Stress and Policing Sources and Strategies

Stress and Policing • Sources and Strategies • Jennifer M. Brown Research Department, Hampshire Constabulary, UK and Elizabeth A. Campbell Department of Psychology, University of Surrey, UK Stress and Policing presents an overview of the sources and consequences of stress experienced by those who work within the police service. Remedial interventions are described as they affect the individual, the organisation and the cultural milieu of the police. The authors discuss the issue of post–traumatic stress—describing the symptoms and giving prevalence rates amongst emergency personnel. The sources of stress emerging from organisation and management factors are also discussed, together with stress reactions arising from routine police duties, work overload, poor communication and inadequate support. This book provides an account of the established sources and consequences of stress, pinpoints risk factors, and offers critical assessment of the various methods used to respond to the stressed individual. With its new, empirical results on police stress and detailed bibliographic listing, this book will prove a valuable asset to all police managers and stress counsellors and, because the analysis and conclusions are not unique to the police service, it will be of interest and benefit to other public sector workers.