop coping strategies such as exercise, talking to their colleagues, and undergoing counseling. Overall, police culture determines officers’ ability to adapt to changing environments, hence dictating their ability to manage work-related stress.

References

Anthony, L. D. (2018). Police culture and decision-making.

Luknar, I. & Subosic, D. (2018). POLICE SUBCULTURE AND POTENTIAL STRESS RISKS. file:///E:/Latest/Downloads/Policesubcultureandpotentialstressrisks.pdf

Queirós, C., Passos, F., Bártolo, A., Faria, S., Fonseca, S. M., Marques, A. J., … & Pereira, A. (2020). Job stress, burnout and coping in police officers: relationships and psychometric properties of the organizational police stress questionnaire. International journal of environmental research and public health, 17(18), 6718.