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- Title
Cumulative, high-stress calls impacting adverse events among law enforcement and the public.
- Authors
Jetelina, Katelyn K.; Beauchamp, Alaina M.; Reingle Gonzalez, Jennifer M.; Molsberry, Rebecca J.; Bishopp, Stephen A.; Lee, Simon Craddock
- Abstract
<bold>Background: </bold>The unpredictable, and sometimes dangerous, nature of the occupation exposes officers to both acute and chronic stress over law enforcement officers' (LEO) tenure. The purpose of this study is two-fold: 1) Describe multi-level characteristics that define high-stress calls for service for LEO; and 2) Characterize factors that impact cumulative stress over the course of a LEO's shift.<bold>Methods: </bold>Qualitative data were collected from 28 LEOs at three law enforcement agencies in the Dallas-Fort Worth areas from April 2019 to February 2020. Focus group data were iteratively coded by four coders using inductive and deductive thematic identification.<bold>Results: </bold>Five multi-level factors influenced officer stress: 1) officer characteristics (e.g. military experience; gender); 2) civilian behavior (e.g. resistance, displaying a weapon); 3) supervisor factors (micromanagement); 4) environmental factors (e.g. time of year); and, 5) situational factors (e.g. audience present; complexity of calls). Four themes that characterized cumulative stress: 1) cyclical risk; 2) accelerators; 3) decelerators; and 4) experience of an adverse event.<bold>Conclusions: </bold>LEOs become susceptible to adverse events (e.g. injury, excessive use of force) after repeated exposure to high-stress calls for service. Ongoing exposures to stress continue to occur throughout the shift. Our long-term goal is to interrupt this repetitive, cumulative process by restricting the number of consecutive high-risk, high-intensity calls an officer is permitted to respond to.
- Subjects
TEXAS; JOB stress; LAW enforcement; EMPLOYMENT tenure; PSYCHOLOGICAL stress; POLICE-community relations; GENDER; FOCUS groups; EMPLOYEES' workload; RESEARCH funding; POLICE psychology; SOCIAL control
- Publication
BMC Public Health, 2020, Vol 20, Issue 1, p1
- ISSN
1471-2458
- Publication type
journal article
- DOI
10.1186/s12889-020-09219-x