Stress On Police Officers

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were half that of the general population. Between 1980 to the present, suicide rates in some departments almost doubled. What is the difference? You can't choke them anymore! Street justice is all but gone. Everyone has video cameras. The media gets off on putting down cops. Politicians continue to throw new laws and restrictions for police officers that further tie their hands, and you can't choke anyone with your hands tied! So you start to feel that you're choking yourself.
Lets take a quick overview of police work and look at the research of what the biggest stressors are:
� Killing someone in the line of duty.
� Having your partner killed in the line of duty.
� Lack of support by the department/bosses.
� Shift work and disruption of family time/family rituals.
� The daily grind of dealing with the stupidity of the public.
Interestingly, physical danger is ranked low on the list of stressors by police officers.

One of the worst effects of stress on ...

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officer's side is guaranteed to be lethal in the hands of an experienced shooter.

UB professor, John M. Violanti, Ph.D thinks the biggest reason for the high rate of police suicide is because officers think they have nowhere to go for confidential help when personal problems or job stress overwhelms them. "Police officers are more hesitant than the average citizen to get help for emotional problems. Because of their role, they mistrust many things, and they especially mistrust mental health professionals," Violanti said. "Departments should include some sort of suicide awareness training in their stress management program."

Police officers going through a divorce are 5 ...

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