Police stress: A conceptual overview

Over the past decade, a sizeable body of literature has developed that examines police stress from a variety of perspectives. The vast majority of the literature is anecdotal in nature and that which is based on research is often inconsistent. As used in the literature, the term stress has widely differing meanings and its measurement has ranged from the artful to the sublime. But of greater importance than the measurement issue is the necessary complexity of any model that attempts to deal with the interrelationships thought to exist between stress and other factors.The variety and complexity of individual differences and the interplay between environmental conditions and the person's unique perception of both objective and subjective situations obscures any simple relationships.The purpose of this note is to examine the nature of stress, its sources and consequences among police, and to identify gaps in the conceptual model within which police stress is normally viewed.     

Toward public value?

Selected articles from a conference organised by the Department of Management at Monash University in November 2003 entitled ‘Toward Public Value? Management and Employement for Outcomes’.     

The underworld of gold

This paper dissects the global business of gold, from the ground, through the refining and marketing process and on into the hands of the final consumer, while examining the main forms of criminal activity associated with each stage. In one fundamental respect the black market for gold is quite different from that for other contraband goods. With opiates, for example, although there are occasional interrelations, it is reasonable to differentiate between legal and illegal sectors. The legal one uses raw material from designated producing areas, transforming it into a pharmaceutical product to supply a controlled medical demand. The illegal one uses illicitly obtained raw materials to make recreational drugs in order to service a demand that in most countries is defined as criminal by its very nature. By contrast, with gold, legally and illegally produced raw materials flow through the same channels to the same set of legitimate firms for refining and casting; and the product of these respectable refineries then is redivided into separate streams serving the overt and the covert portions of the market. Even then the cross-links do not stop. Legally sold gold can be diverted into illicit uses, while illegally obtained gold can end up in the hands of otherwise legitimate manufacturers or consumers. *** DIRECT SUPPORT *** AW502007 00002