Highlights
Does anyone care about police stress?
Has society and cities abandoned cops and their mental health needs?
How much of the total number of adverse police-civilian encounters each year are explained by untreated mental health needs among police officers is difficult to determine exactly, but our review of the research suggests it could be large – potentially accounting for up to nearly half (46%) of all police misconduct.
Author
Leonard Adam Sipes, Jr.
Retired federal senior spokesperson. Thirty-five years of directing award-winning public relations for national and state criminal justice agencies. Interviewed multiple times by every national news outlet. Former Senior Specialist for Crime Prevention for the Department of Justice’s clearinghouse. Former Director of Information Services, National Crime Prevention Council. Former Adjunct Associate Professor of criminology and public affairs-University of Maryland, University College. Former advisor to presidential and gubernatorial campaigns. Former advisor to the “McGruff-Take a Bite Out of Crime” national media campaign. Certificate of Advanced Study-Johns Hopkins University. Former police officer. Aspiring drummer.
Author of ”Success With The Media: Everything You Need To Survive Reporters and Your Organization” available at Amazon and additional booksellers.
Article
The emphasis of hundreds of negative articles is police misconduct or use of force or racial/ethnic bias. The conclusions seem to be that there is something wrong with cops or policing in general. Polls indicate that policing needs to change.
For those of us who have been in policing or the justice system for decades, it’s a puzzle. The overwhelming majority of police officers I’ve encountered seem to be genuinely decent, level-headed people who just want to serve.
Yet there are times when things go south. Why?
Agencies go overboard to find applicants with the right temperaments. Emphasis is placed on a thorough investigation of friends, family, and past employment. We polygraph. We look at all aspects of a person’s life. We do psychologicals. We do criminal background checks. We check for any signs of bias.
Departments and cities don’t want the multi-million dollar lawsuits and the endless negative publicity and citizen protests. They try to pick the best possible people to be cops.
We train officers using real-life scenarios and shoot-don’t shoot labs. We emphasize using as little force as possible which is born out in Department of Justice data where two to three percent of police-civilian encounters involve force or the threat of force, hardly the stereotype presented by critics.
This is accompanied by data indicating that the vast majority of Americans, regardless of demographics, rank police officers highly to the point where they are one of the most trusted organizations in America. They rank far better than Congress or the media.
Yet It’s Equally True
Yet it’s equally true that we sometimes go overboard or worse. I’ve seen mild-mannered people explode if provoked enough.
I’m told that the Pope would become aggressive if he had to go through what cops experience.
I watched a suspect during booking tell an arresting officer that he would torture and kill every member of his family. A committed pacifist would want to retaliate against someone swearing that he would kill his family.
Cops go through unbelievable events. They comfort people as they die. They see badly abused kids. They witness homicides. They make death notifications. They rush towards gunfire. They are the target of endless negative media accounts.
Who’s At Fault For Police Officer Stress?
“If” there is a problem with policing, and if it’s connected to stress or PTSD, whose fault is it?
Society says that it wants “guardians” but demands that “warriors” run into a church or synagog or school when some nutcase opens fire.
Society places ridiculously insane demands on cops yet they want them to do the right thing in all cases. Is that even possible?
Ever chase someone wanted for a crime on a high-speed pursuit for thirty minutes risking life and limb yet “gently” approach the car and speak to the suspect like he’s a wayward child? When it happened to me, I was pissed. The suspect was treated legally but harshly.
Citizens state that they don’t want proactive policing when it seems to be the only modality that has a research base for reducing crime. Yet they blame cops for rising crime.
America simply doesn’t know what it wants from cops which makes policing impossible which makes the job beyond stressful.
America simply doesn’t care about the mental health of its protectors which is why treatment and allowances are almost nonexistent.
University of Chicago Crime Lab
It is clear that people in more stressful jobs in general tend to have higher rates of adverse mental health outcomes like post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), depression, and alcohol use.
We see this for police officers as well, who have symptoms of PTSD at a rate four times higher than that of other working-age adults, and who also have a suicide rate 82% higher.
How much of the total number of adverse police-civilian encounters each year are explained by untreated mental health needs among police officers is difficult to determine exactly, but our review of the research suggests it could be large – potentially accounting for up to nearly half (46%) of all police misconduct.
While the effects of officer wellness interventions are currently not well understood, there is fairly good evidence that mental health interventions can be helpful. Most of the research in this area looks at officer mental health as the key outcome of interest, rather than police misconduct behavior specifically, so by how much existing interventions (if scaled) could change adverse policing outcomes overall remains uncertain, University of Chicago.
The Hill (newspaper of Congress)
There were 174 officer suicides in 2020, making officers more likely to die from suicide than in the line of duty — even as shootings of officers increase. From April 2020 to April 2021, officer retirements increased 45 percent, a trend that shows no sign of abating. Meanwhile, a Council on Criminal Justice Task Force on Policing brief on officer wellness noted that only 29 percent of police departments have wellness programs or training, The Hill.
Note: the above articles were first presented by The Crime Report.
The Widow Of A Police Officer At The Capitol Riot Who Committed Suicide
These officers need to be recognized for the horrors they have seen and protected us from. Their service needs to be respected. Their families should receive the same support and assistance as every other fallen officer’s family. Instead, we have been stigmatized, had our health insurance taken, denied even the courtesy of an official burial, USA Today
Conclusions
Society and the media are ridiculously absurd as to what it wants from cops. Quite simply, it’s impossible to be all things to all people.
That’s why cops are leaving the job in record numbers per endless media accounts. That’s why police recruitment is down 63 percent per the Police Executive Research Forum.
Cops fear the consequences of being proactive. That’s why violent crime is skyrocketing throughout the country.
We are simply asking too much from too few.
Police officers, especially big city cops, need time away from the job. They need programs to help them decompress. They need training as to how to handle stress. They need much better pay. They need a public that appreciates them. In some cases, they need treatment.
They need critical reporters and progressives to put on a uniform and spend a couple of months in the streets. Let’s see how they react to what cops see daily.
But many police officers who comment on my articles show signs of stress. I do an article on police public opinion showing that the vast majority of Americans, regardless of who they are, are supportive and want them in their communities and yet they harshly reject the premise that anyone is sympathetic.
If I provide research supporting what police chiefs are saying about repeat criminals, they heap scorn (i.e., tell us something we don’t know).
There is no one more cynical than big city veteran cops along with big city veteran reporters.
Governments and the larger society need to understand that police officers are human. They can only take so much. The violence problem in America is proof that we have unrealistic expectations as to what cops should be and do.
Police officers are precious resources, but they have an expiration date. Those “expired” are leaving per the demands of family and friends.
It’s mostly the poor and urban minorities that suffer the consequences.
Note From The USDOJ
See Wellness Guide For Police Officers.
See More
See more articles on crime and justice at Crime in America.
Most Dangerous Cities/States/Countries at Most Dangerous Cities.
US Crime Rates at Nationwide Crime Rates.
National Offender Recidivism Rates at Offender Recidivism.
An Overview Of Data On Mental Health at Mental Health And Crime.
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