Critical Stress: Police Officer Religiosity and Coping with Critical Stress Incidents

As a result of exposure to critical stress inducing incidents, police officers experience high rates of family disruption, alcohol abuse, domestic violence, and physical and psychological problems. This paper evaluates the ability of religion to mitigate the harmful consequences of critical stress using data obtained from a survey of metropolitan police officers (n?=?811). Contrary to our expectations, we found less religious officer used more adaptive coping strategies when confronted by critical stress incidents than their more religious counterparts. Furthermore, we found Protestants employed more adaptive strategies than Catholics. Potential explanations for the unexpected findings are discussed.     

Polish Police Officers: Personality and Risk Taking

The present study was aimed at identifying the personality factors of Polish Officers preparing for the peace mission in Kosovo using Zuckerman`s Alternative Five Factor Model. The sample consisted of 86 policemen (Mage = 32.9 yr., SD = 4.5) and 58 low risk workers (Mage = 29.4 yr., SD = 5.3). It was found that policemen scored significantly higher on Impulsive Sensation Seeking in comparison to the control group. The policemen scores on other personality traits were more akin to those of the control group.     

Effects of Mental Strength Training for Police Officers: a Three-Wave Quasi-experimental Study

Police officers are frequently confronted with various stressors that may affect their mental health. Psychological resilience may protect against these effects. For this purpose, a Mental Strength Training (MST) was developed by the Dutch Police Academy aimed at psychological resilience enhancement. The present three-wave study examined efficacy of this training using a quasi-experimental study design among police officers (N ^Total ?=?305, n ^Experimenal ?=?138, n ^Comparison ?=?167). Additionally, we compared between officers in the experimental and comparison group recently confronted with a potentially traumatic event (N ^Total ?=?170, n ^Experimenal ?=?74, n ^Comparison ?=?96). Questionnaires on resilience (Mental Toughness Questionnaire-48 (MTQ-48) and Resilience Scale-nl (RS-nl)), mental health disturbances (Symptoms CheckList 90-R (SCL-90-R) and Self-Rating Inventory for PTSD (SRIP)), were administered pre-training, and about 3 and 9 months post-training. Mixed-effects models showed training effects on Interpersonal Confidence. Similar analyses among officers with recent potentially traumatic event experience showed significant training effects for the RS-nl subscale of Acceptance of Self and Life, MTQ-48 total score, and the MTQ-48 subscale of Interpersonal Confidence. However, all effects yielded small effect sizes according to Cohen’s d, and are therefore of limited practical relevance. Officer’s appraisal of training benefits on resilience enhancement was largely negative. We found no indications that 4-day training substantially improved officer’s psychological resilience or mental health.     

Women Police Officers and the Use of Coercion

Abstract

Despite numerous advances in the last thirty years, women police officers continue to face acceptance issues in a male-dominated occupation. Qualitative accounts of policewomen have noted that many of the integration barriers stem from traditional assumptions about police work, much of which revolves around the cultural mandate to display one's coercive authority over citizens. Female officers are often perceived as unwilling (or lacking in ability) to use coercion when encountering citizens. Unfortunately, little empirical evidence is available to support this claim, as gender studies that specifically examine the use of coercion have tended to focus on excessive force. Using data collected as part of a systematic social observation study in Indianapolis, Indiana, and St. Petersburg, Florida, this research examines both verbal and physical coercion that policewomen use in day-to-day encounters with citizens. The results of this study challenge one of the most fundamental stereotypes levied against women police officers. Contrary to traditional assumptions, female police officers (compared to their male counterparts) are not reluctant to use coercive force, and examinations of both verbal and physical force reveal few differences in not only the prevalence of each behavior, but also in the commonly associated explanatory factors. The article concludes with the implications of these     

Responses of Police Officers to Cases of Officer Domestic Violence: Effects of Demographic and Professional Factors

Although the perpetration of domestic violence by police officers has received more attention lately, little research has examined the topic. This study investigated common responses of police officers (n = 1108) to officer-perpetrated domestic violence case scenarios and the relationships between officer characteristics and such responses. Common responses included encouraging the victim to file a formal report, assisting in finding help for domestic abuse, and referring the offending officer to an employee assistance program (EAP) or counselor. Arrest was a likely response when officers were asked to imagine they witnessed a victim’s injuries and heard statements about an assault in a case scenario. Supervisors had the most victim-supportive responses, suggesting they may be very good trainers of front-line officers.     

Body-Worn Cameras and Citizen Interactions with Police Officers: Estimating Plausible Effects Given Varying Compliance Levels

Recent citizen deaths involving police use of force have increased discussion surrounding police accountability and community relations. One piece of this discussion is the use of body worn cameras (BWCs) by officers. Unfortunately, little rigorous research has been conducted to estimate the effectiveness of BWCs in reducing problematic police-citizen interactions. In this paper, we estimate two measures of effectiveness of BWCs by comparing incidents that occur in a squad assigned cameras to incidents that occur in a squad assigned control. First, we estimate the effect of being assigned a BWC (but not necessarily using the camera) on reducing complaints and resistance associated with incidents. Second, we employ data on BWC use to estimate the effect of cameras if they were used with full compliance. Together, these two estimates provide a plausible range of effectiveness that policymakers can expect from BWCs. We find that BWCs have no effect on the rate of arrest or resistance, but can substantially reduce complaints.     

Do Work-Family Conflict and Resiliency Mediate Police Stress and Burnout: a Study of State Police Officers

Occupational stress and burnout have long been recognized as common hazards among police officers. The present study examines whether demographic characteristics and assignment affect police officers’ work-family conflict (WFC), resiliency, stress and burnout, and whether WFC and resiliency mediate the stress and burnout of police officers. The data were collected from a Mid-Atlantic state police agency in the United States of America through a web-based survey. Regression results revealed that minority officers tended to have lower levels of WFC and burnout and better educated officers reported lower degrees of WFC and stress. WFC was positively related to stress and burnout, while resilience was inversely linked to stress and burnout. The effects of race and education disappeared when WFC and resiliency entered the regression, suggesting that their impact was largely mediated by WFC and resiliency. Lastly, stress was found to be positively associated with burnout. Implications for research and policy are discussed.     

Effects of the NICHD Protocol Training on Child Investigative Interview Quality in Korean Police Officers

This study was conducted to determine, by comparing pre- and post-training interview of 18 Korean police officers, whether training in use of the NICHD Protocol improved the quality of investigative interviews of allegedly abused child victims. Results showed that Korean police officers more often followed the Protocol structure -they introduced themselves, explained the ground rules, and conducted episodic memory training-after they had been trained. Moreover, police officers used approximately three times as many desirable prompts (such as invitations and facilitators) and fewer suggestive prompts in interviews conducted after as opposed to before the training. Invitations elicited approximately four to seven times more details on average than the least productive prompts. These results confirmed that the NICHD Protocol is effective when used to interview alleged child abuse victims in East Asia.     

Minority Status and Spirituality among Police Officers: Blacks and Women in a Metropolitan Department

This paper addresses two questions: (1) What are the sources of spirituality among police officers? (2) Can spirituality alleviate police stress? These issues are examined in a secondary analysis of the dataset Police Stress and Domestic Violence in Police Families in Baltimore, Maryland, 1997–1999. The study extends research on law enforcement spirituality to include the structural sources of spirituality. Minority status easily emerges as a source of spirituality with the highest levels present among African Americans and females. Contrary to previous research that has found either non-existent or positive relationships between spirituality and work-related stress among law enforcement, this study finds that spirituality is weakly associated with lower levels of burnout after controlling for demographic factors. However, the weak relationship between spirituality and perceived stress disappears when controlling for burnout and demographic factors, thus undermining the ability to make any overarching claims about the influence of spirituality that can cover all kinds of police stress.     

The Challenges of Moving into Middle Management: Responses from Police Officers

The role of the middle manager is crucial to a police organization. Despite this, little research exists concerning the characteristics of effective police managers, or the role that the promotional process and/or training plays in identifying and developing effective managers. To examine these issues, 328 Canadian police officers were surveyed and interviews were conducted with an additional 50 police professionals. The results highlight: (1) the importance of management in achieving organizational goals, (2) key characteristics of effective managers and common mistakes managers make, and (3) concerns surrounding the promotional process and the lack of managerial training. The implications of these findings are discussed.     

对江苏监狱人民警察精神的四维解读

江苏省监狱管理局经过一年多的征集、讨论、论证和专家评点,“崇法崇德,致正致新”作为江苏监狱人民警察精神,已经由局党委审定发布。     

Police Involvement in Incidents of Physical Assault: Analysis of the Redesigned National Crime Victimization Survey

Police involvement in incidents of physical assaults against women has been the subject of considerable research. There is still some debate, however, about the relationship between the social structure of the incident and the level of involvement of the criminal justice system. Using the Redesigned National Crime Victimization Survey (NCVS; U.S. Department of Justice, 1997), this paper looks at several different dimensions of the criminal justice system's involvement in physical assaults against women including calling the police, police response, and arrest. Results suggest that police were more likely to become involved in first time incidents of physical assaults against women and incidents that involved injury. Differences between models, however, suggested that the involvement of the criminal justice system is a multidimensional process.     

浅析涉警案件网民“群体极化”现象及公安机关的对策

随着互联网的飞速发展,当前涉警案件的发生在网络上容易引起网民"群体极化"现象。如不及时对其正确引导,极易导致网络舆论混乱,这将对公安机关树立良好形象与建立和谐警民关系产生难以预料的负面影响,对此公安机关应引起足够重视。涉警案件容易发生"群体极化"现象与公安机关自身和网民群体两方面因素有关。要减少网民"群体极化"现象,公安机关应及时发布权威信息,进一步加强和谐警民关系建设,进一步加强舆论监管,进一步加强对网民理性思考的引导。     

The Law of Police Entrapment: Critical Evaluation and Policy Analysis

This article provides a critical analysis of the law of police entrapment and proposes a new foundation for this law. The article shows that the ‘shift of scene’ assumption underlies existing and proposed legal tests for the legitimacy of entrapment. According to this assumption, in some identifiable cases the defendant would have committed a similar offence at a different time and location absent police entrapment. In these cases, entrapment is morally and economically insignificant and hence legitimate. Using probabilistic analysis, the article advances the argument that the ‘shift of scene’ assumption is misguided. Entrapment actually changes (usually raises) the probability of commission, and hence also the defendant’s punishment expectancy, in almost all cases. This increase is hard to justify on grounds of justice or on economic grounds. The article then proposes a different basis for the analysis of entrapment, building on the idea of reallocation of burdens: where the defendant creates particularly heavy burdens that go beyond the offence’s harm expectancy, it is justified to increase his punishment expectancy through entrapment. Furthermore, entrapment should be conceptualized as a mitigating factor, thus allowing the courts to ‘correct’ exaggerated or undue increases in the defendant’s punishment expectancy.     

监狱警察心理健康问题的思考与对策

在许多人心目中，监狱警察长年累月与形形色色的罪犯打交道，个个都是硬汉。其实，监狱警察也是普通人，只不过职业特殊。情感困扰、人际关系迷茫，监狱警察也会遇到；一般人想象不到的紧张焦虑，监狱警察也要面对。保障监狱警察心理健康，已经成为监狱人民警察队伍建设的一个焦点。关注和维护监狱警察的心理健康，不仅是提高监狱警察心理素质的重要环节，也是推进监狱人民警察队伍建设，促进监狱工作又好又快发展的重大举措。本文拟对有关问题进行探讨。     

关于我国高层次司法警官培养模式的思考

研究高层次司法警官培养模式的现实基础是:新时期的监狱劳教工作改革及其人才需求:司法警官的职业特点及职业要求;我国高层次司法警官培养模式的现状分析;国外监狱管理人员教育培训制度的特点及借鉴。我国司法警官的宏观培养模式主要包括:司法警官职业与司法警官教育相协调、相结合;司法警官职业资格制度与司法警官职业素养教育制度、职业技能培训制度相配套、相统一;人文教育与专业教育相结合;学科教育与职业教育相结合;学历教育与非学历教育相统一;职前教育与职后教育相统一。高层次司法警官的微观培养模式包括:培养目标、培养规格和培养要求;培养过程和主要环节;课程体系和结构。司法警官培养模式的实现是一个系统工程,需要在宏观和微观上进行一系列改革。建议构建合理的司法警官宏观培养模式;建议司法警官院校不断优化对司法警官的培养过程和环节;建议司法警官院校构建符合监狱劳教和司法警官专业化、职业化要求的课程体系;建议司法警官院校建设具有职业化教育特点的双元结构的教师队伍。     

Differences in Perceptions of Organizational Fairness Based on Job Characteristics among Police Officers

Profuse research supports that organizational work environments are linked to varying police officers’ work-related attitudes and behaviors. Yet, there remains a lack of information pertaining to how perceptions of organizational fairness may differ among police officers based on job characteristics. To help fill this void, this exploratory research examines differences in fairness perceptions based on officers’ tenure, rank, duty assignment, and department size with their perceptions of organizational fairness. To examine this relationship, an online survey of police officers (n = 1649) in a southern state in the United States that were members of a police officer association was conducted. Findings support that differences in overall fairness perceptions exist for all the aforementioned job characteristics. This study furthers our knowledge and understanding of how job characteristics (e.g., tenure, rank, duty assignment, and department size) may be associated with police officers’ work-related attitudes.     

劳教人民警察队伍专业化建设的思考

司法部《2003—2005年监狱劳教人民警察队伍建设纲要》指出,“监狱劳教人民警察专业化是指具备良好的法治意识、教育意识、改造意识,具备较高的教育人、改造人、挽救人的专业素质、职业道德和专业技能,成为胜任监狱劳教工作的专业人才。”随着新时期劳教职能分化、基本职能强化     

当前监狱民警的“执法困境”与对策

当前监狱工作中,“执法难”、“难执法”,是基层民警普遍感到困扰的一个问题。“执法难”是指监狱民警严格公正执法遇到的阻力和难度增加,是执法环境多元化、执法对象复杂化以及执法个体能力发展滞后的一种综合表现。究其原因是多方面的。近年来,随着市场经济的发展和社会治安形势的变化,监狱工作出现了许多新情况、新问题,在监狱押犯构成中,有组织犯罪和带黑社会性质的团伙犯罪、爆炸、杀人、抢劫、绑架等严重暴力犯罪呈明显上升趋势,