77 FR 29529 - Peace Officers Memorial Day and Police Week, 2012

Science.gov (United States)

2012-05-18

... Officers Memorial Day and Police Week, 2012 By the President of the United States of America A Proclamation... time, this new system will give our Nation's police officers and first responders a dedicated... obligation to give their loved ones the support they deserve. During Peace Officers Memorial Day and Police...

Military Experience and Levels of Stress and Coping in Police Officers

OpenAIRE

Hartley, Tara A.; Violanti, John M.; Mnatsakanova, Anna; Andrew, Michael E.; Burchfiel, Cecil M.

2013-01-01

Policing is a stressful occupation and working in this environment may make officers more vulnerable to adverse psychological and physiological outcomes. The impact of prior military experience on work stress and coping strategies has not been well-studied in police. The purpose of this cross-sectional study was to examine differences in levels of police-related stress and coping in officers with and without military experience. Participants were 452 police officers from the Buffalo Cardio-me...

Health in police officers: Role of risk factor clusters and police divisions.

Science.gov (United States)

Habersaat, Stephanie A; Geiger, Ashley M; Abdellaoui, Sid; Wolf, Jutta M

2015-10-01

Law enforcement is a stressful occupation associated with significant health problems. To date, most studies have focused on one specific factor or one domain of risk factors (e.g., organizational, personal). However, it is more likely that specific combinations of risk factors are differentially health relevant and further, depend on the area of police work. A self-selected group of officers from the criminal, community, and emergency division (N = 84) of a Swiss state police department answered questionnaires assessing personal and organizational risk factors as well as mental and physical health indicators. In general, few differences were observed across divisions in terms of risk factors or health indicators. Cluster analysis of all risk factors established a high-risk and a low-risk cluster with significant links to all mental health outcomes. Risk cluster-by-division interactions revealed that, in the high-risk cluster, Emergency officers reported fewer physical symptoms, while community officers reported more posttraumatic stress symptoms. Criminal officers in the high-risk cluster tended to perceived more stress. Finally, perceived stress did not mediate the relationship between risk clusters and posttraumatic stress symptoms. In summary, our results support the notion that police officers are a heterogeneous population in terms of processes linking risk factors and health indicators. This heterogeneity thereby appeared to be more dependent on personal factors and individuals' perception of their own work conditions than division-specific work environments. Our findings further suggest that stress-reduction interventions that do not target job-relevant sources of stress may only show limited effectiveness in reducing health risks associated with police work. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Association between psychosomatic symptoms and work stress among Taiwan police officers.

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Chueh, Ke-Hsin; Yen, Cheng-Fang; Lu, Luo; Yang, Mei-Sang

2011-04-01

The aim of the study was to explore the association between the severity of psychosomatic symptoms and perceived work stress among male police officers in southern Taiwan. By stratified random sampling, a total of 698 male police officers were recruited into this study (the response rate was 73.4%; 512 of 698). A structured self-administered questionnaire on demographic and working characteristics, the severity of psychosomatic symptoms, perceived work stress, and social support was used to collect data anonymously. The results of multiple regression analysis revealed that (1) the police officers who perceived high-work stress reported more severe psychosomatic symptoms than those who perceived low-work stress; and (2) perceived social support had a moderating effect on the association between severity of psychosomatic symptoms and perceived work stress. Perceived work stress is an indicator of psychosomatic symptoms in police officers. Strategies for reducing psychosomatic symptoms of police officers include police administrators taking into account the level of work stress as well as more attention being paid to the resources of social support. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Taiwan LLC. All rights reserved.

Shift Work and Sleep Quality Among Urban Police Officers

Science.gov (United States)

Fekedulegn, Desta; Burchfiel, Cecil M.; Charles, Luenda E.; Hartley, Tara A.; Andrew, Michael E.; Violanti, John M.

2016-01-01

Objective The aim of the study was to examine association of shift work with sleep quality in police officers. Methods Data were obtained from the Buffalo Cardio-Metabolic Occupational Police Stress study (n =363). An electronic work history database was used to define shift as day, afternoon, or night for three durations: past month, 1 year, and 15 years. Sleep quality was determined using the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index. Results The overall prevalence of poor sleep quality was 54%; 44% for day, 60% for afternoon, and 69% for night shift. Poor sleep quality was 70% more prevalent among night-shift officers (P shift (P =0.003) relative to officers working on the day shift. Conclusions Night and evening work schedules are associated with elevated prevalence of poor sleep quality among police officers. PMID:26949891

An Educational Intervention for Police and Firefighters for Elders at Risk: Limits of Education Alone as a Strategy for Behavior Change

Science.gov (United States)

Nusbaum, N. J.; Mistretta, M.; Wegner, J.

2007-01-01

As part of a research project aimed at the health care needs of the vulnerable community-dwelling elderly, an educational intervention was delivered to police and firefighters in worksite settings. A single educational intervention proved insufficient to produce lasting attitudinal and behavioral change as measured by follow-up surveys 3 and 6…

24 CFR 960.505 - Occupancy by police officers to provide security for public housing residents.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-04-01

... 24 Housing and Urban Development 4 2010-04-01 2010-04-01 false Occupancy by police officers to... HOUSING Occupancy by Over-Income Families or Police Officers § 960.505 Occupancy by police officers to provide security for public housing residents. (a) Police officer. For purpose of this subpart E, “police...

Role of female police officer and her challenges within the police organization

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Fitim Shishani

2016-11-01

Full Text Available In the most developed countries, the opinion prevailed that the police profession is only a profession for men. This opinion is an already outdated practice. Interest in women’s emancipation has been a phenomenon to which many countries and organizations with influence in the world were committed. Attention to engage women in public life in society exists even nowadays, growing even more. Employment of women in different professions and the results shown by them have increased the interest of involvement of members of this gender in every sphere of social life. The study of this issue that has to do with engagement, namely employment of women in the police, will be shown in this paper as follows: Background of women employed in the police; Emancipated and non-emancipated women in the police; Attitude towards female police officers.

Do processes for training future police officers improve their mental health?

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Miguel Clemente

2016-06-01

Full Text Available The selection and training of future police officer candidates are two fundamental processes in achieving an effective police force. From a psychological point of view, police officer training should improve candidates' mental health, so that they can perform their police work more appropriately, benefiting not only themselves but society as a whole. This article attempts to determine whether the training given to candidates selected for training prior to being selected as officers improves their mental health. There is no precedent for research in this regard, since work in Psychology has focused on verifying that subjects do not have psychological pathologies rather than examining the effect of the training they are given. This study looks at a sample of 713 persons selected for a pre-police training program designed to allow them to subsequently join the Peruvian police force. The Derogatis SCL-90 test was used as a personality measure. The test was administered before they received training and after they had completed it (only data from subjects who passed the police entrance exam were considered. The results indicate that the training process produced no changes in personality variables that imply major psychological pathologies, but such changes did occur in variables associated with lower degree psychological pathologies. We can therefore say that there was a decline in mental health among future police officers, or an increase in their psychological pathologies. We will discuss these results and identify the limitations of the study with an eye toward further research. It is recommended that training systems be created that improve the mental health of future police officers.

75 FR 71047 - Federal Benefit Payments Under Certain District of Columbia Retirement Plans

Science.gov (United States)

2010-11-22

...) For the Police and Firefighters Plan, military service as defined in section 4-607 of the DC Code..., under the retirement plans for District of Columbia teachers, police officers, and firefighters..., police officers, and firefighters in effect as of June 29, 1997, referred to as the ``District Retirement...

POLICE OFFICE MODEL IMPROVEMENT FOR SECURITY OF SWARM ROBOTIC SYSTEMS

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I. A. Zikratov

2014-09-01

Full Text Available This paper focuses on aspects of information security for group of mobile robotic systems with swarm intellect. The ways for hidden attacks realization by the opposing party on swarm algorithm are discussed. We have fulfilled numerical modeling of potentially destructive information influence on the ant shortest path algorithm. We have demonstrated the consequences of attacks on the ant algorithm with different concentration in a swarm of subversive robots. Approaches are suggested for information security mechanisms in swarm robotic systems, based on the principles of centralized security management for mobile agents. We have developed the method of forming a self-organizing information security management system for robotic agents in swarm groups implementing POM (Police Office Model – a security model based on police offices, to provide information security in multi-agent systems. The method is based on the usage of police station network in the graph nodes, which have functions of identification and authentication of agents, identifying subversive robots by both their formal characteristics and their behavior in the swarm. We have suggested a list of software and hardware components for police stations, consisting of: communication channels between the robots in police office, nodes register, a database of robotic agents, a database of encryption and decryption module. We have suggested the variants of logic for the mechanism of information security in swarm systems with different temporary diagrams of data communication between police stations. We present comparative analysis of implementation of protected swarm systems depending on the functioning logic of police offices, integrated in swarm system. It is shown that the security model saves the ability to operate in noisy environments, when the duration of the interference is comparable to the time necessary for the agent to overcome the path between police stations.

Life Expectancy in Police Officers: A Comparison with the U.S. General Population

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Violanti, John M.; Hartley, Tara A.; Gu, Ja K.; Fekedulegn, Desta; Andrew, Michael E.; Burchfiel, Cecil M.

2016-01-01

Previous epidemiological research indicates that police officers have an elevated risk of death relative to the general population overall and for several specific causes. Despite the increased risk for mortality found in previous research, controversy still exists over the life expectancy of police officers. The goal of the present study was to compare life expectancy of male police officers from Buffalo New York with the U.S. general male population utilizing an abridged life table method. On average, the life expectancy of Buffalo police officers in our sample was significantly lower than the U.S. population (mean difference in life expectancy =21.9 years; 95% CI: 14.5-29.3; ppolice officers was shorter and differences were more pronounced in younger age categories. Additionally, police officers had a significantly higher average probability of death than did males in the general population (mean difference= 0.40; 95% CI: 0.26,-0.54; ppolice officers was 21 times larger than that of the general population (Buffalo male officers vs. U.S. males = 21.7, 95% CI: 5.8-37.7). Possible reasons for shorter life expectancy among police are discussed, including stress, shift work, obesity, and hazardous environmental work exposures. PMID:24707585

Working hours and common mental disorders in English police officers

OpenAIRE

Houdmont, Jonathan; Randall, Raymond

2016-01-01

Background: There is a paucity of evidence on working hours and their psychological correlates in police officers of the federated ranks in England.\\ud Aims: An exploratory study to establish the extent to which a sample of English police officers worked long hours and the association between long working hours and common mental disorder (CMD).\\ud Methods: Officers of the federated ranks (constable, sergeant, inspector) from two English county forces completed a questionnaire to report their ...

At the Heart of Policing: Emotional labor among police officers

NARCIS (Netherlands)

B.R. van Gelderen (Benjamin R.)

2013-01-01

textabstractDuring my work as a police officer, I encountered many emotional demanding situations in which my colleagues and I often seemed to act unfelt emotions or suppressed emotions that would better not be displayed at that particular moment. For instance, during my first weeks of duty I

Effect of police mobile computer terminal interface design on officer driving distraction.

Science.gov (United States)

Zahabi, Maryam; Kaber, David

2018-02-01

Several crash reports have identified in-vehicle distraction to be a primary cause of emergency vehicle crashes especially in law enforcement. Furthermore, studies have found that mobile computer terminals (MCTs) are the most frequently used in-vehicle technology for police officers. Twenty police officers participated in a driving simulator-based assessment of visual behavior, performance, workload and situation awareness with current and enhanced MCT interface designs. In general, results revealed MCT use while driving to decrease officer visual attention to the roadway, but usability improvements can reduce the level of visual distraction and secondary-task completion time. Results also suggest that use of MCTs while driving significantly reduces perceived level of driving environment awareness for police officers and increases cognitive workload. These findings may be useful for MCT manufacturers in improving interface designs to increase police officer and civilian safety. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Occupational stress, coping and mental health in Jamaican police officers.

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Nelson, K V; Smith, A P

2016-08-01

Police are exposed to a wide range of stressors and this is especially true in developing countries such as Jamaica. Exposure to psychosocial stressors and use of maladaptive coping styles can result in mental ill-health. To examine the relationship between work characteristics, coping and mental health in Jamaican police officers and to test whether work characteristics are indirectly associated with mental health outcomes through perceived job stress and job satisfaction. Police officers from the Jamaican police force completed a questionnaire using a cross-sectional design. We analysed the data using hierarchical regression. The study group consisted of 134 police officers; the response rate was 94%. Negative work characteristics, lower levels of positive work factors and work support and emotion-focused coping styles were associated with increased levels of depression (F(8, 125) = 7.465, P health outcomes was mediated by perceived stress. Job satisfaction mediated the relationship between positive work characteristics and depression. Stress management and intervention programmes should address modifiable work conditions, monitor stress levels and reduce maladaptive coping. © The Author 2016. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Society of Occupational Medicine.

Linking Educational Institutions with Police Officer Training Programs

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Nancy Wood

2016-05-01

Full Text Available Community partnerships that are formed through Community Oriented Policing help to assist law enforcement officers with academy education and post academy education. The training offered in the academy and the post academy Field Training Officer Program traditionally places little to no emphasis on critical thinking, professional self-regulation, communication skills or problem-based learning. In the last several years a new approach has been spawned. The Police Training Officer Program (PTO is an innovative form of education that focuses on problem based learning for post academy graduates. The PTO Program emphasizes adult education, problem solving, emotional intelligence, and conflict resolution. This education is necessary to assist officers in de-escalation strategies within their communities and can lend to the reduction of civil disturbances. However, currently, relatively few agencies are offering this education to their post academy graduates and none are offering it to their academy recruits due, in part, to a lack of qualified instructors. PTO instructors must be proficient and fully trained in problem based learning techniques. Through Community Oriented Policing, law enforcement agencies can address this instructor shortage by partnering with university educational institutions to secure instructors who are competent in andragogy, critical thinking, and problem-based learning.

Health-related quality of life and related factors of military police officers.

Science.gov (United States)

da Silva, Franciele Cascaes; Hernandez, Salma Stéphany Soleman; Arancibia, Beatriz Angélica Valdivia; Castro, Thiago Luis da Silva; Filho, Paulo José Barbosa Gutierres; da Silva, Rudney

2014-04-27

The present study aimed to determine the effect of demographic characteristics, occupation, anthropometric indices, and leisure-time physical activity levels on coronary risk and health-related quality of life among military police officers from the State of Santa Catarina, Brazil. The sample included 165 military police officers who fulfilled the study’s inclusion criteria. The International Physical Activity Questionnaire and the Short Form Health Survey were used, in addition to a spreadsheet of socio-demographic, occupational and anthropometric data. Statistical analyses were performed using descriptive analysis followed by Spearman Correlation and multiple linear regression analysis using the backward method. The waist-to-height ratio was identified as a risk factor low health-related quality of life. In addition, the conicity index, fat percentage, years of service in the military police, minutes of work per day and leisure-time physical activity levels were identified as risk factors for coronary disease among police officers. These findings suggest that the Military Police Department should adopt an institutional policy that allows police officers to practice regular physical activity in order to maintain and improve their physical fitness, health, job performance, and quality of life.

Police Officer Schema of Sexual Assault Reports: Real Rape, Ambiguous Cases, and False Reports.

Science.gov (United States)

Venema, Rachel M

2016-03-01

While extensive research has studied sexual assault reporting behaviors and described negative experiences with the criminal justice system among victim-survivors, fewer studies have explored police officer attitudes, knowledge, and thought processes that may affect victims' perceptions of negative interactions and unsatisfactory outcomes within reported sexual assault cases. This study explores police officer understanding of the definition of sexual assault and characteristics that influence their perceptions and response. Ten police officers were interviewed within one police department in a midsized city in the Great Lakes region. The study uses a modified grounded theory approach. Findings suggest that officers employ distinct schema of reported sexual assaults. Case characteristics, perceived credibility of the victim, and types of evidence formed categorizations of false reports, ambiguous cases, and legitimate sexual assaults. Police officers describe the ways in which perceptions of the case may or may not influence the response and point to areas for improvement within police procedure. The study findings provide insight into recommendations for improved police interviewing and response to reported sexual assaults. © The Author(s) 2014.

Sleep Architecture in Night Shift Workers Police Officers with Obstructive Sleep Apnea-hypopnea Syndrome.

Science.gov (United States)

Verde-Tinoco, Selene; Santana-Miranda, Rafael; Gutiérrez-Escobar, Romel; Haro, Reyes; Miranda-Ortiz, Joana; Berruga-Fernandez, Talia; Jimenez-Correa, Ulises; Poblano, Adrián

2017-01-01

Reduced sleep to increase work hours is common among police officers, when this situation is combined with Obstructive sleep apnea/hypopnea syndrome (OSAHS), health consequences are greater, therefore we believe there is a need of research for these alterations. The aim of this study was to measure the changes in sleep architecture (SA) in police officers who currently have Night shift work (NSW) and OSAHS. We compared SA in 107 subjects divided in three groups: the first group included police officers with NSW and severe OSAHS (n = 48); the second group were non-police officers with diurnal work time and severe OSAHS (n = 48) and the third group was formed by healthy controls (n = 11). Polysomnography (PSG) variables and Epworth sleepiness scale (ESS) scores were compared. SA was more disrupted in the group of police officers with NSW and OSAHS than in patients with OSAHS only and in the control group. Police officers with NSW and OSAHS presented an increased number of electroencephalographic activations, apnea/hypopnea index, and sleep latency, and showed lower scores of oxygen saturation, and in the ESS. Multivariate analysis revealed significant influence of age and Body mass index (BMI). Data suggested with caution an additive detrimental effect of NSW and OSAHS in SA and ESS of police officers. However age and BMI must be also taken into account in future studies.

Exploring Occupational and Behavioral Risk Factors for Obesity in Firefighters: A Theoretical Framework and Study Design

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

BongKyoo Choi

2011-12-01

Full Text Available Firefighters and police officers have the third highest prevalence of obesity among 41 male occupational groups in the United States (US. However, few studies have examined the relationship of firefighter working conditions and health behaviors with obesity. This paper presents a theoretical framework describing the relationship between working conditions, health behaviors, and obesity in firefighters. In addition, the paper describes a detailed study plan for exploring the role of occupational and behavioral risk factors in the development of obesity in firefighters enrolled in the Orange County Fire Authority Wellness Fitness Program. The study plan will be described with emphasis on its methodological merits: adopting a participatory action research approach, developing a firefighter-specific work and health questionnaire, conducting both a cross-sectional epidemiological study using the questionnaire and a sub-study to assess the validity of the questionnaire with dietary intake and physical activity measures, and evaluating the strengths and weaknesses of the body mass index as an obesity measure in comparison to skinfold-based percent body fat. The study plan based on a theoretical framework can be an essential first step for establishing effective intervention programs for obesity among professional and voluntary firefighters.

The effectiveness of Narrative Exposure Therapy with traumatised firefighters in Saudi Arabia: a randomized controlled study.

Science.gov (United States)

Alghamdi, Mohammed; Hunt, Nigel; Thomas, Shirley

2015-03-01

Firefighters are exposed to many traumatic events. The psychological costs of this exposure increase the risk of Post-Traumatic Stress disorder (PTSD), depression and anxiety. This study examined the effectiveness of Narrative Exposure Therapy (NET) as a short-term treatment for reducing PTSD symptoms among Saudi firefighters. A randomized waiting-list control study was conducted with 34 traumatized firefighters were randomly allocated to NET or Waiting-list Control (WLC). The NET group received four therapy sessions of 60-90 min over a three-week period; those in the WLC condition received the same sessions after a three-week waiting period. Participants in both groups were assessed at baseline, immediately post-intervention and at 3 and 6 month follow ups. NET led to significant reductions in PTSD symptoms, anxiety and depression compared with WLC. After the WLC group received treatment, it showed the same improvements as the NET group. This occurred immediately post-treatment in both groups, but was not sustained at 3 and 6 month follow ups. Coping strategies and social support led to significant changes only in follow up times. NET was effective in reducing PTSD symptoms in traumatised Saudi firefighters. This finding could be helpful in the management of PTSD among people who work as first responders such as firefighters, police officers and emergency medical personal, as well as security officers. Copyright © 2015. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

Occupational stress, anxiety and coping strategies in police officers.

Science.gov (United States)

Acquadro Maran, D; Varetto, A; Zedda, M; Ieraci, V

2015-08-01

Studies on occupational stress have shown that police officers are exposed to stressful events more often than other workers and this can result in impaired psychosocial well-being and physical health. To measure the level of stress experienced, the consequences in terms of anxiety and the coping strategies adopted in a sample of police officers working in a large city in northern Italy. We used the Police Stress Questionnaire and the Distress Thermometer to measure occupational stress, the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory to measure anxiety and the Brief COPE questionnaire to measure coping strategies. Six hundred seventeen police officers completed the questionnaire, a response rate of 34%. Differences between genders, sectors and roles emerged, but overall the study population generally demonstrated good use of positive coping strategies. Women in all operational service roles were more vulnerable to both organizational and operational stressors than men (P occupational stress should take into account gender, role and type of work. Tailored training courses and support programmes could be useful and effective tools for preventing stress before it becomes chronic. © The Author 2015. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Society of Occupational Medicine. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com.

Police Officers Can Safely and Effectively Administer Intranasal Naloxone.

Science.gov (United States)

Fisher, Rian; O'Donnell, Daniel; Ray, Bradley; Rusyniak, Daniel

2016-01-01

Opioid overdose rates continue to rise at an alarming rate. One method used to combat this epidemic is the administration of naloxone by law enforcement. Many cities have implemented police naloxone administration programs, but there is a minimal amount of research examining this policy. The following study examines data over 18 months, after implementation of a police naloxone program in an urban setting. We describe the most common indications and outcomes of naloxone administration as well as examine the incidence of arrest, immediate detention, or voluntary transport to the hospital. In doing so, this study seeks to describe the clinical factors surrounding police use of naloxone, and the effects of police administration. All police officer administrations were queried from April 2014 through September 2015 (n = 126). For each incident we collected the indication, response, and disposition of the patient that was recorded on a "sick-injured civilian" report that officers were required to complete after administration of naloxone. All of the relevant information was abstracted from this report into an electronic data collection form that was then input into SPSS for analysis. The most common indication for administration was unconscious/unresponsive (n = 117; 92.9%) followed by slowed breathing (n = 72; 57.1%), appeared blue (n = 63; 50.0%) and not breathing (n = 41; 32.5%). After administration of naloxone the majority of patients regained consciousness (n = 82; 65.1%) followed by began to breath (n = 71; 56.3%). However, in 17.5% (n = 22) of the cases "Nothing" happened when naloxone was administered. The majority of patients were transported voluntarily to the hospital (n = 122; 96.8%). Lastly, there was only one report where the patient became combative. Our study shows that police officers trained in naloxone administration can correctly recognize symptoms of opioid overdose, and can appropriately administer naloxone without significant adverse effects or

Delivering mental health awareness training to police officers.

Science.gov (United States)

Forni, Carlos; Caswell, Nick; Spicer, Jerina

Police officers regularly come into contact with people with mental health problems but receive relatively little training on the issue. This article outlines an initiative to deliver awareness training to officers, and explores the benefits of such programmes. It also gives details of the evaluation carried out.

Language from police body camera footage shows racial disparities in officer respect.

Science.gov (United States)

Voigt, Rob; Camp, Nicholas P; Prabhakaran, Vinodkumar; Hamilton, William L; Hetey, Rebecca C; Griffiths, Camilla M; Jurgens, David; Jurafsky, Dan; Eberhardt, Jennifer L

2017-06-20

Using footage from body-worn cameras, we analyze the respectfulness of police officer language toward white and black community members during routine traffic stops. We develop computational linguistic methods that extract levels of respect automatically from transcripts, informed by a thin-slicing study of participant ratings of officer utterances. We find that officers speak with consistently less respect toward black versus white community members, even after controlling for the race of the officer, the severity of the infraction, the location of the stop, and the outcome of the stop. Such disparities in common, everyday interactions between police and the communities they serve have important implications for procedural justice and the building of police-community trust.

Attitudes in Korea toward Introducing Smart Policing Technologies: Differences between the General Public and Police Officers

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

HyungBin Moon

2017-10-01

Full Text Available This study analyzes different attitudes toward introduction of smart policing technologies in cybercrime policing among the Korean public and police. Policing is essential for a sustainable community. Technological advances in policing have both positive and negative aspects, making it essential to investigate perceptions of both public and police when introducing smart policing technologies. A discrete choice experiment was undertaken to survey preferences of the public and police toward introduction of such technologies and conduct simulation analysis to compare changes in the acceptance of various scenarios. The study divides cybercrime policing into prevention and investigation. The sample included 500 members of the public and 161 police officers. The results show that the public thinks an increase in yearly taxes and invasion of privacy are the most important factors. Conversely, the police think factors enhancing the efficiency of policing are most important. Moreover, when smart policing technologies are introduced, the public and police perceive more utility in the prevention and investigation of cybercrime, respectively. Few studies in this field separate the prevention and investigation of crimes, or compare perceptions of the public and police toward the introduction of smart policing technologies. This study’s quantitative analysis provides insights lacking in previous literature.

Reality-based practice under pressure improves handgun shooting performance of police officers.

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Oudejans, R.R.D.

2008-01-01

The current study examined whether reality-based practice under pressure may help in preventing degradation of handgun shooting performance under pressure for police officers. Using a pre-post-test design, one group of nine police officers practised handgun shooting under pressure evoked by an

Now & Then: Roger Whitmore, Police Officer.

Science.gov (United States)

Barnes, Sue; Michalowicz, Karen Dee

1995-01-01

Discusses police officers' use of mathematics when reconstructing an accident scene; and the history of algebra, including al-Khwarizmi's works on the theory of equations, the Rhind Papyrus, a Chinese and an Indian manuscript on systems of linear and quadratic equations, and Diophantus'"syncopated algebra." (10 references) (EK)

Police officers who commit suicide by cop: a clinical study with analysis.

Science.gov (United States)

Arias, Elizabeth A; Schlesinger, Louis B; Pinizzotto, Anthony J; Davis, Edward F; Fava, Joanna L; Dewey, Lauren M

2008-11-01

Suicide by cop has become a familiar topic among members of law enforcement, mental health professionals, and the general public. This paper presents two cases where police officers chose to commit suicide by getting other police officers to kill them. The two police officers studied, by examination of closed case files, were found to be similar to civilians who committed suicide by cop on several demographic (gender, age, history of mental illness, and suicide attempts), and situational (stress factors, trigger) variables. The cases help us to understand possible motives and management for individuals who choose to end their life in this manner.

Long work hours and adiposity among police officers in a US northeast city.

Science.gov (United States)

Gu, Ja K; Charles, Luenda E; Burchfiel, Cecil M; Fekedulegn, Desta; Sarkisian, Khachatur; Andrew, Michael E; Ma, Claudia; Violanti, John M

2012-11-01

To investigate the associations between long work hours and adiposity measures in police officers. Participants included 408 officers from the Buffalo Cardio-Metabolic Occupational Police Stress study who were examined between 2004 and 2009. Total work hours were abstracted from payroll records and questionnaires. Analysis of variance and covariance models were used. Among male officers who worked the midnight shift, mean values of waist circumference and body mass index increased with longer work hours after adjustment for age, physical activity, energy intake, sleep duration, smoking status, police rank, activities after work (eg, child/family care, sports), and household income. Adiposity measures were not associated with work hours among women on any shift. Working longer hours was significantly associated with larger waist circumferences and higher body mass index among male police officers working the midnight shift.

Sleep Architecture in Night Shift Workers Police Officers with Obstructive Sleep Apnea-hypopnea Syndrome

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Selene Verde-Tinoco

Full Text Available Introduction: Reduced sleep to increase work hours is common among police officers, when this situation is combined with Obstructive sleep apnea/hypopnea syndrome (OSAHS, health consequences are greater, therefore we believe there is a need of research for these alterations. The aim of this study was to measure the changes in sleep architecture (SA in police officers who currently have Night shift work (NSW and OSAHS. Methods: We compared SA in 107 subjects divided in three groups: the first group included police officers with NSW and severe OSAHS (n = 48; the second group were non-police officers with diurnal work time and severe OSAHS (n = 48 and the third group was formed by healthy controls (n = 11. Polysomnography (PSG variables and Epworth sleepiness scale (ESS scores were compared. Results: SA was more disrupted in the group of police officers with NSW and OSAHS than in patients with OSAHS only and in the control group. Police officers with NSW and OSAHS presented an increased number of electroencephalographic activations, apnea/hypopnea index, and sleep latency, and showed lower scores of oxygen saturation, and in the ESS. Multivariate analysis revealed significant influence of age and Body mass index (BMI. Conclusions: Data suggested with caution an additive detrimental effect of NSW and OSAHS in SA and ESS of police officers. However age and BMI must be also taken into account in future studies.

5 CFR 842.405 - Air traffic controllers, firefighters, law enforcement officers, and nuclear materials couriers.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-01-01

... 5 Administrative Personnel 2 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Air traffic controllers, firefighters, law enforcement officers, and nuclear materials couriers. 842.405 Section 842.405 Administrative Personnel OFFICE OF PERSONNEL MANAGEMENT (CONTINUED) CIVIL SERVICE REGULATIONS (CONTINUED) FEDERAL EMPLOYEES RETIREMENT SYSTEM-BASIC ANNUITY Computations ...

[Compare the occupational stress and work ability among the police-officers, doctors and teachers].

Science.gov (United States)

Yang, Xin-wei; Wang, Zhi-ming; Lan, Ya-jia; Wang, Mian-zhen

2004-03-01

To compare the occupational stress and work ability in doctors, police-officers and teachers. Changes in occupational stress work ability were measured with revised occupational stress inventory (OSI-R) and work ability index (WAI) for 288 doctors, 191 police-officers and 343 teachers, and then comparative and correlation analyses were made. 1. The difference in occupational stress and strain between the groups was statistically significant (P < 0.01), and the score of the police-officers was higher than that of the doctors and teachers (P < 0.05), but the personal resources of police-officers were lower than those of the doctors and teachers (P < 0.05). 2. Analysis of the 6 items of occupational role questionnaire revealed that the scores of role ambiguity, role boundary and responsibility were obviously higher in police-officers than in doctors and teachers, while the scores of role overload and physical environment were higher in teachers (P < 0.05). 3. Analysis of all items of personal strain revealed that the scores of vocational strain, psychological strain, physical strain, but not of interpersonal starin, were significantly higher in police-officers than in doctors and teachers (P < 0.05). 4. As to the personal resource, the results indicated that recreation and self-care of doctors and teachers were superior to those of police-officers. The score of social support was highest in doctors. The score of rational conduct was highest in teachers (P < 0.05). 5. Occupational role and personal strain were positively correlated, and both were correlated negatively to the personal resources (P < 0.01). The correlations of work ability, occupational stress and strain, and personal resources were significant in teachers (P < 0.01). For polices-officers, doctors and teachers, different yet relevant measures should be taken to reduce the occupational stress so as to improve their work ability.

[Chronic fatigue and strategies of coping with occupational stress in police officers].

Science.gov (United States)

Stepka, Ewa; Basińska, Małgorzata Anna

2014-01-01

Work as one of the most important activities in human life is related to stressful and difficult situations. Police officers make one of the many occupational groups that are particularly threatened by contact with a number of stressors. Therefore, their strategies of coping with stress are particularly important, because they play an important role in their functioning at work. The nature of the service as well as shift work and psychological costs incurred by police officers contribute to the emergence of chronic fatigue. The aim of this study was to evaluate the level of chronic fatigue in police officers and its relationship with the strategies of coping with occupational stress. A group of 61 police officers was examined. The following research methods were used: 1) Latack Coping Scale examining stress coping strategies at work (positive thinking, direct action, avoidance/resignation, seeking help, alcohol or stimulants use); 2) Mood Assessment Questionnaire CIS-20R examining the level of chronic fatigue and its components (subjective feeling of fatigue, impaired attention and concentration, reduced motivation, reduced activity); 3) Personal questionnaire providing socio-demographic data. It was found that the level of chronic fatigue in the group of the examined police officers was high (sten 8th). The most often used strategies of coping with stress were direct action and positive thinking, and the least often used strategy was the use of alcohol and stimulants. A significant negative correlation between the general level of chronic fatigue and the avoidance/resignation strategy was found. The results indicate that chronic fatigue is a problem affecting police officers and it is related to the stress coping strategies used.

5 CFR 842.810 - Elections to be deemed a law enforcement officer for retirement purposes by certain police...

Science.gov (United States)

2010-01-01

... officer for retirement purposes by certain police officers employed by the Metropolitan Washington... § 842.810 Elections to be deemed a law enforcement officer for retirement purposes by certain police... Washington Airports Authority (MWAA) police officers employed as members of the MWAA police force as of...

Testing the Link between Child Maltreatment and Family Violence among Police Officers

Science.gov (United States)

Zavala, Egbert

2013-01-01

The purpose of this study is to document the relationship between physical abuse during childhood and family violence among a group of police officers from the Baltimore Police Department in the United States. Analyzing data from the Police and Domestic Violence in Police Families in Baltimore, Maryland, 1997-1999, this study found a positive…

Preventing occupational injury among police officers: does motivation matter?

Science.gov (United States)

Chan, D K C; Webb, D; Ryan, R M; Tang, T C W; Yang, S X; Ntoumanis, N; Hagger, M S

2017-08-01

Injury prevention is an important issue for police officers, but the effectiveness of prevention initiatives is dependent on officers' motivation toward, and adherence to, recommended health and safety guidelines. To understand effects of police officers' motivation to prevent occupational injury on beliefs about safety and adherence to injury prevention behaviours. Full-time police officers completed a survey comprising validated psychometric scales to assess autonomous, controlled and amotivated forms of motivation (Treatment Self-Regulation Questionnaire), behavioural adherence (Self-reported Treatment Adherence Scale) and beliefs (Safety Attitude Questionnaire) with respect to injury prevention behaviours. There were 207 participants; response rate was 87%. Hierarchical multiple regression analyses demonstrated that autonomous motivation was positively related to behavioural adherence, commitment to safety and prioritizing injury prevention. Controlled motivation was a positive predictor of safety communication barriers. Amotivation was positively associated with fatalism regarding injury prevention, safety violation and worry. These findings are consistent with the tenets of self-determination theory in that autonomous motivation was a positive predictor of adaptive safety beliefs and adherence to injury prevention behaviours. © The Author 2017. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Society of Occupational Medicine. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com

78 FR 18425 - Proposed Information Collection VA Police Officer Pre-Employment Screening Checklist); Comment...

Science.gov (United States)

2013-03-26

... techniques or the use of other forms of information technology. Title: VA Police Officer Pre-Employment... Police Officer Pre-Employment Screening Checklist); Comment Request AGENCY: Office of Operations... approved collection. Abstract: VA personnel complete VA Form 0120 to document pre- employment history and...

Os policiais podem ser controlados? Is it possible to control police officers?

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Antonio Oliveira

2010-04-01

Full Text Available A atividade policial na democracia impõe a questão sobre o controle dos policiais, ou seja, como assegurar que eles, em sua tarefa de assegurar a ordem pública, não violarão os direitos dos cidadãos. A organização policial inclina-se em direção aos mecanismos formais de controle como as normas e os procedimentos, mas essas formas de regulação de conduta podem ser insuficientes, devido à ampla margem de liberdade que os guardas desfrutam nas ruas. Tomando-se como referência os discursos de oficiais policiais militares da Bahia, este artigo discute a prática policial na sociedade democrática e a percepção elaborada pelos policiais dos mecanismos de controle de seus pares e conclui enfatizando os obstáculos que podem ser encontrados na tarefa de controle dos policiais, empecilhos cuja superação torna-se difícil porque têm origem na própria atividade policial.In a democracy, police activity requires control of the police officers, to make sure that in their task of ensuring public order they will not violate the citizens' rights. The police organization leans toward the formal mechanisms of control, such as rules and procedures, but these forms of conduct regulation may be insufficient, due to the large margin of freedom the officers have on the streets. Examining the discourse of military police officers from the state of Bahia, this article discusses the police practice in a democratic society, and the officers' perception of the mechanisms used to control their colleagues. In the conclusion, the paper emphasizes the obstacles that can be found in the task of controlling police officers, obstacles that are difficult to overcome because they have their origin in the police activity.

Effects of anxiety on handgun shooting behavior of police officers: A pilot study

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Nieuwenhuys, A.; Oudejans, R.R.D.

2010-01-01

The current pilot study aimed at providing an initial assessment of how anxiety influences police officers' shooting behavior. Seven police officers participated and completed an identical shooting exercise under two experimental conditions: low anxiety, against a non-threatening opponent, and high

75 FR 14183 - Office of Community Oriented Policing Services; Agency Information Collection Activities...

Science.gov (United States)

2010-03-24

... information collection under review: COPS' Rural Law Enforcement National Training Assessment. The Department of Justice (DOJ) Office of Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS) will be submitting the... DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE [OMB Number 1103-NEW] Office of Community Oriented Policing Services; Agency...

Work hours and absenteeism among police officers.

Science.gov (United States)

Fekedulegn, Desta; Burchfiel, Cecil M; Hartley, Tara A; Baughman, Penelope; Charles, Luenda E; Andrew, Michael E; Violanti, John M

2013-01-01

In this study, the cross-sectional association of paid work hours with episodes of work absence was examined in a cohort of police officers. Study subjects were participants from the Buffalo Cardio-Metabolic Occupational Police Stress (BCOPS) study examined between 2004 and 2009. Among 395 study participants with complete data, day-by-day work history records during the one-year period prior to date of examination were used to determine episodes of one-day and three day work absence. The Negative binomial regression analysis was used to examine rate ratios (RR) of work absence. Analyses were also stratified by gender. A one-hour increase in total work hours was associated with 5% reduction in rate of one-day work absence (RR = 0.95, 95% CI: 0.92 - 0.98) and with 8% reduction in rate of three-day work absence (RR = 0.92, 95% CI: 0.89 - 0.95). The association of total work hours with episodes of one-day work absence was significant only in men while the association with episodes of three-day work absence was evident in men and women. In conclusion, in this cohort of police officers, work hours were negatively associated with both durations of work absence (one-day, > or = 3 consecutive days).

Work-family conflict and job-related wellbeing in UK police officers: the role of recovery strategies

OpenAIRE

Kinman, G; McDowall, A; Cropley, M

2012-01-01

Police officers have been found to experience high levels of operational and organisational stressors, and are at considerable risk of emotional exhaustion, psychological distress, burnout and PTSD. The demands inherent in police work can have a negative impact on family life, with police officers at high risk of marital dissatisfaction, divorce and domestic violence. Although police officers experience the type of work demands that have been associated with work-conflict in other occupationa...

The conundrum of police officer-involved homicides: Counter-data in Los Angeles County

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Morgan Currie

2016-08-01

Full Text Available This paper draws from critical data studies and related fields to investigate police officer-involved homicide data for Los Angeles County. We frame police officer-involved homicide data as a rhetorical tool that can reify certain assumptions about the world and extend regimes of power. We highlight the possibility that this type of sensitive civic data can be investigated and employed within local communities through creative practice. Community involvement with data can create a countervailing force to powerful dominant narratives and supplement activist projects that hold local officials accountable for their actions. Our analysis examines four Los Angeles County police officer-involved homicide data sets. First, we provide accounts of the semantics, granularity, scale and transparency of this local data. Then, we describe a “counter data action,” an event that invited members of the community to identify the limits and challenges present in police officer-involved homicide data and to propose new methods for deriving meaning from these indicators and statistics.

5 CFR 831.912 - Elections to be deemed a law enforcement officer for retirement purposes by certain police...

Science.gov (United States)

2010-01-01

... officer for retirement purposes by certain police officers employed by the Metropolitan Washington... retirement purposes by certain police officers employed by the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority (MWAA). (a) Who may elect. Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority (MWAA) police officers employed as...

Racial Differences in Resolving Conflicts: A Comparison between Black and White Police Officers

Science.gov (United States)

Sun, Ivan Y.; Payne, Brian K.

2004-01-01

This study examined the behavioral differences between Black and White police officers in handling interpersonal conflicts. Observational and survey data from the Project on Policing Neighborhoods and the 1990 census data were used. Actions taken by officers are examined along two behavioral dimensions: coercion and support. Findings show that…

Aerobic Capacity, Physical Activity and Metabolic Risk Factors in Firefighters Compared with Police Officers and Sedentary Clerks.

Science.gov (United States)

Leischik, Roman; Foshag, Peter; Strauß, Markus; Littwitz, Henning; Garg, Pankaj; Dworrak, Birgit; Horlitz, Marc

2015-01-01

This study examined the association between the physical work environment and physiological performance measures, physical activity levels and metabolic parameters among German civil servants. A main focus in this study was to examine the group differences rather than measuring the absolute values in an occupational group. We prospectively examined 198 male German civil servants (97 firefighters [FFs], 55 police officers [POs] and 46 sedentary clerks [SCs]). For each parameter, the groups were compared using a linear regression adjusted for age. The 97 FFs showed a similar maximal aerobic power (VO2max l/min) of 3.17±0.44 l/min compared with the POs, who had a maximal aerobic power of 3.13±0.62 l/min (estimated difference, POs vs. FFs: 0.05, CI: -0.12-0.23, p=0.553). The maximal aerobic power of the FFs was slightly higher than that of the SCs, who had a maximal aerobic power of 2.85±0.52 l/min (-0.21, CI: -0.39-0.04, p=0.018 vs. FFs). The average physical activity (in metabolic equivalents [METS]/week) of the FFs was 3953±2688, whereas those of the POs was 2838±2872 (vs. FFs: -985, CI: -1941-30, p = 0.043) and of the SCs 2212±2293 (vs. FFs: -1598.8, CI: -2477-721, p = 0.000; vs. POs: -613.6, CI: -1617.4–390.3, p = 0.229), respectively [corrected]. For the FFs, the average body fat percentage was 17.7%±6.2, whereas it was 21.4%±5.6 for the POs (vs. FFs: 2.75, CI: 0.92-4.59, p=0.004) and 20.8%±6.5 for the SCs (vs. FFs: 1.98, CI: -0.28-4.25, p=0.086; vs. POs: -0.77, CI: 3.15-1.61, p=0.523). The average waist circumference was 89.8 cm±10.0 for the FFs, 97.8 cm±12.4 (5.63, CI: 2.10-9.15, p=0.002) for the POs, and 97.3±11.7 (vs. FFs: -4.89, CI: 1.24-8.55, p=0.009; vs. POs: -0.73, CI: -5.21-3.74, p=0.747) for the SCs. The FFs showed significantly higher physical activity levels compared with the SCs. The PO group had the highest cardiovascular risk of all of the groups because it included more participants with metabolic syndrome; furthermore, the POs had

Aerobic Capacity, Physical Activity and Metabolic Risk Factors in Firefighters Compared with Police Officers and Sedentary Clerks.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Roman Leischik

Full Text Available This study examined the association between the physical work environment and physiological performance measures, physical activity levels and metabolic parameters among German civil servants. A main focus in this study was to examine the group differences rather than measuring the absolute values in an occupational group.We prospectively examined 198 male German civil servants (97 firefighters [FFs], 55 police officers [POs] and 46 sedentary clerks [SCs]. For each parameter, the groups were compared using a linear regression adjusted for age.The 97 FFs showed a similar maximal aerobic power (VO2max l/min of 3.17±0.44 l/min compared with the POs, who had a maximal aerobic power of 3.13±0.62 l/min (estimated difference, POs vs. FFs: 0.05, CI: -0.12-0.23, p=0.553. The maximal aerobic power of the FFs was slightly higher than that of the SCs, who had a maximal aerobic power of 2.85±0.52 l/min (-0.21, CI: -0.39-0.04, p=0.018 vs. FFs. The average physical activity (in metabolic equivalents [METS]/week of the FFs was 3953±2688, whereas those of the POs was 2838±2872 (vs. FFs: -985, CI: -1941-30, p = 0.043 and of the SCs 2212±2293 (vs. FFs: -1598.8, CI: -2477-721, p = 0.000; vs. POs: -613.6, CI: -1617.4–390.3, p = 0.229, respectively [corrected]. For the FFs, the average body fat percentage was 17.7%±6.2, whereas it was 21.4%±5.6 for the POs (vs. FFs: 2.75, CI: 0.92-4.59, p=0.004 and 20.8%±6.5 for the SCs (vs. FFs: 1.98, CI: -0.28-4.25, p=0.086; vs. POs: -0.77, CI: 3.15-1.61, p=0.523. The average waist circumference was 89.8 cm±10.0 for the FFs, 97.8 cm±12.4 (5.63, CI: 2.10-9.15, p=0.002 for the POs, and 97.3±11.7 (vs. FFs: -4.89, CI: 1.24-8.55, p=0.009; vs. POs: -0.73, CI: -5.21-3.74, p=0.747 for the SCs.The FFs showed significantly higher physical activity levels compared with the SCs. The PO group had the highest cardiovascular risk of all of the groups because it included more participants with metabolic syndrome; furthermore, the POs

Does Size Matter? Short and Tall Officers Policing the Streets

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Pål Lagestad

2013-04-01

Full Text Available The importance of physical characteristics is rarely addressed in the literature on professional competence and authority. In police work it is almost taken for granted that height is advantageous in police work, despite a lack of research on the topic. This study examines how height may affect police inter-actions with the public and how short and tall men and women experience the importance of their height in patrol work. Results show that being tall was perceived as beneficial in patrol work. Furthermore, the authority of short police officers is challenged more often by the public, and short female police may have a particular focus on verbal communication. Tallness will probably be perceived as beneficial in fields in which physical conflicts arises.

Temperament vs. chronic fatigue in police officers

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ewa Stępka

2015-12-01

Full Text Available Background: Chronic fatigue is a problem affecting a still growing number of people. Among them there are representatives of different professions who are forced to cope not only with occupational stress, but also with the problem of fatigue. The police is one of such occupational groups, in which exposure to stressful and often traumatic situations, contact with those who violate the law, shift work and contact with superiors can play a key role in the development of chronic fatigue. However, chronic fatigue, induced by the above mentioned factors, does not affect all police officers since its occurrence also depends on many personal traits, including temperament. Material and methods: We studied a group of 61 police officers of the Kuyavian-Pomeranian garrison. The study was conducted using the Buss and Plomin EAS (emotionality, activity, sociability Temperament Questionnaire, CIS-20R (community, innovation, survey Questionnaire, developed by Vercoulen et al. and a questionnaire on socio-demographic data. Results: The results indicated the relationship between chronic fatigue and emotionality. Statistical analyses showed a negative correlation between the nature of emotional components, distress, fear, anger, and the general rate of chronic fatigue. There was no statistically significant correlation between age, and service experience and the level of chronic fatigue. Conclusions: The results indicate that the officers of the study group show dramatically high levels of chronic fatigue. The results also revealed that temperament characteristics, such as sociability and activity, reported in the literature as factors reducing fatigue and stress, did not show relevance to chronic fatigue in the study group. Med Pr 2015;66(6:793–801

Chief officer misconduct in policing: an exploratory study

OpenAIRE

Hales, Gavin; May, Tiggey; Belur, J.; Hough, Mike

2015-01-01

Key findings\\ud This study has examined cases of alleged misconduct involving chief police officers and staff.\\ud The aim was to describe the nature of cases that have come to light, examine the perceived\\ud pathways that led to misconduct, and suggest ways of mitigating the risks of misconduct. The\\ud study is based on interviews with key stakeholders and with investigating officers in chief\\ud officer misconduct cases since April 2008. These cases involved only a small minority of chief\\ud ...

Occupational exposure to airborne lead in Brazilian police officers.

Science.gov (United States)

Rocha, Ernesto Díaz; Sarkis, Jorge E Souza; Carvalho, Maria de Fátima H; Santos, Gerson Vechio Dos; Canesso, Claudemir

2014-07-01

Shooting with lead-containing ammunition in indoor firing ranges is a known source of lead exposure in adults. Police officers may be at risk of lead intoxication when regular training shooting exercises are yearly mandatory to law enforcement officers. Effects on health must be documented, even when low-level elemental (inorganic) lead exposure is detected. Forty police officers (nineteen cadets and twenty-one instructors) responded to a questionnaire about health, shooting habits, and potential lead exposure before a training curse. Blood samples were collected and analyzed for blood lead level (BLL) before and after a three days training curse. The mean BLL for the instructors' group was 5.5 μg/dL ± 0.6. The mean BLL for the cadets' group before the training was 3.3 μg/dL ± 0.15 and after the training the main BLL was 18.2 μg/d L± 1.5. Samples were analyzed by Inductively Coupled Plasma Mass Spectrometer (ICP-MS). All the participants in the training curse had significantly increased BLL (mean increment about 15 μg/dL) after the three days indoor shooting season. In conclusion, occupational lead exposure in indoor firing ranges is a source of lead exposure in Brazilian police officers, and appears to be a health risk, especially when heavy weapons with lead-containing ammunition are used in indoor environments during the firing training seasons. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier GmbH. All rights reserved.

Field quantification of physical exposures of police officers in vehicle operation.

Science.gov (United States)

McKinnon, Colin D; Callaghan, Jack P; Dickerson, Clark R

2011-01-01

Mobile police officers perform many of their daily duties in their vehicles. Combined workspace inflexibility and prolonged driving create potential musculoskeletal injury risks. Limited research exists that quantitatively describes postural and load exposures associated with mobile police work. The purpose of this study was to characterize officer activity during a typical workday and identify opportunities for ergonomic intervention. Digital video of traffic officers (N = 10) was used to classify postures according to work activity. Cumulative time in 10 activities was calculated, and a time-history of driver activity documented. Most (55.5 ± 13.4%) time was out of the vehicle, and 22.3 ± 10.5% was spent in single-arm driving. On paper documentation and mobile data terminal use were identified as in-car activities that may benefit from targeted interventions. The primary contribution of this study is characterization of daily mobile police activity and the identification of possible intervention strategies to mitigate physical exposure levels.

A Qualitative Examination of Police Officers' Perception of Football Supporters

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Havelund, Jonas; Joern, Lise; Rasmussen, Kristian

2015-01-01

Several studies stress the importance of thorough knowledge of supporter culture in order to assess the actual level of risk at football matches thereby ensuring a balanced approach by the police in order to avoid conflict situations. This study examines how Danish police officers perceive...... and categorise football supporters on the basis of a field-based observational study and a qualitative interview study undertaken at the East Jutland Police department in Denmark in the period 2008–2009. The main findings show a general lack of knowledge of supporter culture as well as scepticism towards...... engaging in dialogue with football supporters. As a consequence of these findings, the East Jutland Police department initiated an educational programme on dialogue policing in 2010. The programme has been successfully evaluated and is now implemented on a national basis....

Officers at work in a multicultural police force

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Heijes, C.P.A.

2007-01-01

Purpose - The purpose of this exploratory paper is to examine cross-cultural perception and cooperation between black, Curacaoan and white Dutch police officers in The Netherlands. It also, compares the findings with similar research carried out in the Dutch Internal Revenue Service.

Integration of Environmental Education and Environmental Law Enforcement for Police Officers

Science.gov (United States)

Bovornkijprasert, Sravoot; Rawang, Wee

2016-01-01

The purpose of this research was to establish an integrated model of environmental education (EE) and environmental law enforcement (ELE) to improve the efficiency of functional competency for police officers in Bangkok Metropolitan Police Division 9 (MBP Div. 9). The research design was mixed methods of quantitative and qualitative approaches…

A Comparison of Firefighters and Police Officers: The Influence of Gender and Relationship Status

Science.gov (United States)

Shaffer, Tammy J.

2010-01-01

Differences between fire department and police department personnel (N = 190) concerning work-related stressors and depression were examined with regard to gender and relationship status. Participants completed the Beck Depression Inventory-II (A. T. Beck, R. A. Steer, & G. K. Brown, 1996) and the Distressing Event Questionnaire (E. S. Kubany,…

Mental Illness Stigma Expressed by Police to Police.

Science.gov (United States)

Stuart, Heather

2017-01-01

This paper describes mental health related stigma expressed by police to police using a newly developed 11-item Police Officer Stigma Scale and reports on the preliminary psychometric properties (factor structure and internal reliability) of this scale. The scale used an indirect measurement approach adapted from the Perceived Devaluation and Discrimination Scale. Five themes appropriate to police culture were adapted and six additional items were added. Responses were rated on a 5-point agreement scale with an additional don't know option. Data were collected from officers attending a mandatory workshop (90.5% response). Exploratory factor analysis showed the scale to be unidimensional and internally reliable (Cronbach's alpha was 0.82). The most endorsed items pertained to avoiding disclosure to a supervisor/manager or to a colleague (85% agreement), that most officers would expect discrimination at work (62%), and that most officers would not want a supervisor or manager who had a mental illness (62%). Findings highlight that (a) Police-to-police mental illness stigma may be a particularly strong feature of police cultures; (b) police should be a focus for targeted anti-stigma interventions; and (c) though further psychometric testing is needed, the Police Office Stigma Scale may provide important insights into the nature and functioning of police-to-police stigma in police cultures in future research.

Job stress and behavioral characteristics in relation to coronary heart disease risk among Japanese police officers.

Science.gov (United States)

Shiozaki, Maki; Miyai, Nobuyuki; Morioka, Ikuharu; Utsumi, Miyoko; Hattori, Sonomi; Koike, Hiroaki; Arita, Mikio; Miyashita, Kazuhisa

2017-08-08

This study examined the association between job-related behavioral characteristics and the risk of coronary heart diseases (CHD) in Japanese male police officers. Compared to office clerks, police officers exhibited greater age-related increases of the prevalence of CHD risk factors, and a clustering number of CHD risk factors was significantly higher in the group of those over 45 yr of age. Among the police officers, coronary-prone behavior was more frequent than that seen in office clerks. The police officers with coronary-prone behavior tended to engage in shift work and to work overtime more; yet they were less likely to perceive job stress and to express the relevant physical and psychological symptoms than those without coronary-prone behavior. The subjects with such behavioral characteristics had a significantly greater number of CHD risk factors. In a multiple regression analysis, coronary-prone behavior together with age, social support, walking hours per day, and amount of alcohol consumption were selected as significant determinants of a cluster of CHD risk factors. These results suggest that coronary-prone behavior may contribute to the higher prevalence of CHD risk factors in police officers via leading the long working hours and the work-related unfavorable lifestyles, such as alcohol drinking and physical inactivity.

Left Ventricular Function and Physiological Performance in Female Ironman Athletes and Female Police Officers.

Science.gov (United States)

Leischik, Roman; Foshag, Peter; Strauss, Markus; Spelsberg, Norman

2016-06-01

Data about physiological performance of female ironman triathletes are rare. However, some studies have reported this endurance sport may cause damage to the right or left ventricles, even in females. The goal of this study was to assess prospectively the right/left ventricular function and physiological performance in female athletes (middle- and long ironman distance) and to compare the findings to female federal police officers. A total of 33 female triathletes and 37 female police officers were examined using spiro-ergometry and echocardiography. Female triathletes achieved VO2max 52.8 ± 5.7 ml/kg(-1)·min(-1), and police officers 35.3 ± 6.5 ml/kg(-1)·min(-1) In athletes, left ventricular end-diastolic diameter was 4.4 ± 0.3 cm and in police officers 4.5 ± 0.4 cm, and the left ventricular muscle mass index was 85.8 g/m(2 )± 18.7 in athletes and in police officers 72.0 g/m(2 )± 9.1. Right ventricular area change among athletes was 49.4 ± 8.5%, and in police officers 46.0 ± 6.9%. The performance date of female triathletes can be used as training prescription for leisure female triathletes, when middle or long distances in triathlon competitions are planned. No right or left ventricular dysfunction was found despite long training and finishing of long distance competitions: non-elite athletes, 5.4 ± 2.8 years of triathlon competitions; elite athletes, 7.6 ± 5.8 years. © The Author(s) 2016.

Outcomes achieved by and police and clinician perspectives on a joint police officer and mental health clinician mobile response unit.

Science.gov (United States)

Lee, Stuart J; Thomas, Phillipa; Doulis, Chantelle; Bowles, Doug; Henderson, Kathryn; Keppich-Arnold, Sandra; Perez, Eva; Stafrace, Simon

2015-12-01

Despite their limited mental health expertise, police are often first to respond to people experiencing a mental health crisis. Often the person in crisis is then transported to hospital for care, instead of receiving more immediate assessment and treatment in the community. The current study conducted an evaluation of an Australian joint police-mental health mobile response unit that aimed to improve the delivery of a community-based crisis response. Activity data were audited to demonstrate utilization and outcomes for referred people. Police officers and mental health clinicians in the catchment area were also surveyed to measure the unit's perceived impact. During the 6-month pilot, 296 contacts involving the unit occurred. Threatened suicide (33%), welfare concerns (22%) and psychotic episodes (18%) were the most common reasons for referral. The responses comprised direct admission to a psychiatric unit for 11% of contacts, transportation to a hospital emergency department for 32% of contacts, and community management for the remainder (57%). Police officers were highly supportive of the model and reported having observed benefits of the unit for consumers and police and improved collaboration between services. The joint police-mental health clinician unit enabled rapid delivery of a multi-skilled crisis response in the community. © 2015 Australian College of Mental Health Nurses Inc.

[Self-esteem and quality of life: essential for the mental health of police officers].

Science.gov (United States)

Andrade, Edson Ribeiro; de Sousa, Edinilsa Ramos; Minayo, Maria Cecília de Souza

2009-01-01

The results here shown are part of an action-research that aimed to elaborate, apply and evaluate a pilot project for contributing to the mental health of Rio de Janeiro police officers. This research comprises both quantitative and qualitative approaches in an ex-ante and ex-post evaluation pattern. The subjects of this research were 148 police officers serving in a special division of the city of Rio de Janeiro Police Department (76 were placed in the Experimental Group and 72 in the Control Group, according to certain variables). The article focuses on the results of the assessment made through standardized scales of self-esteem (Rosenberg Scale), quality of life (WHOQOL-Bref), and is complemented with a qualitative assessment using Content Analysis. The results show that interventions aimed at producing emotional support for police officers with emphasis on Quality of Life and Self-Esteem are possible and useful.

[Consumption of licit and illicit substances by police officers in the city of Rio de Janeiro].

Science.gov (United States)

de Souza, Edinilsa Ramos; Schenker, Miriam; Constantino, Patrícia; Correia, Bruna Soares Chaves

2013-03-01

The consumption of psychoactive substances by civil and military police of the city of Rio de Janeiro was investigated. Data was gathered from two cross-sectional studies on a questionnaire on work and health conditions given to a sample from the two corporations. The results show higher frequencies of regular consumption of tobacco (23.3% by civil police and 19.1% by military police), daily use of alcohol (12% by civil police and 11% by military police) and tranquilizers in the past year (13.3% by civil police and 10.1% by military police). The consumption of marijuana among officers was 0.1% by civil police and 1.1% by military police, and cocaine use among the military police was 1.1%. Alcohol consumption proved to be intense and causes problems at work and in the social and family relationships of these officers. The need for preventive policies for addiction and the possible underestimation of information on illicit substances is emphasized.

A Novel Training Program for Police Officers that Improves Interactions with Mentally Ill Individuals and is Cost-Effective

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Krameddine, Yasmeen I.; DeMarco, David; Hassel, Robert; Silverstone, Peter H.

2013-01-01

Police and law enforcement providers frequently come into contact with individuals who have psychiatric disorders, sometimes with tragic results. Repeated studies suggest that greater understanding of psychiatric conditions by police officers would be beneficial. Here we present a novel approach to training police officers to improve their interactions with those who might have a mental illness. This approach involved developing a carefully scripted role-play training, which involved police officers (n = 663) interacting with highly trained actors during six realistic scenarios. The primary goal of the training was to improve empathy, communication skills, and the ability of officers to de-escalate potentially difficult situations. Uniquely, feedback was given to officers after each scenario by several individuals including experienced police officers, a mental health professional, and by the actors involved (with insights such as “this is how you made me feel”). Results showed that there were no changes in attitudes of the police toward the mentally ill comparing data at baseline and at 6 months after the training in those who completed both ratings (n = 170). In contrast, there were significant improvements in directly measured behaviors (n = 142) as well as in indirect measurements of behavior throughout the police force. Thus, compared to previous years, there was a significant increase in the recognition of mental health issues as a reason for a call (40%), improved efficiency in dealing with mental health issues, and a decrease in weapon or physical interactions with mentally ill individuals. The training cost was $120 per officer but led to significant cost savings (more than $80,000) in the following 6 months. In conclusion, this novel 1-day training course significantly changed behavior of police officers in meaningful ways and also led to cost savings. We propose that this training model could be adopted by other police agencies. PMID

A brief report on rape myth acceptance: differences between police officers, law students, and psychology students in the United Kingdom.

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Sleath, Emma; Bull, Ray

2015-01-01

A common perception is that police officers hold very negative attitudes about rape victims. Therefore, the purpose of this article is to establish whether police officers do accept stereotypical rape myths at a higher level compared to members of other populations. There were 3 comparison samples, composed of police officers, law students, and psychology students, that completed the Illinois Rape Myth Acceptance scale. Male and female police officers accepted "she lied" myths at a higher level than the student samples. Student samples were found to accept 2 types of rape myths ("she asked for it" and "he didn't meant to") at a higher level compared to police officers. No significant differences were found in the other 4 subfactors. Therefore, the pattern of results suggests that police officers do not adhere to stereotypical myths about rape victims more than do other populations.

'Around here I am the law!'
Strengthening police officers' compliance with the rule of law in Costa Rica

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Quirine A.M. Eijkman

2006-12-01

Full Text Available At the end of the last decade many Latin American states initiated public security reform. This included police human rights strategies, which aim to improve police officers' compliance with human rights. Particular strategies emphasized the development of police legal expertise. In Costa Rica this was done through professionalizing police legal training and police legal assistance within the preventive police. Yet the implementation of police human rights strategies is influenced by a wider socio-political and institutional context. 'Around here I am the law' reflects the process of transforming non-professionally trained police officers into professionally trained public officials whose core business is the enforcement of the law. On the basis of empirical research conducted in San José, this paper discusses the effect of implementing police human rights strategies that focus on improving police officers' compliance with the rule of law.

Predictors of patrol officer interest in cybercrime training and investigation in selected United States police departments.

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Holt, Thomas J; Bossler, Adam M

2012-09-01

Cybercrime has created substantial challenges for law enforcement, particularly at the local level. Most scholars and police administrators believe that patrol officers need to become more effective first responders to cybercrime calls. The evidence illustrates, however, that many patrol officers are neither adequately prepared nor strongly interested in taking an active role in addressing cybercrime at the local level. This study, therefore, examined the factors that predicted patrol officer interest in cybercrime training and investigations in two southeastern U.S. cities. The study specifically examined the relationship between demographics, cybercrime exposure, computer training, computer proficiency, Internet and cybercrime perceptions, and views on policing cybercrime with officer interest in cybercrime investigation training and conducting cybercrime investigations in the future. Officer views on policing cybercrime, particularly whether they valued cybercrime investigations and believed that cybercrime would dramatically change policing, along with their computer skills, were the strongest predictors of interest in cybercrime efforts. Officers who had received previous computer training were less interested in additional training and conducting investigations. These findings support the argument that more command and departmental meetings focusing on the value of investigating these types of crime need to be held in order to increase officer interest.

Effects of threat, trait anxiety and state anxiety on police officers' actions during an arrest

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Renden, P.G.; Landman, H.M.; Daalder, N.R.; de Cock, H.P.; Savelsbergh, G.J.P.; Oudejans, R.R.D.

Purpose: We investigated the effects of threat and trait anxiety on state anxiety and how that affects police officers' actions during an arrest. Most experiments on police performance under anxiety test the performance of one particular skill. Yet, police work often involves concerted use of a

Perceived job image among police officers in Singapore: factorial dimensions and differential effects.

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Lim, V K; Teo, T S; See, S K

2000-12-01

The authors examined the perceived job image of police officers in Singapore and its differential effects on their work-related attitudes (e.g., job satisfaction, organizational commitment, and intention to quit). The authors obtained data from questionnaire surveys and focus-group interviews. Perceived job image consisted of 4 dimensions: (a) prestige, (b) integrity, (c) competence, and (d) nonroutine job nature. Results of hierarchical regression analyses suggested that the first 2 dimensions of the perceived job image construct were salient in affecting the police officers' work-related attitudes.

Psychobiological stress response to a simulated school shooting in police officers.

Science.gov (United States)

Strahler, Jana; Ziegert, Thomas

2015-01-01

Police work is one of the most demanding professions with various sources of high occupational stress. Among the most demanding tasks are amok situations, such as school shootings. Hardly anything is known about endocrine and cardiovascular markers in safety professionals during emergency situations in real life and how this relates to stress perception and management. This study will therefore explore police officers' stress responses to a reality-based school shooting simulation assessing neuroendocrine, cardiovascular, and psychological stress markers. A convenience sample of 50 police officers (39.5 ± 8.7 yrs, 9 women) participating in a basic or refresher amok training session for the German uniformed and criminal police were recruited. Saliva samples were collected shortly before the simulation task (school shooting), immediately after, 20 and 45 min after finishing the task for the assessment of cortisol and alpha-amylase (sAA), as markers of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis and the autonomic nervous system, respectively. Heart rate (variability) was assessed continuously. Officers rated their actual mood right before and 10 min after the simulation. Subjective experience of task stressfulness was assessed minutes after finishing the simulation. Overall, the simulated school shooting did not result in changes of mood, tiredness, or calmness but higher restlessness was experienced during the basic training, which was also experienced as more controllable. Female officers reported to experience more strain and anxiety. Cortisol showed highest levels at the beginning of the training and steadily decreasing values thereafter. In contrast, sAA increased substantially right after the simulation with officers on the front position showing most pronounced changes. Cardiovascular reactivity was highest in officers acting on the side positions while advancing to find the suspect. Furthermore higher self-efficacy as well as, by trend, controllability and

Mental-Health Conditions, Barriers to Care, and Productivity Loss Among Officers in An Urban Police Department

Science.gov (United States)

Fox, Justin; Desai, Mayur M.; Britten, Karissa; Lucas, Georgina; Luneau, Renee; Rosenthal, Marjorie S.

2014-01-01

Background Police officers are frequently exposed to situations that can negatively impact their mental health. Methods We conducted this study of an urban police department to determine 1) the prevalence of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), depression, and alcohol abuse; 2) patterns of and barriers to mental-health services utilization; and 3) the impact these conditions have on productivity loss. Results Among 150 officers, PTSD (24%), depression (9%), and alcohol abuse (19%) were common. Only 46.7% had ever sought mental-health services; the most commonly cited barriers to accessing services were concerns regarding confidentiality and the potential “negative career impact.” Officers with mental-health conditions had higher productivity loss (5.9% vs 3.4%, P police officers are common, and costly, yet most officers had never accessed mental-health services; many due to modifiable risk factors. PMID:23155671

Perceived fitness protects against stress-based mental health impairments among police officers who report good sleep.

Science.gov (United States)

Gerber, Markus; Kellmann, Micheal; Elliot, Catherine; Hartmann, Tim; Brand, Serge; Holsboer-Trachsler, Edith; Pühse, Uwe

2014-01-01

This study examined a cognitive stress-moderation model that posits that the harmful effects of chronic stress are decreased in police officers who perceive high levels of physical fitness. It also determined whether the stress-buffering effect of perceived fitness is influenced by officers' self-reported sleep. A total of 460 police officers (n=116 females, n=344 males, mean age: M=40.7; SD=9.7) rated their physical fitness and completed a battery of self-report stress, mental health, and sleep questionnaires. Three-way analyses of covariance were performed to examine whether officers' self-reported mental health status depends on the interaction between stress, perceived fitness and sleep. Highly stressed officers perceived lower mental health and fitness and were overrepresented in the group of poor sleepers. Officers with high fitness self-reports revealed increased mental health and reported good sleep. In contrast, poor sleepers scored lower on the mental health index. High stress was more closely related to low mental health among poor sleepers. Most importantly, perceived fitness revealed a stress-buffering effect, but only among officers who reported good sleep. High perceived fitness and good sleep operate as stress resilience resources among police officers. The findings suggest that multimodal programs including stress management, sleep hygiene and fitness training are essential components of workplace health promotion in the police force.

Anti-Stigma Programs: Stigma in Campus Police Officers

Science.gov (United States)

Rafacz, Jennifer D.

2012-01-01

It has been proposed that the most effective way to combat mental illness stigma is to focus on power groups who have a direct impact on the lives of persons with serious mental illness. With the increase of violence and need for mental health services on college campuses, campus police officers are seen as an important power group for persons…

Criminal Profiling Belief and Use : A Study of Canadian Police Officer Opinion

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Snook, Brent; Haines, Amanda; Taylor, Paul J.; Bennell, Craig

2007-01-01

Fifty-one Canadian police officers, working in major crime divisions, were interviewed about their experiences with criminal profiling (CP), and their beliefs about its utility and validity. The majority of officers agreed that CP helps solve cases, is a valuable investigative tool, and advances

Prevalence of overweight and obesity among police officers in Riyadh City and risk factors for cardiovascular disease

OpenAIRE

Alghamdi, Abdullah S.; Yahya, Mohammed A.; Alshammari, Ghedeir M.; Osman, Magdi A.

2017-01-01

Background Despite the prevalence of overweight and obesity and increases in associated diseases such as diabetes and heart disease in the Saudi population, no studies have addressed the spread of obesity among Saudi police officers. Therefore, the present study aimed to assess the prevalence of overweight and obesity and associations with biochemical parameters among the police in Riyadh. Method The study involved a cross-sectional survey of 160 police officers in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Anthr...

The Relationship Between the Frequency of Smoking and Depression among Police Officers

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ruhusen Kutlu

2008-02-01

Full Text Available BACKGROUND: The aim of this descriptive and cross-sectional study was to investigate the relationship between smoking status and depression of 492 police officers working at the Police Departments of Konya between 25th May 2006 and 15th June 2006. METHODS: A questionnaire was applied to determine the socio-demographic characteristics and smoking status. The depression level was evaluated by the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI. RESULTS: Of all 492 police participating this study, 467 (94.9% were men, 25 (5.1% women, mean age 37.39±6.50 (min=22, max=53, and 462 (93.9% were married. Of the participants in this study, 41.9% (n=206 were current smokers, %34.3 (n=169 never smokers, %23.8 (n=117 were ex-smokers and the quit ratio was %36.2. The lowest age at starting smoking was 7, the highest age was 44 and the median value was 18. The median value of the duration of smoking (years was 17. Social factors (environment, friend groups, etc. were the first reason to start smoking (46.6%, n=96. According to the level of nicotine addiction determined using the Fagerstrom score, the median value was 3. While gender, age, marital status, education level, being in dept had no effects on smoking status (p>0.05, living place (p=0.022, having a private car (p=0.018 and affording to pay the credit cards in time (p0.05, the frequency of depression level was significantly higher among the police who were in dept, did not have their own home and could not afford to pay their credit card debts in time (p<0.05. CONCLUSION: The high level of depression has shown that police officers are at risk psychologically. It will be considerably beneficial to provide psychological support and consulting services to the police officers. An effective and comprehensive tobacco control program is urgently required for them. [TAF Prev Med Bull 2008; 7(1.000: 31-38

The Relationship Between the Frequency of Smoking and Depression among Police Officers

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ruhusen Kutlu

2008-02-01

Full Text Available BACKGROUND: The aim of this descriptive and cross-sectional study was to investigate the relationship between smoking status and depression of 492 police officers working at the Police Departments of Konya between 25th May 2006 and 15th June 2006. METHODS: A questionnaire was applied to determine the socio-demographic characteristics and smoking status. The depression level was evaluated by the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI. RESULTS: Of all 492 police participating this study, 467 (94.9% were men, 25 (5.1% women, mean age 37.39±6.50 (min=22, max=53, and 462 (93.9% were married. Of the participants in this study, 41.9% (n=206 were current smokers, %34.3 (n=169 never smokers, %23.8 (n=117 were ex-smokers and the quit ratio was %36.2. The lowest age at starting smoking was 7, the highest age was 44 and the median value was 18. The median value of the duration of smoking (years was 17. Social factors (environment, friend groups, etc. were the first reason to start smoking (46.6%, n=96. According to the level of nicotine addiction determined using the Fagerstrom score, the median value was 3. While gender, age, marital status, education level, being in dept had no effects on smoking status (p>0.05, living place (p=0.022, having a private car (p=0.018 and affording to pay the credit cards in time (p0.05, the frequency of depression level was significantly higher among the police who were in dept, did not have their own home and could not afford to pay their credit card debts in time (p<0.05. CONCLUSION: The high level of depression has shown that police officers are at risk psychologically. It will be considerably beneficial to provide psychological support and consulting services to the police officers. An effective and comprehensive tobacco control program is urgently required for them. [TAF Prev Med Bull. 2008; 7(1: 31-38

Gender and Age Differences in Trauma and PTSD Among Dutch Treatment-Seeking Police Officers

NARCIS (Netherlands)

van der Meer, Christianne A. I.; Bakker, Anne; Smit, Annika S.; van Buschbach, Susanne; den Dekker, Melissa; Westerveld, Gré J.; Hutter, Renée C.; Gersons, Berthold P. R.; Olff, Miranda

2017-01-01

Little is known about how age and gender are associated with posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms and traumatic experiences in treatment-seeking police offers. In this study, we examined 967 diagnostic files of police officers seeking treatment for PTSD. Six hundred twelve (63%) of the

Working hours and common mental disorders in English police officers.

Science.gov (United States)

Houdmont, J; Randall, R

2016-12-01

There is a paucity of evidence on working hours and their psychological correlates in police officers of the federated ranks in England. An exploratory study to establish the extent to which a sample of English police officers worked long hours and the association between long working hours and common mental disorder (CMD). Officers of the federated ranks (constable, sergeant, inspector) from two English county forces completed a questionnaire to report their typical weekly working hours and symptoms of CMD. We also collected socio- and occupational-demographic data. We defined long working hours as ≥49 h in a typical week in accordance with 48-h weekly limit specified in the 1993 European Directive on the Organisation of Working Time. We established associations between long working hours and self-reported CMDs using binary logistic regression to generate odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) adjusted for potential confounding variables. Twenty-seven per cent (n = 327/1226) of respondents reported long working hours. The ORs for psychological distress (OR 2.05, 95% CI 1.57-2.68), emotional exhaustion (OR 1.99, 95% CI 1.52-2.59), and depersonalization (OR 1.30, 95% CI 1.00-1.71) were significantly increased for long working hours after adjustment for socio- and occupational-demographic characteristics. More than one quarter of sampled police officers reported working long hours and were significantly more likely to report CMD. National and longitudinal research is required to confirm these findings, which suggest management of working hours may effectively promote psychological well-being. © The Author 2016. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Society of Occupational Medicine. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com.

The Associations of Job Stress and Organizational Identification with Job Satisfaction among Chinese Police Officers: The Mediating Role of Psychological Capital.

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Lu, Lu; Liu, Li; Sui, Guoyuan; Wang, Lie

2015-11-30

Police officers' job satisfaction is an important issue for police force management, but insufficient research exists on the topic, especially in China. This study aimed to examine the associations of job stress and organizational identification with job satisfaction among Chinese police officers, and particularly the mediating role of psychological capital (PsyCap). A cross-sectional study was conducted in Liaoning Province of China during the period of September-October 2014. A set of self-administered questionnaires was distributed to 2514 police officers, and complete responses were obtained from 2226 participants. The associations among variables in relation to job satisfaction were validated by structural equation modeling. Job stress was negatively associated with job satisfaction, while organizational identification and PsyCap were positively associated with job satisfaction among Chinese police officers. PsyCap mediated the associations of job stress and organizational identification with job satisfaction. Interventions to improve Chinese police officers' job satisfaction should be developed in the future, especially the enhancement of PsyCap.

Stress-induced cortisol facilitates threat-related decision making among police officers.

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Akinola, Modupe; Mendes, Wendy Berry

2012-02-01

Previous research suggests that cortisol can affect cognitive functions such as memory, decision making, and attentiveness to threat-related cues. Here, we examine whether increases in cortisol, brought on by an acute social stressor, influence threat-related decision making. Eighty-one police officers completed a standardized laboratory stressor and then immediately completed a computer simulated decision-making task designed to examine decisions to accurately shoot or not shoot armed and unarmed Black and White targets. Results indicated that police officers who had larger cortisol increases to the social-stress task subsequently made fewer errors when deciding to shoot armed Black targets relative to armed White targets, suggesting that hypothalamic pituitary adrenal (HPA) activation may exacerbate vigilance for threat cues. We conclude with a discussion of the implications of threat-initiated decision making.

Stress in police officers: a study of the origins, prevalence and severity of stress-related symptoms within a county police force.

Science.gov (United States)

Collins, P A; Gibbs, A C C

2003-06-01

High levels of stress-related illness are causing concern across industry. Against a background of impending legislative moves to try to improve this situation, there is a need to identify key work-related stressors. Police work tends to be regarded as inherently stressful because of the personal risk of exposure to confrontation and violence and the day-to-day involvement in a variety of traumatic incidents. As a result, high levels of stress-related symptoms might be expected in this population. To examine the sources of stress-related symptoms within police officers and measure the prevalence of significant associated mental ill-health. A cross-sectional questionnaire survey of a population of 1206 police officers was performed to assess levels of strain associated with a series of potential home and work related stressors. Participants were then split into low and high scoring groups on the basis of a General Health Questionnaire (GHQ) threshold score in order to identify those stressors most associated with mental ill-health effects. Occupational stressors ranking most highly within the population were not specific to policing, but to organizational issues such as the demands of work impinging upon home life, lack of consultation and communication, lack of control over workload, inadequate support and excess workload in general. The high scoring group constituted 41% of the population and differed significantly from those with low scores in perception of all stressors, ranking both personal and occupational stressors more highly, and from personality constraints appeared significantly more 'stress-prone'. A significant association between gender and mental ill-health was found, with females more likely to score more highly on the GHQ than males. This study confirms previous findings of organizational culture and workload as the key issues in officer stress. Given that the degree of symptomatology appears to be worsening, management action is required. Further

Training Post-9/11 Police Officers with a Counter-Terrorism Reality-Based Training Model: A Case Study

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Biddle, Christopher J.

2013-01-01

The purpose of this qualitative holistic multiple-case study was to identify the optimal theoretical approach for a Counter-Terrorism Reality-Based Training (CTRBT) model to train post-9/11 police officers to perform effectively in their counter-terrorism assignments. Post-9/11 police officers assigned to counter-terrorism duties are not trained…

Police Officers' Knowledge and Attitudes Toward Brain Death and Organ Donation in Korea.

Science.gov (United States)

Kim, H S; Yoo, Y S; Cho, O-H; Lee, C E; Choi, Y-H; Kim, H J; Park, J Y; Park, H S; Kwon, Y J

2018-05-01

Administrative processing by the police may affect the process involved in organ donation in the event of an accidental brain injury. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the knowledge and attitude of police toward brain-dead donors and organ donation. This was a descriptive research study using a 41-item questionnaire. As of July 19, 2017, 11 police stations in Seoul had collected questionnaires completed by 115 police officers. Data were analyzed using SAS (version 9.4) software. There were statistically significant differences in the scores on knowledge about brain death/donation according to religion (P = .022). Attitude was significantly positively correlated with the knowledge about brain-death organ donation (P = .029). It is necessary to understand and cooperate with the police when processing brain death organs from accidents. Education about organ donation can enhance the information and knowledge of the police and can also help to establish a positive attitude about organ donation. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

[Psychiatric patients and relatives instruct German police officers - an anti-stigma project of "BASTA - the alliance for mentally ill people"].

Science.gov (United States)

Wundsam, Kerstin; Pitschel-Walz, Gabi; Leucht, Stefan; Kissling, Werner

2007-05-01

Contact with police officers due to schizophrenia and resort to violence in such interactions is a common occurrence and represents a source for stigmatisation of mentally ill people. Aim of this project was to establish a program for police officers to reduce that stigma. The seminar was developed by a German anti-stigma organisation in cooperation with sociology teachers of the Bavarian police academy. Evaluations focussed on the police officers "social distance" and "negative stereotypes" towards mentally ill people. The personal contact between officers and the referees (patients, relatives, professionals) was the core of the seminar. Results of a debriefing after the pilot-project was overall positive. Evaluations in the renewal years showed significant improvement within the scale "social distance" (p stigma interventions.

Study protocol of a multicenter randomized controlled trial of mindfulness training to reduce burnout and promote quality of life in police officers: the POLICE study.

Science.gov (United States)

Trombka, Marcelo; Demarzo, Marcelo; Bacas, Daniel Campos; Antonio, Sonia Beira; Cicuto, Karen; Salvo, Vera; Claudino, Felipe Cesar Almeida; Ribeiro, Letícia; Christopher, Michael; Garcia-Campayo, Javier; Rocha, Neusa Sica

2018-05-25

Police officers experience a high degree of chronic stress. Policing ranks among the highest professions in terms of disease and accident rates. Mental health is particularly impacted, evidenced by elevated rates of burnout, anxiety and depression, and poorer quality of life than the general public. Mindfulness training has been shown to reduce stress, anxiety, burnout and promote quality of life in a variety of settings, although its efficacy in this context has yet to be systematically evaluated. Therefore, this trial will investigate the efficacy of a mindfulness-based intervention versus a waitlist control in improving quality of life and reducing negative mental health symptoms in police officers. This multicenter randomized controlled trial has three assessment points: baseline, post-intervention, and six-month follow-up. Active police officers (n = 160) will be randomized to Mindfulness-Based Health Promotion (MBHP) or waitlist control group at two Brazilian major cities: Porto Alegre and São Paulo. The primary outcomes are burnout symptoms and quality of life. Consistent with the MBHP conceptual model, assessed secondary outcomes include perceived stress, anxiety and depression symptoms, and the potential mechanisms of resilience, mindfulness, decentering, self-compassion, spirituality, and religiosity. Findings from this study will inform and guide future research, practice, and policy regarding police offer health and quality of life in Brazil and globally. ClinicalTrials.gov NCT03114605 . Retrospectively registered on March 21, 2017.

3 CFR 8378 - Proclamation 8378 of May 11, 2009. Peace Officers Memorial Day and Police Week, 2009

Science.gov (United States)

2010-01-01

... Memorial Day and Police Week, 2009 8378 Proclamation 8378 Presidential Documents Proclamations Proclamation 8378 of May 11, 2009 Proc. 8378 Peace Officers Memorial Day and Police Week, 2009By the President of... disabled in the line of duty, and to designate that week as Police Week in recognition of their service...

Prevalence and correlates of needle-stick injuries among active duty police officers in Tijuana, Mexico.

Science.gov (United States)

Mittal, María Luisa; Beletsky, Leo; Patiño, Efraín; Abramovitz, Daniela; Rocha, Teresita; Arredondo, Jaime; Bañuelos, Arnulfo; Rangel, Gudelia; Strathdee, Steffanie A

2016-01-01

Police officers are at an elevated risk for needle-stick injuries (NSI), which pose a serious and costly occupational health risk for HIV and viral hepatitis. However, research on NSIs among police officers is limited, especially in low- and middle-income countries. Despite the legality of syringe possession in Mexico, half of people who inject drugs (PWID) in Tijuana report extrajudicial syringe-related arrests and confiscation by police, which has been associated with needle-sharing and HIV infection. We assessed the prevalence and correlates of NSIs among Tijuana police officers to inform efforts to improve occupational safety and simultaneously reduce HIV risks among police and PWID. Tijuana's Department of Municipal Public Safety (SSPM) is among Mexico's largest. Our binational, multi-sectoral team analyzed de-identified data from SSPM's 2014 anonymous self-administered occupational health survey. The prevalence of NSI and syringe disposal practices was determined. Logistic regression with robust variance estimation via generalized estimating equations identified factors associated with ever having an occupational NSI. Approximately one-quarter of the Tijuana police force was given the occupational health survey (N=503). Respondents were predominantly male (86.5%) and ≤35 years old (42.6%). Nearly one in six officers reported ever having a NSI while working at SSPM (15.3%), of whom 14.3% reported a NSI within the past year. Most participants reported encountering needles/syringes while on duty (n=473, 94%); factors independently associated with elevated odds of NSIs included frequently finding syringes that contain drugs (adjusted odds ratio (AOR): 2.98; 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.56-5.67) and breaking used needles (AOR: 2.25; 95% CI: 1.29-3.91), while protective factors included being willing to contact emergency services in case of NSIs (AOR: 0.39; 95% CI: 0.22-0.69), and wearing needle-stick resistant gloves (AOR: 0.43; 95% CI: 0.19-0.91). Tijuana

Are they all the same? : norwegian police officers' personality characteristics and tactics of conflict resolution

OpenAIRE

Abrahamsen, Solveig; Strype, Jon

2010-01-01

This is the final text version of the article, it may contain minor differences from the publisher's pdf version. The issue of whether police officers possess certain personality characteristics that make them unique has been the subject of an extensive line of research. Several researchers have found evidence of a 'police personality', while other researchers have failed to detect personality differences between the police and the public. Making the picture even more complex, some researc...

'Around here I am the law!' Strengthening police officers' compliance with the rule of law in Costa Rica

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Eijkman, Q.A.M.

2006-01-01

At the end of the last decade many Latin American states initiated public security reform. This included police human rights strategies, which aim to improve police officers' compliance with human rights. Particular strategies emphasized the development of police legal expertise. In Costa Rica this

Relationship between psychosocial stress dimensions and salivary cortisol in military police officers

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Juliana Petri Tavares

Full Text Available Abstract Objective: to analyze the relationship between psychosocial stress dimensions and salivary cortisol in military police officers. Method: cross-sectional and analytical study with 134 military police officers. The Effort-Reward Imbalance (ERI Model scale has been used to assess psychosocial stress. Salivary cortisol was collected in three samples. The following tests were used: Student's t-test, Mann-Whitney, ANOVA, Bonferroni, Kruskal-Wallis and Dunn. Pearson and Spearman correlation methods were used, as well as multiple linear regression. Cortisol at night showed an ascending statistical association with the psychosocial reward (p=0.004 and a descending association with the effort-impairment scores (p=0.017. Being part of the Special Tactical Operations Group (GATE and the diastolic blood pressure explained 13.5% of the variation in cortisol levels on waking up. The sectors GATE, Special Patrol of the Elite Squad of the Military Police and Motorcyclists explained 21.9% of the variation in cortisol levels 30-minute after awakening. The variables GATE sector and Effort Dimension explained 27.7% of the variation in cortisol levels at night. Conclusion: it was evidenced that salivary cortisol variation was influenced by individual, labor and psychosocial variables.

Relationship between psychosocial stress dimensions and salivary cortisol in military police officers.

Science.gov (United States)

Tavares, Juliana Petri; Lautert, Liana; Magnago, Tânia Solange Bosi de Souza; Consiglio, Angélica Rosat; Pai, Daiane Dal

2017-04-20

to analyze the relationship between psychosocial stress dimensions and salivary cortisol in military police officers. cross-sectional and analytical study with 134 military police officers. The Effort-Reward Imbalance (ERI) Model scale has been used to assess psychosocial stress. Salivary cortisol was collected in three samples. The following tests were used: Student's t-test, Mann-Whitney, ANOVA, Bonferroni, Kruskal-Wallis and Dunn. Pearson and Spearman correlation methods were used, as well as multiple linear regression. Cortisol at night showed an ascending statistical association with the psychosocial reward (p=0.004) and a descending association with the effort-impairment scores (p=0.017). Being part of the Special Tactical Operations Group (GATE) and the diastolic blood pressure explained 13.5% of the variation in cortisol levels on waking up. The sectors GATE, Special Patrol of the Elite Squad of the Military Police and Motorcyclists explained 21.9% of the variation in cortisol levels 30-minute after awakening. The variables GATE sector and Effort Dimension explained 27.7% of the variation in cortisol levels at night. it was evidenced that salivary cortisol variation was influenced by individual, labor and psychosocial variables.

The Views of Ex-Police Officers on Child Abuse Case Attrition in the United Kingdom.

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Krahenbuhl, Sarah J; Dent, Helen R

2017-11-01

Attrition in child abuse cases is of continuing concern. International research has produced evidence to suggest that the form and quality of the evidence available in many child abuse cases is of insufficient quality to allow progression through the judicial system. Recent revelations have led to an increase in public and professional awareness of the prevalence of child sexual abuse, and how this is managed by the legal and social care systems. The aim of this research was to explore the opinions of ex-Police Officers who had direct experience relating to the management of child abuse cases about the factors affecting case progression. Seven ex-Police Officers were interviewed and the transcribed data were thematically analyzed. The five main themes derived from the data were Global Myths, Assumptions, and Misconceptions; Suitability; Resources; Professionals' Attributes; and Working Together. These themes demonstrated that the primary issues indicated by ex-Police Officers were more about relationships between professionals, an understanding of the child's perspective, and their subsequent involvement in the legal processes than simply being related to a lack of resources.

The Psychological Competence of Police Officers in Confidential Cooperation with Citizens

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Uspanov, Zholdybai T.; Turabayeva, Dana S.; Ermolovich, Vladimir F.

2016-01-01

This research studied the psychological aspects of citizens' assistance to law enforcement agencies on a confidential basis. The comprehensive observance of the psychological norms of cooperation is determined by the professional ethics of police officers, the necessity of nondisclosure of investigation secrets by citizens, and the security of the…

The Associations of Job Stress and Organizational Identification with Job Satisfaction among Chinese Police Officers: The Mediating Role of Psychological Capital

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Lu Lu

2015-11-01

Full Text Available Police officers’ job satisfaction is an important issue for police force management, but insufficient research exists on the topic, especially in China. This study aimed to examine the associations of job stress and organizational identification with job satisfaction among Chinese police officers, and particularly the mediating role of psychological capital (PsyCap. A cross-sectional study was conducted in Liaoning Province of China during the period of September–October 2014. A set of self-administered questionnaires was distributed to 2514 police officers, and complete responses were obtained from 2226 participants. The associations among variables in relation to job satisfaction were validated by structural equation modeling. Job stress was negatively associated with job satisfaction, while organizational identification and PsyCap were positively associated with job satisfaction among Chinese police officers. PsyCap mediated the associations of job stress and organizational identification with job satisfaction. Interventions to improve Chinese police officers’ job satisfaction should be developed in the future, especially the enhancement of PsyCap.

The Associations of Job Stress and Organizational Identification with Job Satisfaction among Chinese Police Officers: The Mediating Role of Psychological Capital

Science.gov (United States)

Lu, Lu; Liu, Li; Sui, Guoyuan; Wang, Lie

2015-01-01

Police officers’ job satisfaction is an important issue for police force management, but insufficient research exists on the topic, especially in China. This study aimed to examine the associations of job stress and organizational identification with job satisfaction among Chinese police officers, and particularly the mediating role of psychological capital (PsyCap). A cross-sectional study was conducted in Liaoning Province of China during the period of September–October 2014. A set of self-administered questionnaires was distributed to 2514 police officers, and complete responses were obtained from 2226 participants. The associations among variables in relation to job satisfaction were validated by structural equation modeling. Job stress was negatively associated with job satisfaction, while organizational identification and PsyCap were positively associated with job satisfaction among Chinese police officers. PsyCap mediated the associations of job stress and organizational identification with job satisfaction. Interventions to improve Chinese police officers’ job satisfaction should be developed in the future, especially the enhancement of PsyCap. PMID:26633436

Characteristics of Successful Campus Police Officers. Research Report No. 10-74.

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Leitner, Dennis W.; Sedlacek, William E.

Fifty-two University of Maryland, College Park campus police officers were administered the Personal History Index, the California Psychological Inventory, the Press Test, the Test of Social Insight, the Situational Attitude Scale, the Dogmatism Scale, and the California F scale. These predictors were related to the following performance criteria,…

Theory or practice? : Perspectives on police education and police work

OpenAIRE

Aas, Geir

2016-01-01

This article explores interview data taken from a study of Norwegian police training, and discusses whether police education is perceived as providing a relevant and sufficient platform for performing police work. Since the police have monopoly status when it comes to the general use of physical force, the police practice appears boundless. How should police education be directed towards covering such a diverse and complex role? The article will demonstrate how differently police officers ass...

The Effect of Sporting Habits and Different Variables on Self-Esteem of Police Officers

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Erdoğan Tozoglu

2014-01-01

Full Text Available Having low or high self-esteem is considered to have an effect on one's attitude to wards himself or her self as well as to wards other individuals in the society. The refore, it is importantto determine the factors that improve individuals' self-esteem. Considering that the quality of education obtained by an individual has an impact on self-esteem, it is imperative to pointout what factors in the education process boostone's self-esteem and to execute such factors. The purpose of this study is to investigate the effect of sporting activities on self-esteem of police officers with respect to different variables. The total of 266 police officers, 32 female and 234 male, who serve in the City of Erzurum in Turkey participated in this survey. Scale of Self Esteem, developed by Kuzgun (2005, was used in order to gather data. T test and variance analysis were utilized as well. The difference among the groups' choices is evaluated based on P 0.05 significancelevel. Based on the evaluation of the survey results, no difference among police officers was observed in terms of average self-esteem with respect to gender and sporting habits, where as, a difference was observed in terms of average self-esteem with respect to the type of sport performed. Those who perform individual sportst end to have higher self-esteem compared to those who perform team sports or no sport at all. Since, having police officers with high self-esteem serve and interact with individuals will have a positive effect on social interactions in the society. It is imperative to provide opportunities and encoruge policeofficers to do individual sports and to further study the factors that may help increase the self-esteem of such individuals.

Psychological Strain and Emotional Labor among Police-Officers: A Diary Study

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van Gelderen, Benjamin; Heuven, Ellen; van Veldhoven, Marc; Zeelenberg, Marcel; Croon, Marcel

2007-01-01

The authors examined the relationship between psychological strain, emotional dissonance and emotional job demands during a working day of 65 Dutch (military) police officers, using a 5-day diary design. We hypothesized that emotional dissonance partly mediated the relationship between psychological strain at the start and at the end of a work…

Acute Chemical Incidents With Injured First Responders, 2002-2012.

Science.gov (United States)

Melnikova, Natalia; Wu, Jennifer; Yang, Alice; Orr, Maureen

2018-04-01

IntroductionFirst responders, including firefighters, police officers, emergency medical services, and company emergency response team members, have dangerous jobs that can bring them in contact with hazardous chemicals among other dangers. Limited information is available on responder injuries that occur during hazardous chemical incidents. We analyzed 2002-2012 data on acute chemical incidents with injured responders from 2 Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry chemical incident surveillance programs. To learn more about such injuries, we performed descriptive analysis and looked for trends. The percentage of responders among all injured people in chemical incidents has not changed over the years. Firefighters were the most frequently injured group of responders, followed by police officers. Respiratory system problems were the most often reported injury, and the respiratory irritants, ammonia, methamphetamine-related chemicals, and carbon monoxide were the chemicals more often associated with injuries. Most of the incidents with responder injuries were caused by human error or equipment failure. Firefighters wore personal protective equipment (PPE) most frequently and police officers did so rarely. Police officers' injuries were mostly associated with exposure to ammonia and methamphetamine-related chemicals. Most responders did not receive basic awareness-level hazardous material training. All responders should have at least basic awareness-level hazardous material training to recognize and avoid exposure. Research on improving firefighter PPE should continue. (Disaster Med Public Health Preparedness. 2018;12:211-221).

Burnout, vigour, big five personality traits and social support in a sample of police officers

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Gerrit J. Louw

2014-08-01

Full Text Available Orientation: Burnout occurs as a result of prolonged job stress, which is a phenomenon prevalent amongst police officers in South Africa. Whilst some suffer from burnout, others elude the pathological effects of burnout and execute their duties vigorously under the same circumstances. Research purpose: The purpose of the study was to obtain an understanding of a police officer’s need to reduce the effects of prolonged stressors and to utilise personal and social sources to mitigate the effects of negative stressors. Motivation for the study: Burnout causes negative health consequences for police officers. Those who are affected reflect withdrawal behaviour through operational disruption or lower productivity in the work context. Research design, approach and method: The research has a non-experimental design in the quantitative tradition with a cross-sectional data-collection method. The availability sample (N = 505 included participants from different demographic backgrounds. A survey was used to measure all constructs at a single point in time. Main findings: Neuroticism and a lack of family support predicted burnout whilst conscientiousness and emotional stability predicted vigour. This was followed by significant other, which predicted physical strength, friend support which predicted emotional energy and family support which predicted cognitive liveliness. Practical/managerial implications: The study provides markers for selection purposes and calls on police management to be aware of the value of social support in the prevention of burnout whilst encouraging supervisor support in operational designs. Contribution/value-add: The study adds to the body of knowledge on the role of personality and social support in burnout and vigour in police officers.

Experiences of Autism Spectrum Disorder and Policing in England and Wales: Surveying Police and the Autism Community.

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Crane, Laura; Maras, Katie L; Hawken, Tamsyn; Mulcahy, Sue; Memon, Amina

2016-06-01

An online survey gathered the experiences and views of 394 police officers (from England and Wales) regarding autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Just 42 % of officers were satisfied with how they had worked with individuals with ASD and reasons for this varied. Although officers acknowledged the need for adjustments, organisational/time constraints were cited as barriers. Whilst 37 % of officers had received training on ASD, a need for training tailored to policing roles (e.g., frontline officers, detectives) was identified. Police responses are discussed with respect to the experiences of the ASD community (31 adults with ASD, 49 parents), who were largely dissatisfied with their experience of the police and echoed the need for police training on ASD.

Policing Transgender People

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Toby Miles-Johnson

2015-04-01

Full Text Available Police policy documents often articulate strategies and approaches that police organizations want to implement in their efforts to break down barriers with minority groups. However, most police policy documents are written for police audiences and not for members of the public. Police policy documents serve as a reflection of the aspirations of the agency and not necessarily the practice of the officers. Differential policing has been a salient experience for members of transgender communities because, as individuals who express gender in ways that deviate from the norm, they have experienced numerous documented cases of police mismanaged practice. In Australia, achieving police reform in the area of policing of diverse community groups has been difficult as new initiatives implemented to educate police officers about diverse groups such as transgender communities are scarce. My study sought to analyze a police policy document to assess how one police agency’s policy aspires to shape police contact/experiences with transgender people and how this document might shape intergroup identity differences between transgender people and the police. It is argued that the policy document will negatively affect police perceptions of transgender people and may enhance adverse perceptions of intergroup difference between police and transgender people. I also argue that using this document to achieve police reform in the area of policing of transgender people will be problematic as the policy document lacks substantial procedural guidelines regarding interaction with transgender people and may not favorably constrain discretionary police power.

Autonomy and Firefighting: Perceived Competence and Stress.

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Chiang, Evelyn S; Baley, John; Ponder, Joy; Padilla, Miguel A

2016-12-01

In workplace settings, autonomy is implicated in employee motivation as well as supervisor autonomy support. As a profession of risk, firefighters may experience greater levels of stress. A self-determination paradigm was applied to the firefighter workplace. Of particular interest were perceived competence (to perform job duties) and the experience of stress. Firefighters' levels of autonomous and controlled regulation were surveyed, along with their perceptions of the autonomy support of their immediate supervisor. Autonomous regulation was positively related to perceived competence, whereas controlled regulation was negatively related. Higher levels of controlled regulation were also connected with greater stress. In contrast, greater perceived autonomy support was associated with decreased stress. Both perceived competence and stress are related to firefighter motivation and autonomy support. Recommendations are offered to increase autonomy support by chief officers.

Predictors of PTSD symptoms in Brazilian police officers: the synergy of negative affect and peritraumatic dissociation

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Maia, Deborah B.; Marmar, Charles R.; Henn-Haase, Clare; Nóbrega, Augusta; Fiszman, Adriana; Marques-Portella, Carla; Mendlowicz, Mauro V.; Coutinho, Evandro S.F.; Figueira, Ivan

2013-01-01

Background Exposure to traumatic events is a necessary but not a sufficient condition for the development of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Pretrauma, peritrauma and posttrauma factors interact to impact on symptom severity. The aim of the present study is to determine risk factors for PTSD symptoms in Brazilian police officers. Method In a cross-sectional sample of active duty officers (n = 212), participants were asked to complete a socio-demographic questionnaire and self-report scales on affective traits, cumulative critical incident exposure, peritraumatic distress and dissociation, PTSD symptoms, and social support. Hierarchical linear regression analysis was conducted to examine predictors of PTSD symptoms. Results Variables related to negative affect, job duration, frequency of critical incident exposure, peritraumatic dissociation, and lack of social support remained significant in the final model and explained 55% of the variance in PTSD symptoms. When interaction terms were evaluated, a synergistic effect between negative affect and peritraumatic dissociation was found. Conclusions The risk factors found in this study provide clues on how to elaborate primary prevention strategies regarding PTSD symptoms in police officers. Such initiatives may lessen the impact of repeated exposure to traumatic events on police officers over the course of their careers. PMID:22189925

Phototherapy and orange-tinted goggles for night-shift adaptation of police officers on patrol.

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Boivin, Diane B; Boudreau, Philippe; Tremblay, Geneviève M

2012-06-01

The aim of the present combined field and laboratory study was to assess circadian entrainment in two groups of police officers working seven consecutive 8/8.5-h night shifts as part of a rotating schedule. Eight full-time police officers on patrol (mean age ± SD: 29.8 ± 6.5 yrs) were provided an intervention consisting of intermittent exposure to wide-spectrum bright light at night, orange-tinted goggles at sunrise, and maintenance of a regular sleep/darkness episode in the day. Orange-tinted goggles have been shown to block the melatonin-suppressing effect of light significantly more than neutral gray density goggles. Nine control group police officers (mean age ± SD: 30.3 ± 4.1 yrs) working the same schedule were enrolled. Police officers were studied before, after (in the laboratory), and during (ambulatory) a series of seven consecutive nights. Urine samples were collected at wake time and bedtime throughout the week of night work and during laboratory visits (1 × /3 h) preceding and following the work week to measure urinary 6-sulfatoxymelatonin (UaMT6s) excretion rate. Subjective alertness was assessed at the start, middle, and end of night shifts. A 10-min psychomotor vigilance task was performed at the start and end of each shift. Both laboratory visits consisted of two 8-h sleep episodes based on the prior schedule. Saliva samples were collected 2 × /h during waking episodes to assay their melatonin content. Subjective alertness (3 × /h) and performance (1 × /2 h) were assessed during wake periods in the laboratory. A mixed linear model was used to analyze the progression of UaMt6s excreted during daytime sleep episodes at home, as well as psychomotor performance and subjective alertness during night shifts. Two-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) (factors: laboratory visit and group) were used to compare peak salivary melatonin and UaMT6s excretion rate in the laboratory. In both groups of police officers, the excretion rate of UaMT6s at home was

The impact of personality traits and professional experience on police officers' shooting performance under pressure.

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Landman, Annemarie; Nieuwenhuys, Arne; Oudejans, Raôul R D

2016-07-01

We explored the impact of professional experience and personality on police officers' shooting performance under pressure. We recruited: (1) regular officers, (2) officers wanting to join a specialised arrest unit (AU) (expected to possess more stress-resistant traits; pre-AU) and (3) officers from this unit (expected to also possess more professional experience; AU) (all male). In Phase 1, we determined personality traits and experience. In Phase 2, state anxiety, shot accuracy, decision-making (shoot/don't shoot), movement speed and gaze behaviour were measured while officers performed a shooting test under low and high pressure. Results indicate minimal differences in personality among groups and superior performance of AU officers. Regression analyses showed that state anxiety and shooting performance under high pressure were first predicted by AU experience and second by certain personality traits. Results suggest that although personality traits attenuate the impact of high pressure, it is relevant experience that secures effective performance under pressure. Practitioner Summary: To obtain information for police selection and training purposes, we let officers who differed in personality and experience execute a shooting test under low and high pressure. Outcomes indicate that experience affected anxiety and performance most strongly, while personality traits of thrill- and adventure-seeking and self-control also had an effect.

Coping with Secondary Traumatic Stress by General Duty Police Officers: Practical Implications

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Conn, Stephanie M.; Butterfield, Lee D.

2013-01-01

This study used the Critical Incident Technique to examine the factors that helped, hindered, or might have helped 10 general duty police officers to cope with secondary traumatic stress. The data were best represented by 14 categories: self-care, family/significant other support, talking with co-workers, emotional engagement, work environment,…

Measurement of functional capacity requirements of police officers to aid in development of an occupation-specific cardiac rehabilitation training program.

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Adams, Jenny; Schneider, Jonna; Hubbard, Matthew; McCullough-Shock, Tiffany; Cheng, Dunlei; Simms, Kay; Hartman, Julie; Hinton, Paul; Strauss, Danielle

2010-01-01

This study was designed to measure the functional capacity of healthy subjects during strenuous simulated police tasks, with the goal of developing occupation-specific training for cardiac rehabilitation of police officers. A calibrated metabolic instrument and an oxygen consumption data collection mask were used to measure the oxygen consumption and heart rates of 30 Dallas Police Academy officers and cadets as they completed an 8-event obstacle course that simulated chasing, subduing, and handcuffing a suspect. Standard target heart rates (85% of age-predicted maximum heart rate, or 0.85 x [220 - age]) and metabolic equivalents (METs) were calculated; a matched-sample t test based on differences between target and achieved heart rate and MET level was used for statistical analysis. Peak heart rates during the obstacle course simulation were significantly higher than the standard target heart rates (those at which treadmill stress tests in physicians' offices are typically stopped) (t(29) = 12.81, P requires a functional capacity greater than that typically attained in traditional cardiac rehabilitation programs. Rehabilitation professionals should consider performing maximal stress tests and increasing the intensity of cardiac rehabilitation workouts to effectively train police officers who have had a cardiac event.

Burnout, vigour, big five personality traits and social support in a sample of police officers

OpenAIRE

Gerrit J. Louw

2014-01-01

Orientation: Burnout occurs as a result of prolonged job stress, which is a phenomenon prevalent amongst police officers in South Africa. Whilst some suffer from burnout, others elude the pathological effects of burnout and execute their duties vigorously under the same circumstances. Research purpose: The purpose of the study was to obtain an understanding of a police officer’s need to reduce the effects of prolonged stressors and to utilise personal and social sources to mitigate the eff...

New Zealand Police and Restorative Justice Philosophy

Science.gov (United States)

Winfree, L. Thomas, Jr.

2004-01-01

In New Zealand, selected sworn police officers called youth aid officers participate in discussions and deliberations concerning the actions required to restore the sense of community balance upset by the actions of juvenile offenders. The author explores a representative sample of all sworn police officers serving in the New Zealand Police,…

The Meanings of "Community Policing" for the Brazilian Military Police

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Ludmila Ribeiro

2016-09-01

Full Text Available In recent years, Brazilian military police forces have adopted community policing programs in order to increase confidence in the institution and reduce crime rates. The objective of this study was to verify what the police frontline personnel understands by community policing and how they perceive the results of its implementation. A survey was conducted with 592 military policemen involved in operational activities in 32 military police companies of Belo Horizonte. The results point to a vast plasticity of the concept, which came to mean any type of activity carried out by police officers and by the community without the formal cooperation of the police, making the category "community policing" a new name for old police practices.

Burnout, vigour, big five personality traits and social support in a sample of police officers

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Gerrit J. Louw

2014-08-01

Research purpose: The purpose of the study was to obtain an understanding of a police officer’s need to reduce the effects of prolonged stressors and to utilise personal and social sources to mitigate the effects of negative stressors. Motivation for the study: Burnout causes negative health consequences for police officers. Those who are affected reflect withdrawal behaviour through operational disruption or lower productivity in the work context. Research design, approach and method: The research has a non-experimental design in the quantitative tradition with a cross-sectional data-collection method. The availability sample (N = 505 included participants from different demographic backgrounds. A survey was used to measure all constructs at a single point in time. Main findings: Neuroticism and a lack of family support predicted burnout whilst conscientiousness and emotional stability predicted vigour. This was followed by significant other, which predicted physical strength, friend support which predicted emotional energy and family support which predicted cognitive liveliness. Practical/managerial implications: The study provides markers for selection purposes and calls on police management to be aware of the value of social support in the prevention of burnout whilst encouraging supervisor support in operational designs. Contribution/value-add: The study adds to the body of knowledge on the role of personality and social support in burnout and vigour in police officers.

Genetic variant in CACNA1C is associated with PTSD in traumatized police officers

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Krzyzewska, Izabela M.; Ensink, Judith B. M.; Nawijn, Laura; Mul, Adri N.; Koch, Saskia B.; Venema, Andrea; Shankar, Vinod; Frijling, Jessie L.; Veltman, Dirk J.; Lindauer, Ramon J. L.; Olff, Miranda; Mannens, Marcel M. A. M.; van Zuiden, Mirjam; Henneman, Peter

2018-01-01

Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a debilitating psychiatric disorder that may develop after a traumatic event. Here we aimed to identify epigenetic and genetic loci associated with PTSD. We included 73 traumatized police officers with extreme phenotypes regarding symptom severity despite

The use of AEDs by police officers in the City of London. Automated external defibrillators.

Science.gov (United States)

Ross, P; Nolan, J; Hill, E; Dawson, J; Whimster, F; Skinner, D

2001-08-01

The Guidelines 2000 for cardiopulmonary resuscitation recommend shock delivery to victims in ventricular fibrillation within 5 min of call receipt by the Emergency Medical Services. In an effort to achieve this goal, in some parts of the United States, police officers have been trained to use automated external defibrillators (AEDs). We undertook a 3-year pilot evaluation of the use of AEDs by City of London police (CPOL) officers. Over a period of 3 years, 147 CPOL officers were trained in the use of an AED. Four AEDs were placed on rapid response vehicles covering the City of London. An overall call-response interval target was set at 8 min. The CPOL attended 1103 (90%) of the total of 1232 calls to which they were summoned. The mean interval between the first call received and arrival of the CPOL on scene was 8.9+/-4.0 min. The CPOL applied AEDs to 25 victims, 13 of whom were initially in ventricular fibrillation; at least one shock was delivered to all 13. The interval between call reception and delivery of the first shock was 5.5+/-2.5 min. The mean interval between switching on the AED and delivery of the first shock was 24+/-12 s. Two (15%) of these victims survived to hospital discharge. This study has confirmed the feasibility of training police officers in the UK to use AEDs as first responders. The call received to arrival on scene interval should be reduced by improvements in communication between LAS and CPOL.

The information needs of female Police Officers involved in undercover prostitution work

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Lynda M. Baker

2004-01-01

Full Text Available The purpose of this study was to examine the information behavior of female police officers involved in undercover prostitution work. Seven Vice Officers were interviewed during the summer of 2003 and two were observed during one decoy operation. The model, Information Seeking of Professionals, provided the framework for understanding their needs within the context of their role as decoys. The results revealed that the officers need a variety of information and start seeking it before they transfer to the Vice Unit. Their work demands the use several methods of informal communication, including signals and dress code. Information sources include the men who solicit their services, the female sex workers with whom they share space, members of the community, and their fellow officers who are responsible for protecting their lives.

The influence of occupational debriefing on post-traumatic stress symptomatology in traumatized police officers

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Carlier, I. V.; Voerman, A. E.; Gersons, B. P.

2000-01-01

Certain individuals, such as police officers, are exposed to traumatic events as part of their occupational roles. In an effort to prevent psychological illnesses, notably the post-traumatic stress disorder, from arising out of work-related traumatic incidents, psychological interventions have been

Occupational stress, working condition and nutritional status of military police officers.

Science.gov (United States)

Santana, Angela Maria C; Gomes, Josiane Keila V; De Marchi, Dione; Girondoli, Yassana M; Rosado, Lina E F P de Lima; Rosado, Gilberto Paixão; de Andrade, Isabel Maria

2012-01-01

This study aimed to investigate the relationship between stress, working conditions and the nutritional status of 53 military police officers in a Southeast city of Brazil. In order to evaluate the symptomatology and the stress phase, the Inventory of Stress Symptoms Lipp for Adults - ISSL was utilized. The assessment of the working conditions was performed by means of socio-demographic questionnaire, direct observation and interviews. The nutritional and health conditions were assessed through anthropometric measures, biochemical tests, blood pressure measurements and cardiovascular disease risk calculator. The sample is of the male gender (92.5%) and aging below 40 years old (73.6%). From these, 35.8% showed stress and 68.4% were in the resistance phase, with 31.6% almost burned out. Through the calculation of Chi-square we could find positive association between the BMI and tiredness (P = 0.0188), between the BMI and irritation (P = 0.0005) and the BMI and the appearance of nervous system problems or emotional problems (P = 0.0304), indicating that these statuses or problems could be related to work. We can conclude then, the stress is present among military police officers. No case of critical stress was found, and the stress phases identified are still susceptible to intervention.

The law criminalizing attempted suicide in Ghana: the views of clinical psychologists, emergency ward nurses, and police officers.

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Hjelmeland, Heidi; Osafo, Joseph; Akotia, Charity S; Knizek, Birthe L

2014-01-01

Attempted suicide is still considered a crime in Ghana. The purpose of this study was to investigate the attitudes toward this law held by health workers and police officers in Ghana so as to provide culture-sensitive arguments to aid in abolishing the law. Qualitative interviews were conducted with eight clinical psychologists, eight emergency ward nurses, and eight police officers. The majority of informants did not agree with the law criminalizing attempted suicide in Ghana, although five of the emergency ward nurses and two police officers did. Arguments for agreeing with the law were that people have no right to take life and that the law has a deterrent effect and thus it will help reduce the suicide rate. The main argument for not agreeing with the law was that suicidal behavior is a mental health issue. Those who argued in favor of the law did not seem to reflect much on the reasons for suicidal behavior. Education on how to understand suicidal behavior and suicidal people may aid the work toward decriminalizing attempted suicide in Ghana.

Policing Diversity: Examining Police Resistance to Training Reforms for Transgender People in Australia.

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Miles-Johnson, Toby

2016-01-01

Using field notes collected from participant observation of Australian police officers training to work with the transgender community, the current research builds on previous work examining social identity theory (Tajfel, 2010) to explain how one training program implemented to educate police about transgender people challenges police culture. This research determines that police culture, training procedures, and stereotypes of gender are equally influential on police perceptions of all transgender people. Overall, the results indicate that negative police perceptions toward police training reforms strengthen in-group identity of police, and negative out-group perceptions of transgender people.

Diversity Policing–Policing Diversity: Performing Ethnicity in Police and Private-Security Work in Sweden

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Cecilia Hansen Löfstrand

2014-09-01

Full Text Available This article draws upon two separate studies on policing in Sweden, both investigating “ethnic diversity” as a discourse and a practice in the performance of policing functions: one interview study with minority police officers from a county police authority and one ethnographic study of private security officers. To examine how “diversity policing” and the “policing of diversity” are performed by policing actors, their strategic reliance on an ethnically diverse workforce is examined. The official discourse in both contexts stressed “diversity policing” as a valuable resource for the effective execution of policing tasks and the legitimation of policing functions. There was, however, also another, more unofficial discourse on ethnicity that heavily influenced the policing agents’ day-to-day work. The resulting practice of “policing diversity” involved situated activities on the ground through which “foreign elements” in the population were policed using ethnicized stereotypes. Diversity in the policing workforce promoted the practice of ethnic matching, which, ironically, in turn perpetuated stereotypical thinking about Swedish “others”. A conceptual framework is developed for understanding the policing strategies involved and the disjuncture found between the widely accepted rationalities for recruiting an ethnically diverse workforce and the realities for that workforce’s effective deployment at the street level.

Law enforcement duties and sudden cardiac death among police officers in United States: case distribution study.

Science.gov (United States)

Varvarigou, Vasileia; Farioli, Andrea; Korre, Maria; Sato, Sho; Dahabreh, Issa J; Kales, Stefanos N

2014-11-18

To assess the association between risk of sudden cardiac death and stressful law enforcement duties compared with routine/non-emergency duties. Case distribution study (case series with survey information on referent exposures). United States law enforcement. Summaries of deaths of over 4500 US police officers provided by the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund and the Officer Down Memorial Page from 1984 to 2010. Observed and expected sudden cardiac death counts and relative risks for sudden cardiac death events during specific strenuous duties versus routine/non-emergency activities. Independent estimates of the proportion of time that police officers spend across various law enforcement duties obtained from surveys of police chiefs and front line officers. Impact of varying exposure assessments, covariates, and missing cases in sensitivity and stability analyses. 441 sudden cardiac deaths were observed during the study period. Sudden cardiac death was associated with restraints/altercations (25%, n=108), physical training (20%, n=88), pursuits of suspects (12%, n=53), medical/rescue operations (8%, n=34), routine duties (23%, n=101), and other activities (11%, n=57). Compared with routine/non-emergency activities, the risk of sudden cardiac death was 34-69 times higher during restraints/altercations, 32-51 times higher during pursuits, 20-23 times higher during physical training, and 6-9 times higher during medical/rescue operations. Results were robust to all sensitivity and stability analyses. Stressful law enforcement duties are associated with a risk of sudden cardiac death that is markedly higher than the risk during routine/non-emergency duties. Restraints/altercations and pursuits are associated with the greatest risk. Our findings have public health implications and suggest that primary and secondary cardiovascular prevention efforts are needed among law enforcement officers. © Varvarigou et al 2014.

Drug policing in four Danish police districts

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Houborg, Esben; Kammersgaard, Tobias; Pedersen, Michael Mulbjerg

2016-01-01

Results from a study of zero-tolerance drug policy in Denmark are presented. Database research shows that an increasing number of Danes are criminalized for possession of illicit drugs and that particular characteristics of offenders increase the chance of being criminalized. Qualitative case...... as a reflection of the differences in the data where some of the grounds for police intervention may be seen by police officers as not appropriate for official recording. To resolve these issues and provide better knowledge regarding drug policing in Denmark, further research is needed....

Association between Depressive Symptoms and Metabolic Syndrome in Police Officers: Results from Two Cross-Sectional Studies

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hartley, T.A.; Fekedulegn, D.; Andrew, M.E.; Burchfiel, C.M.; Hartley, T.A.; Knox, S.S.; Barbosa-Leiker, C.; Violanti, J.M.

2012-01-01

Policing is one of the most dangerous and stressful occupations and such stress can have deleterious effects on health. The purpose of this study was to examine the association between depressive symptoms and metabolic syndrome (Met Syn) in male and female police officers from two study populations, Buffalo, NY and Spokane, WA. Depressive symptoms were measured using the Center for Epidemiologic Studies-Depression (CES-D) scale. Met Syn was defined using the 2005 AHA/NHBLI guidelines. Analysis of covariance was used to describe differences in number of Met Syn components across depressive symptom categories. The number of Met Syn components increased significantly across categories of CES-D for Spokane men only (p-trend = 0.003). For each 5-unit increase in CES-D score, odds increased by 47.6% for having hypertriglyceridemia, by 51.8% for having hypertension, and by 56.7% for having glucose intolerance. Exploring this association is important since both are predictors of future chronic health problems and the results could be helpful in developing future gender-specific prevention and intervention efforts among police officers

Underreporting on the MMPI-2-RF in a high-demand police officer selection context: an illustration.

Science.gov (United States)

Detrick, Paul; Chibnall, John T

2014-09-01

Positive response distortion is common in the high-demand context of employment selection. This study examined positive response distortion, in the form of underreporting, on the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory-2-Restructured Form (MMPI-2-RF). Police officer job applicants completed the MMPI-2-RF under high-demand and low-demand conditions, once during the preemployment psychological evaluation and once without contingencies after completing the police academy. Demand-related score elevations were evident on the Uncommon Virtues (L-r) and Adjustment Validity (K-r) scales. Underreporting was evident on the Higher-Order scales Emotional/Internalizing Dysfunction and Behavioral/Externalizing Dysfunction; 5 of 9 Restructured Clinical scales; 6 of 9 Internalizing scales; 3 of 4 Externalizing scales; and 3 of 5 Personality Psychopathology 5 scales. Regression analyses indicated that L-r predicted demand-related underreporting on behavioral/externalizing scales, and K-r predicted underreporting on emotional/internalizing scales. Select scales of the MMPI-2-RF are differentially associated with different types of underreporting among police officer applicants. PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2014 APA, all rights reserved.

[Factors associated with the lifestyle of military police officers].

Science.gov (United States)

da Silva Ferreira, Daniela Karina; Bonfim, Cristine; Augusto, Lia Giraldo

2011-08-01

The scope of this investigation was to analyze the association between lifestyle and socio-demographic and occupational characteristics among military police officers (MPs). This involved a cross-sectional epidemiological study. The sample consisted of 288 MPs within the Police Force of Recife, Pernambuco. The data were collected by means of a semi-structured questionnaire. For the data analysis, IT tools were used (STATA-10.0 and SPSS- 15.0 for Windows) and descriptive statistics procedures, chi-square analysis and regression associations (p < 0.05). Among the lifestyle results, 12% said that they smoked, 10% were classified as cases of suspected excess consumption of alcoholic beverages, 73% were considered to be insufficiently active and 40% admitted they were involved in frequent or occasional conflicts. Age of 39 years or over (RP = 1.39), lower education level (RP = 1.68), the lowest economic level (RP = 1.49) and being in the profession for 18 years or more (RP = 1.49) were associated with lifestyles with greater risk to health (with two or more unhealthy factors). Therefore, promotion and prevention measures should be adopted in order to attempt to reduce the health vulnerabilities of these workers.

A combined field and laboratory design for assessing the impact of night shift work on police officer operational performance.

Science.gov (United States)

Waggoner, Lauren B; Grant, Devon A; Van Dongen, Hans P A; Belenky, Gregory; Vila, Bryan

2012-11-01

This study assessed the utility of a combined field and laboratory research design for measuring the impact of consecutive night shift work on the sleepiness, vigilance, and driving performance of police patrol officers. For police patrol officers working their normal night shift duty cycles, simulated driving performance and psychomotor vigilance were measured in a laboratory on two separate occasions: in the morning after the last of five consecutive 10.7-h night shifts, and at the same time in the morning after three consecutive days off duty. Order of participation in conditions was randomized among subjects. Subjects experienced manipulation of sleep schedules due to working night shifts in a real operational environment, but performance testing was conducted under controlled laboratory conditions. N = 29 active-duty police patrol officers (27 male, 2 female; age 37.1 ± 6.3 years) working night shift schedules participated in this study. Simulated driving performance, psychomotor vigilance, and subjective sleepiness were significantly degraded following 5 consecutive night shifts as compared to 3 consecutive days off duty, indicating that active-duty police officers are susceptible to performance degradation as a consequence of working nights. This combined field and laboratory research design succeeded in bridging the gap between the realism of the operational environment and the control of laboratory performance testing, demonstrating that this is a useful approach for addressing the relationship between shift work induced fatigue and critical operational task performance.

Understanding Revenge Pornography: A National Survey of Police Officers and Staff in England and Wales.

Science.gov (United States)

Bond, Emma; Tyrrell, Katie

2018-02-01

Online abuse, facilitated via social media and mobile technologies, has recently attracted considerable academic attention. The nonconsensual sharing of intimate images-revenge pornography-can have a devastating effect on victims, is a global problem, and constitutes interpersonal violence. The national helpline in the United Kingdom has now received over 7,000 calls. In the United Kingdom, new legislation making revenge pornography a crime was introduced in 2014, yet the police do not always respond appropriately to victims. This article presents the findings of a national online survey of police understanding of revenge pornography, undertaken in the United Kingdom in March 2017. The study set out to investigate police knowledge of revenge pornography legislation, their confidence in responding to cases of revenge pornography, and what level of training they had received. A total of 783 members of the police force responded to the survey and, to the authors' knowledge, this the first study to seek to quantify the understanding of revenge pornography by police officers and staff in England and Wales. The findings suggest that the police in the United Kingdom have a limited understanding of revenge pornography legislation and lack confidence both in investigating cases and in effectively responding to victims. The implications of the study demonstrate that there is an urgent need for training across police forces to ensure that cases of revenge pornography are appropriately responded to, victims are safeguarded, and offenders brought to justice.

Examining the offender-victim overlap among police officers: the role of social learning and job-related stress.

Science.gov (United States)

Zavala, Egbert

2013-01-01

This study uses data from the Police Stress and Domestic Violence in Police Families in Baltimore, Maryland 1997-1999 to examine the offender-victim overlap among police officers in the context of intimate partner violence (IPV). Specifically, the study examines the role of parental violence, child maltreatment, and job-related stress on perpetrating violence and victimization. Results from two logistic regression models indicate that one element of job-related stress (negative emotions) was positive and significant in predicting IPV perpetration, whereas parental violence, child maltreatment, and negative emotions were found to be positive and significant in predicting victimization. The study's limitations and future research are discussed.

War on Drugs Policing and Police Brutality.

Science.gov (United States)

Cooper, Hannah L F

2015-01-01

War on Drugs policing has failed to reduce domestic street-level drug activity: the cost of drugs remains low and drugs remain widely available. In light of growing attention to police brutality in the United States, this paper explores interconnections between specific War on Drugs policing strategies and police-related violence against Black adolescents and adults in the United States. This paper reviews literature about (1) historical connections between race/ethnicity and policing in the United States; (2) the ways that the War on Drugs eroded specific legal protections originally designed to curtail police powers; and (3) the implications of these erosions for police brutality targeting Black communities. Policing and racism have been mutually constitutive in the United States. Erosions to the 4th Amendment to the Constitution and to the Posse Comitatus Act set the foundations for two War on Drugs policing strategies: stop and frisk and Special Weapons and Tactics (SWAT) teams. These strategies have created specific conditions conducive to police brutality targeting Black communities. Conclusions/Importance: War on Drugs policing strategies appear to increase police brutality targeting Black communities, even as they make little progress in reducing street-level drug activity. Several jurisdictions are retreating from the War on Drugs; this retreat should include restoring rights originally protected by the 4th Amendment and Posse Comitatus. While these legal changes occur, police chiefs should discontinue the use of SWAT teams to deal with low-level nonviolent drug offenses and should direct officers to cease engaging in stop and frisk.

A identidade de policiais civis e sucessivos espelhamentos The identity of civil police officers and successive mirroring studies

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Edinilsa Ramos de Souza

2013-03-01

Full Text Available Objetivou-se analisar as percepções de policiais civis sobre a sua identidade profissional e a instituição na qual atuam, bem como a sua opinião acerca da imagem que a sociedade tem sobre a sua atuação. Os dados provêm de uma pesquisa sobre condições de trabalho e saúde dos policiais civis da Baixada Fluminense, com questionário, entrevistas e grupos focais, envolvendo gestores, delegados e policiais das 18 delegacias da área, mais uma especializada. Neste estudo, calcularam-se as frequências relativas e médias das respostas sobre condições de trabalho, satisfação e melhoria da qualidade de vida após ingressar na instituição. Selecionaram-se questões qualitativas acerca da opinião dos profissionais sobre como a sociedade percebe a polícia civil e o que é ser policial na Baixada Fluminense, efetuando-se a análise segundo o método de interpretação de sentidos. Os resultados apontam para uma imagem negativa que os policiais julgam que a sociedade tem sobre eles, o que implica e reforça uma desvalorização da profissão. Eles recusam essa identificação negativa e procuram diferenciar o ser policial civil do ser policial militar. Não se observam especificidades quanto a ser policial na Baixada Fluminense. Conclui-se que são necessárias ações que melhorem as condições de trabalho, o diálogo com as comunidades e que promovam ações de saúde.The scope of this paper was to analyze the perceptions of civil police officers regarding their professional identity, the institution they belong to and their opinion concerning the image society has of their performance. The data are derived from a survey focused on their work and health conditions, using a questionnaire, interviews and focus groups including managers, sheriffs and officers. The relative frequency and average return for answers about working conditions, professional fulfillment and life quality improvement after joining the institution were then

'Good Order and Police'

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Mührmann-Lund, Jørgen

2016-01-01

The emergence of police ordinances and police authorities in the early modern period has traditionally been seen as a way to discipline society in order to increase the power of the absolutist state. However, recent investigations of early modern policing in German and French regions show...... focused on local needs even after the creation of a royal police office in 1682. Policing mainly concerned the welfare and privileges of burghers in market towns until the introduction of a country police in 1791, when agrarian reforms began to erode the patriarchal order in the countryside. As a new way...

Police arrest and self-defence skills: Performance under anxiety of officers with and without additional experience in martial arts

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Renden, P.G.; Landman, H.M.; Savelsbergh, G.J.P.; Oudejans, R.R.D.

2015-01-01

We investigated whether officers with additional martial arts training experience performed better in arrest and self-defence scenarios under low and high anxiety and were better able to maintain performance under high anxiety than officers who just rely on regular police training. We were

The Effects of Perceptions of Organizational Structure on Job Involvement, Job Satisfaction, and Organizational Commitment Among Indian Police Officers.

Science.gov (United States)

Lambert, Eric G; Qureshi, Hanif; Klahm, Charles; Smith, Brad; Frank, James

2017-12-01

Successful police organizations rely on involved, satisfied, and committed workers. The concepts of job involvement (i.e., connection with the job), job satisfaction (i.e., affective feeling toward the job), and organizational commitment (i.e., bond with the employing organization) have been shown to significantly affect intentions and behaviors of employees. The current study used multivariate ordinary least squares (OLS) regression analysis on survey results from a sample of 827 Indian police officers to explore how perceptions of work environment factors affect officers' job involvement, job satisfaction, and organizational commitment. Organizational support, formalization (i.e., level of codified written rules and guidelines), promotional opportunities, institutional communication (i.e., salient work information is transmitted), and input into decision-making (i.e., having a voice in the process) significantly influenced the job involvement, job satisfaction, and organizational commitment of Indian police officers. Specifically, in the multivariate analysis, perceptions of formalization and instrumental communication had a positive relationship with job involvement; perceptions of organizational support, promotional opportunities, instrumental communication, and input into decision-making had positive associations with job satisfaction; and perceptions of organizational support, formalization, promotional opportunities, instrumental communication, and input into decision-making had positive relationships with organizational commitment.

The perceived effects and comfort of various body armour systems on police officers while performing occupational tasks.

Science.gov (United States)

Schram, B; Hinton, B; Orr, R; Pope, R; Norris, G

2018-01-01

The nature of police work often necessitates use of Individual Light Armour Vests (ILAVs) for officer protection. Previous research has demonstrated various biomechanical and physical performance impacts of ILAVs, however, little knowledge exists on the individual officer's perceptions of ILAV. The aim of this study was to investigate officers' perceptions of the impacts of three different ILAVs and normal station wear whilst performing police occupational tasks. A prospective, within subjects, repeated measures design was employed in which 11 serving police officers wore each of three different types of body armour (ILAV A, ILAV B or ILAV C) and normal station wear for a full day while performing tasks including a simulated victim drag, a patrol vehicle exit and a marksmanship shoot. Ratings of Perceived Exertion (RPE) and a Visual Analogue Scale (VAS; - 10 to + 10) were used to examine officer perceptions of each ILAV. Finally, officers were asked to indicate areas of both discomfort and comfort of each ILAV on a mannequin chart. Officers perceived less effort was required for the victim drag whilst wearing ILAV B (RPE = 3.6/10) when compared to ILAV A, ILAV C and even station wear (RPE = 4.7/10, 4.0/10, 3.8/10, respectively). A positive impact on performance was perceived for ILAV B (VAS = + 0.26) when performing a patrol vehicle exit and sprint task but not for the other two ILAVs (VAS = - 3.58, - 0.55, - 0.85, respectively). Officers perceived a positive impact of ILAV B (VAS = + 2.7) and station wear (VAS = + 1.4) and a negative impact of ILAVs A and C (VAS = - 2.1, - 1.7 respectively) on marksmanship. Despite all armour types being criticized for discomfort, ILAV B received lower ratings of discomfort overall, and some positive comments regarding both comfort and performance. Officers perceived ILAV B to have positive effects on task performance. It was also rated more comfortable than the other two, possibly due to a longer

Exploring stress levels, job satisfaction, and quality of life in a sample of police officers in Greece.

Science.gov (United States)

Alexopoulos, Evangelos C; Palatsidi, Vassiliki; Tigani, Xanthi; Darviri, Christina

2014-12-01

The ongoing economic crisis in Greece has affected both stress and quality of life (QoL) at all socioeconomic levels, including professionals in the police force. The aim of this study was to examine perceived stress, job satisfaction, QoL, and their relationships in a sample of police officers in Greece. A cross-sectional study was conducted during the first trimester of 2011 in 23 police stations in the greater Athens area. A total of 201 police officers agreed to participate (response rate 44.6%). The General Health Questionnaire-28 (GHQ-28) was used to assess general health, and the World Health Organization Quality of Life-BREF Questionnaire and Perceived Stress Scale-14 (PSS-14) questionnaires were used to assess QoL and perceived stress, respectively. The PSS and GHQ subscales and total scores exhibited strong, positive, and significant correlations coefficients (r): 0.52 for somatic disturbances, 0.56 for stress and insomnia, 0.40 for social dysfunction, and 0.37 for depression, yielding an r equal to 0.57 for the total GHQ score. A higher level of perceived stress was related to a lower likelihood of being satisfied with their job; in this regard, male participants and higher ranked officers reported lower job satisfaction. The PSS and GHQ scores were inversely, consistently, and significantly related to almost all of the QoL aspects, explaining up to 34% of their variability. Parenthood had a positive effect on QoL related to physical health, and women reported lower QoL related to psychological health. Higher levels of stress are related to an increased risk of reporting suboptimal job satisfaction and QoL. The magnitude of these associations varied depending on age, gender, and rank, highlighting the need for stress-management training.

Page | 198 POLICE CORRUPTION AND ADMINISTRATION OF ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Fr. Ikenga

2017-08-07

Aug 7, 2017 ... government to finance and embark on policies that will develop this .... sometimes acted upon instruction of the superior police officer or officers. .... to Chief Magistrate Court by the Police then require the advice of the Director ...

Dutch police officers' preparation and performance of their arrest and self-defence skills: A questionnaire study

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Renden, P.G.; Nieuwenhuys, A.; Savelsbergh, G.J.P.; Oudejans, R.R.D.

2015-01-01

We investigated how Dutch police officers perceive their preparation for arrest and self-defence skills (ASDS) and their ability to manage violence on duty. Furthermore, we assessed whether additional experience (i.e., by having encountered violence on duty or by practicing martial arts) and

Overlapping values, mutual prejudices. Empirical research into the ethos of police officers and private security guards

NARCIS (Netherlands)

van Steden, R.; van der Wal, Z.; Lasthuizen, K.M.

2015-01-01

What determines professional motivations and values of security operatives: sector or profession? Our article aims to answer this question through a survey study among police officers (n = 405) and private security guards (n = 329) in the Netherlands. Our results show that both groups closely

Explaining violent behavior against asylum-seekers among border police officers: A Macedonia and Serbia case study

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Schot, Suzanne; Bruijn, Larissa Michelle

2017-01-01

During the 2015 refugee crisis border police officers engaged in violent behavior against asylum-seekers travelling through transit countries to reach the European Union. In Macedonia and Serbia, the violence included beatings, violent assaults, and the use of excessive force in form of stun

Blood Pressure, Sleep Quality and Fatigue in Shift Working Police Officers: Effects of a Twelve Hour Roster System on Cardiovascular and Sleep Health

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jaymen L. Elliott

2016-01-01

Full Text Available Background: Police officers have been reported to exhibit a high incidence of pathologies, which present prematurely in an otherwise healthy population. Shift work has also been associated with an increased risk of cardiovascular and sleep disorders, attributable to its propensity for circadian rhythm dysfunction. However, contention exists as to whether shift work has a direct effect upon blood pressure (BP regulation. Methods: This cross-sectional study sought to determine changes in BP and associations with the overall sleep quality and fatigue in 206 general duties police officers (n = 140 males of the New South Wales Police Force in Australia. The subjects’ BP was assessed before and after their twelve hour shift, during which time they also completed the Lifestyle Appraisal Questionnaire, Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI, Epworth Sleepiness Scale and Fatigue Severity Scale (FSS. Results: Poor sleep quality (PSQI and fatigue severity (FSS were found to predominate in the sample (69% and 51% respectively. Although there was no change in BP for male participants, female officers’ systolic blood pressure (SBP was found to increase significantly across the shift (p < 0.001, but with no change found in females’ diastolic blood pressure (DBP. Finally, higher pre and post-shift SBP (r = −0.26, p = 0.001; r = −0.25, p = 0.001, respectively and DBP (r = −0.26, p = 0.001; r = −0.26, p = 0.001, respectively were significantly correlated with lower FSS scores after accounting for age, waist-hip ratio and lifestyle risk factors. Conclusions: Based on these preliminary findings, there was a significant increase in SBP of female police officers after shift work, while BP and fatigue levels in all police officers were strongly related. Moreover, the predominating poor sleep quality and impact of fatigue in this sample remain a concern. Further research is required to ensure the physiological welfare of police officers, while strategies

Alleviating Stress In Police Agencies

OpenAIRE

Phillip Neely; Craig S. Cleveland

2013-01-01

Policestress has been examined in many studies, many of which have focused upon thedevelopment of prevention and treatment programs for the police officers(Maslach, 1982; Maslach & Jackson, 1979; Mitchell, 1983; Mitchell &Everly, 1993). The trend of combating stress began with the police agenciesusing employee assistance programs, funding conferences, conducting research,and establishing prevention programs, but the fact remains that the health ofpolice officers and their families bec...

Secondary traumatic stress and secondary posttraumatic growth in a sample of Dutch police family liaison officers

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Kunst, Maarten; Saan, M.C.; Bollen, Lidewij; Kuijpers, Karlijn

2017-01-01

This study investigated secondary traumatic stress (STS) and secondary posttraumatic growth (SPG) in a sample of Dutch police family liaison officers (N = 224). Our study had two aims: (a) to identify potential risk and protective factors for STS and (b) to investigate the association between STS

Police arrest and self-defence skills: performance under anxiety of officers with and without additional experience in martial arts.

Science.gov (United States)

Renden, Peter G; Landman, Annemarie; Savelsbergh, Geert J P; Oudejans, Raôul R D

2015-01-01

We investigated whether officers with additional martial arts training experience performed better in arrest and self-defence scenarios under low and high anxiety and were better able to maintain performance under high anxiety than officers who just rely on regular police training. We were especially interested to find out whether training once a week would already lead to better performance under high anxiety. Officers with additional experience in kickboxing or karate/jiu-jitsu (training several times per week), or krav maga (training once a week) and officers with no additional experience performed several arrest and self-defence skills under low and high anxiety. Results showed that officers with additional experience (also those who trained once a week) performed better under high anxiety than officers with no additional experience. Still, the additional experience did not prevent these participants from performing worse under high anxiety compared to low anxiety. Implications for training are discussed. Practitioner summary: Dutch police officers train their arrest and self-defence skills only four to six hours per year. Our results indicate that doing an additional martial arts training once a week may lead to better performance under anxiety, although it cannot prevent that performance decreases under high anxiety compared to low anxiety.

Is long term creatine and glutamine supplementation effective in enhancing physical performance of military police officers?

Science.gov (United States)

da Silveira, Celismar Lázaro; de Souza, Thiago Siqueira Paiva; Batista, Gilmário Ricarte; de Araújo, Adenilson Targino; da Silva, Júlio César Gomes; de Sousa, Maria do Socorro Cirilo; Marta, Carlos; Garrido, Nuno Domingo

2014-09-29

The objective of this study was to analyze the effect of supplementation with creatine and glutamine on physical fitness of military police officers. Therefore, an experimental double blind study was developed, with the final sample composed by 32 men randomly distributed into three groups: a group supplemented with creatine (n=10), glutamine (n=10) and a placebo group (n=12) and evaluated in three distinct moments, in an interval of three months (T1, T2 and T3). The physical training had a weekly frequency of 5 sessions × 90 min, including strength exercises, local muscular resistance, flexibility and both aerobic and anaerobic capacity. After analyzing the effect of time, group and interaction (group × time) for measures that indicated the physical capabilities of the subjects, a significant effect of time for the entire variable was identified (p0,05). In face of the results it was concluded that supplementation with creatine and glutamine showed no ergogenic effect on physical performance in military police officers.

Interpersonal Stance in Conflict Conversation: Police Interviews

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Bruijnes, Merijn

2013-01-01

In this work we focus on the dynamics of the conflict that often arises in a police interview between suspects and police officers. Police interviews are a special type of social encounter, primarily because of the authority role of the police interviewer and the often uncooperative stance that the

Estresse ocupacional em mulheres policiais Occupational stress among female police officers

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Maria Cecília de Souza Minayo

2013-03-01

Full Text Available Aborda-se o estresse ocupacional em mulheres policiais militares do Rio de Janeiro. Parte-se de uma abordagem qualitativa (entrevistas, grupos focais e observação das percepções dessas mulheres sobre diferenças de gênero no trabalho policial, relação entre estresse ocupacional e problemas de saúde e estratégias para amenizar o estresse. Participaram 42 mulheres: oficiais e praças, profissionais operacionais e de saúde. Os resultados revelam que as policiais relacionam o cotidiano do trabalho ao estresse, citam diversos sintomas e mostram como o relacionamento familiar é afetado. Seu estresse tem origem basicamente na questão organizacional e gerencial do trabalho. Discriminação de gênero e assédio são percebidos como importantes fatores estressantes. O sofrimento psíquico aparece mais fortemente entre as oficiais com cargos de chefia; e as atividades operacionais são percebidas como mais estressantes pelo risco que oferecem. O exercício físico é a estratégia considerada mais eficaz para prevenir as consequências do estresse. Conclui-se que, embora as mulheres estejam presentes na PM há muitos anos, a organização e o gerenciamento praticamente continuam sob a ótica masculina e são necessários investimentos em ações preventivas do estresse sob a perspectiva de gênero.The scope of this study is occupational stress among female police officers in Rio de Janeiro. A qualitative approach was initially used (interviews, focal groups and observations to establish their perceptions regarding gender differences in the performance of police work, the relationship between occupational stress and health issues and the strategies used to mitigate this type of stress. A total of 42 participants including female officers and staff and operational and health professionals were involved. The participants link stress to their daily work, cite a number of symptoms and show how family relationships are affected. Stress originates

A theological reflection on the stories of police officers working under a new constitution

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Brian Burger

2009-09-01

Full Text Available Fighting crime in the new South Africa has taken on new challenges under a new constitution. Using a narrative approach to research, the stories of police officers were listened to and reflected upon theologically. This process was carried out within a postfoundationalist and social constructionist paradigm that enabled further dialogue with other disciplines, seeking common ground as well as points of difference.

Measuring Perceived Procedural Justice and Coercion among Persons with Mental Illness in Police Encounters: The Police Contact Experience Scale

Science.gov (United States)

Watson, Amy C.; Angell, Beth; Vidalon, Theresa; Davis, Kristin

2010-01-01

Despite increased recent attention to improving the quality of encounters between police officers and people with serious mental illness, there are no measures available for assessing how consumers perceive their interactions with police officers. Drawing upon conceptual frameworks developed within social psychology, this study reports the…

Exercise-Based Performance Enhancement and Injury Prevention for Firefighters: Contrasting the Fitness- and Movement-Related Adaptations to Two Training Methodologies.

Science.gov (United States)

Frost, David M; Beach, Tyson A C; Callaghan, Jack P; McGill, Stuart M

2015-09-01

Using exercise to enhance physical fitness may have little impact on performers' movement patterns beyond the gym environment. This study examined the fitness and movement adaptations exhibited by firefighters in response to 2 training methodologies. Fifty-two firefighters were assigned to a movement-guided fitness (MOV), conventional fitness (FIT), or control (CON) group. Before and after 12 weeks of training, participants performed a fitness evaluation and laboratory-based test. Three-dimensional lumbar spine and frontal plane knee kinematics were quantified. Five whole-body tasks not included in the interventions were used to evaluate the transfer of training. FIT and MOV groups exhibited significant improvements in all aspects of fitness; however, only MOV exhibited improvements in spine and frontal plane knee motion control when performing each transfer task (effect sizes [ESs] of 0.2-1.5). FIT exhibited less controlled spine and frontal plane knee motions while squatting, lunging, pushing, and pulling (ES: 0.2-0.7). More MOV participants (43%) exhibited only positive posttraining changes (i.e., improved control), in comparison with FIT (30%) and CON (23%). Fewer negative posttraining changes were also noted (19, 25, and 36% for MOV, FIT, and CON). These findings suggest that placing an emphasis on how participants move while exercising may be an effective training strategy to elicit behavioral changes beyond the gym environment. For occupational athletes such as firefighters, soldiers, and police officers, this implies that exercise programs designed with a movement-oriented approach to periodization could have a direct impact on their safety and effectiveness by engraining desirable movement patterns that transfer to occupational tasks.

How police officers and nurses regulate combined domestic and paid workloads to manage schedules: a gender analysis.

Science.gov (United States)

Caroly, Sandrine

2011-01-01

Our questioning focuses on the role played by the gendered division of labour and by the collective organisation of work in strategies deployed by workers in order to reconcile professional and private lives. How does work organisation facilitate schedule management so as to fit in with workers' domestic lives by offering the possibility of work activity accommodations? A comparison of two stress management studies allowed us to examine the strategies used to manage professional and private schedules. One study focused on nurses in a female environment and one study looked at police officers or a male environment recently incorporating women into the work group. In the hospital sector, management resorts to curtailing leave in order to overcome staff shortages and ensure the quality of health care; however, the female environment facilitates collective regulation to adapt work schedules. These management imposed organisational constraints are especially difficult for female staff due to their roles in the domestic sphere. It is more difficult for women to adapt work schedules in the predominantly male police officer environment. Police ask supervisors for timetable changes more frequently following the introduction of women to the group. The strategies to reconcile professional and private lives depend on division of labour and collective regulation.

When the Cop Is the Victim: A Test of Target Congruence Theory on Intimate Partner Violence Victimization Experienced by Police Officers.

Science.gov (United States)

Zavala, Egbert

2017-05-01

This study analyzed data from the Police Stress and Domestic Violence in Police Families in Baltimore, Maryland, 1997-1999 ( N = 753) to examine propositions derived from target congruence theory in the context of intimate partner violence (IPV) victimization experienced by police officers. Specifically, this study tested the influence of target vulnerability, target gratifiability, and target antagonism on IPV victimization. Results from logistic regression models showed that all three theoretical constructs positively and significantly predicted IPV victimization. Results, as well as the study's limitations and directions for future research, are discussed.

The Role of Social Capital in Reducing Negative Health Outcomes among Police Officers

OpenAIRE

GÄCHTER, Martin; SAVAGE, David A; TORGLER, Benno

2010-01-01

This paper investigates the role of social capital on the reduction of short and long run negative health effects associated with stress, as well as indicators of burnout among police officers. Despite the large volume of research on either social capital or the health effects of stress, the interaction of these factors remains an underexplored topic. In this empirical analysis we aim to reduce such a shortcoming focusing on a highly stressful and emotionally draining work environment, namely...

Police and Suicide Prevention.

Science.gov (United States)

Marzano, Lisa; Smith, Mark; Long, Matthew; Kisby, Charlotte; Hawton, Keith

2016-05-01

Police officers are frequently the first responders to individuals in crisis, but generally receive little training for this role. We developed and evaluated training in suicide awareness and prevention for frontline rail police in the UK. To investigate the impact of training on officers' suicide prevention attitudes, confidence, and knowledge. Fifty-three participants completed a brief questionnaire before and after undertaking training. In addition, two focus groups were conducted with 10 officers to explore in greater depth their views and experiences of the training program and the perceived impact on practice. Baseline levels of suicide prevention attitudes, confidence, and knowledge were mixed but mostly positive and improved significantly after training. Such improvements were seemingly maintained over time, but there was insufficient power to test this statistically. Feedback on the course was generally excellent, notwithstanding some criticisms and suggestions for improvement. Training in suicide prevention appears to have been well received and to have had a beneficial impact on officers' attitudes, confidence, and knowledge. Further research is needed to assess its longer-term effects on police attitudes, skills, and interactions with suicidal individuals, and to establish its relative effectiveness in the context of multilevel interventions.

Feelings of Safety: Ironic Consequences of Police Patrolling

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Veer, van de E.; Lange, de M.A.; Haar, van der E.; Karremans, J.C.

2012-01-01

Increasing police patrolling is often assumed to be an effective means of enhancing general feelings of safety. This relationship between perceiving police and feelings of safety was tested by having police officers patrol during a field experiment (Study 1) and by manipulating the police presence

Effects of thigh holster use on kinematics and kinetics of active duty police officers.

Science.gov (United States)

Larsen, Louise Bæk; Tranberg, Roy; Ramstrand, Nerrolyn

2016-08-01

Body armour, duty belts and belt mounted holsters are standard equipment used by the Swedish police and have been shown to affect performance of police specific tasks, to decrease mobility and to potentially influence back pain. This study aimed to investigate the effects on gait kinematics and kinetics associated with use of an alternate load carriage system incorporating a thigh holster. Kinematic, kinetic and temporospatial data were collected using three dimensional gait analysis. Walking tests were conducted with nineteen active duty police officers under three different load carriage conditions: a) body armour and duty belt, b) load bearing vest, body armour and thigh holster and c) no equipment (control). No significant differences between testing conditions were found for temporospatial parameters. Range of trunk rotation was reduced for both load carriage conditions compared to the control condition (p<0.017). Range of hip rotation was more similar to the control condition when wearing thigh holster rather than the belt mounted hip holster (p<0.017). Moments and powers for both left and right ankles were significantly greater for both of the load carriage conditions compared to the control condition (p<0.017). This study confirms that occupational loads carried by police have a significant effect on gait kinematics and kinetics. Although small differences were observed between the two load carriage conditions investigated in this study, results do not overwhelmingly support selection of one design over the other. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

The Impact of Perceptions of Ethical Leadership Styles on Perceptions of Police Integrity Violations: The Case of Diyarbakir Police

Science.gov (United States)

Guclu, Timur

2013-01-01

This study has two main areas: first, the study evaluates whether the ethical leadership style of a direct supervisor has an impact on the police officers' perception of the integrity violations; second, the study scrutinizes whether police officers' moral judgment of integrity violations makes a difference in the amount of such violations. The…

Why police officers and labour inspectors (do not) blow the whistle A grid group cultural theory perspective

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Loyens, Kim

2013-01-01

Purpose - The purpose of this paper is to offer and test a theoretical framework that can be used to identify different styles of peer reporting, and explain why police officers and labour inspectors (do not) report peers' misconduct. Design/methodology/approach - A conceptual framework is developed

Is Long Term Creatine and Glutamine Supplementation Effective in Enhancing Physical Performance of Military Police Officers?

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Lázaro da Silveira Celismar

2014-12-01

Full Text Available The objective of this study was to analyze the effect of supplementation with creatine and glutamine on physical fitness of military police officers. Therefore, an experimental double blind study was developed, with the final sample composed by 32 men randomly distributed into three groups: a group supplemented with creatine (n=10, glutamine (n=10 and a placebo group (n=12 and evaluated in three distinct moments, in an interval of three months (T1, T2 and T3. The physical training had a weekly frequency of 5 sessions x 90 min, including strength exercises, local muscular resistance, flexibility and both aerobic and anaerobic capacity. After analyzing the effect of time, group and interaction (group x time for measures that indicated the physical capabilities of the subjects, a significant effect of time for the entire variable was identified (p0,05. In face of the results it was concluded that supplementation with creatine and glutamine showed no ergogenic effect on physical performance in military police officers.

Police Suicide in Small Departments: A Comparative Analysis

OpenAIRE

Violanti, John M.; Mnatsakanova, Anna; Hartley, Tara A.; Andrew, Michael E.; Burchfiel, Cecil M.

2012-01-01

The majority of police suicide research has focused on larger police departments. Very little research has been done within small departments. The present study compared suicide rates between small and larger police departments. Two Hundred ninty-eight departments were drawn from the U.S. Public Safety Officer Benefits database totaling 119,624 officers. Annual suicide rates were calculated per 100,000 for each of four category (by size of department) and p-values from Chi-square tests were e...

Police reform from the bottom up

African Journals Online (AJOL)

and practitioners across the usual North-South divide. Few police ... colleagues in the North. ... The introduction sets out the ... descriptive overview of key reforms in American policing. ... departments to illustrate the scope for involving officers ...

Police Attitudes and Professionalism

Science.gov (United States)

Loftus, Joseph; Price, Keith

2016-01-01

This quantitative study utilized Richard H. Hall's attitudinal attributes of a professional using a Likert scale. The survey was administered to officers in two similar mid-sized police departments. The first agency had 650 officers, while the second had 350 officers. Agency One requires all applicants to possess a bachelor's degree, while Agency…

An Examination of Police Officers' Perceptions of Effective School Responses to Active Shooter Scenarios: A Phenomenological Narrative Study

Science.gov (United States)

Adkins, Florence E.

2015-01-01

This qualitative phenomenological research study used narrative inquiry to examine police officer perceptions of effective school responses to active shooting scenarios. Creswell's (2013) six step process for analyzing and interpreting qualitative data was used to examine the interview information. The study results support the idea that changes…

Biomonitoring in California Firefighters

Science.gov (United States)

Israel, Leslie; McNeel, Sandra; Voss, Robert; Wang, Miaomiao; Gajek, Ryszard; Park, June-Soo; Harwani, Suhash; Barley, Frank; She, Jianwen; Das, Rupali

2015-01-01

Objective: To assess California firefighters' blood concentrations of selected chemicals and compare with a representative US population. Methods: We report laboratory methods and analytic results for cadmium, lead, mercury, and manganese in whole blood and 12 serum perfluorinated chemicals in a sample of 101 Southern California firefighters. Results: Firefighters' blood metal concentrations were all similar to or lower than the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) values, except for six participants whose mercury concentrations (range: 9.79 to 13.42 μg/L) were close to or higher than the NHANES reporting threshold of 10 μg/L. Perfluorodecanoic acid concentrations were elevated compared with NHANES and other firefighter studies. Conclusions: Perfluorodecanoic acid concentrations were three times higher in this firefighter group than in NHANES adult males. Firefighters may have unidentified sources of occupational exposure to perfluorinated chemicals. PMID:25563545

Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory-2-Restructured Form (MMPI-2-RF) predictors of police officer problem behavior.

Science.gov (United States)

Tarescavage, Anthony M; Corey, David M; Ben-Porath, Yossef S

2015-02-01

The purpose of this study was to investigate the predictive validity of the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory-2-Restructured Form (MMPI-2-RF) in a sample of law enforcement officers. MMPI-2-RF scores were collected from preemployment psychological evaluations of 136 male police officers, and supervisor ratings of performance and problem behavior were subsequently obtained during the initial probationary period. The sample produced meaningfully lower and less variant substantive scale scores than the general population and the MMPI-2-RF Police Candidate comparison group, which significantly affected effect sizes for the zero-order correlations. After applying a correction for range restriction, MMPI-2-RF substantive scales demonstrated moderate to strong associations with criteria, particularly in the Emotional Dysfunction and Interpersonal Functioning domains. Relative risk ratio analyses showed that cutoffs of 45T and 50T maintained reasonable selection ratios because of the exceptionally low scores in this sample and were associated with significantly increased risk for problematic behavior. These results provide support for the predictive validity of the MMPI-2-RF substantive scales in this setting. Implications of these findings and limitations of these results are discussed. © The Author(s) 2014.

The effect on collisions with injuries of a reduction in traffic citations issued by police officers.

Science.gov (United States)

Blais, Etienne; Gagné, Marie-Pier

2010-12-01

To assess the effect on collisions with injuries of a 61% reduction in the number of traffic citations issued by police officers over a 21-month period. Using descriptive analyses as well as ARIMA intervention time-series analyses, this study estimated the impact of this reduction in citations issued for traffic violations on the monthly number of collisions with injuries. Simple descriptive analysis reveals that the 61% reduction in the number of citations issued for traffic violations during the experimental period coincided with an increase in collisions with injuries. Results from the interrupted time-series analyses reveal that, on average, eight additional collisions with injuries occurred every month during which the number of tickets issued for traffic violations was lower than normal. As this pressure tactic was applied for 21 months, it is estimated that this situation was associated with approximately 184 additional collisions with injuries: equivalent to 239 traffic injuries (either deaths, minor or serious injuries). In the province of Quebec, police officers are an important component of road safety policy. Issuing citations prevents drivers from adopting reckless driving habits such as speeding, running red lights and failing to fasten their seat belt.

Prevalence of overweight and obesity among police officers in Riyadh City and risk factors for cardiovascular disease.

Science.gov (United States)

Alghamdi, Abdullah S; Yahya, Mohammed A; Alshammari, Ghedeir M; Osman, Magdi A

2017-04-14

Despite the prevalence of overweight and obesity and increases in associated diseases such as diabetes and heart disease in the Saudi population, no studies have addressed the spread of obesity among Saudi police officers. Therefore, the present study aimed to assess the prevalence of overweight and obesity and associations with biochemical parameters among the police in Riyadh. The study involved a cross-sectional survey of 160 police officers in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Anthropometric measurements, blood pressure, lipid profiles and fasting blood sugar levels were measured for all individuals. According to the results, the average body mass index (BMI) was 27.5 ± 5.1, indicating an increase in overweight in this population and 66.9% were overweight or obese. Moreover, the mean systolic and diastolic blood pressure values were 119.5 and 79.4 mmHg, respectively, within normal limits. The mean total cholesterol (TC), high-density lipoprotein-cholesterol (HDL-C), low-density lipoprotein-cholesterol (LDL-C), and triglyceride (TG) levels were 187.5, 43.9, 119.5 and 124.5 mg/100 ml, respectively. These BMI and biochemical findings suggest a high proportion of overweight and obese individuals in the sample population, as well as an increase in the proportion of individuals with high levels of biochemical indicators who are therefore susceptible to heart disease and diabetes. The study recommends using preventive programs to combat obesity and overweight and related diseases and conducting further studies using measures other than BMI.

Police Community Outreach

Data.gov (United States)

Allegheny County / City of Pittsburgh / Western PA Regional Data Center — Community outreach activities attended by Pittsburgh Police Officers, starting from January 1 2016. Includes Zone, Event Name, Location, Date and Time.

Stereotype threat and racial differences in citizens' experiences of police encounters.

Science.gov (United States)

Najdowski, Cynthia J; Bottoms, Bette L; Goff, Phillip Atiba

2015-10-01

We conducted 2 studies to investigate how cultural stereotypes that depict Blacks as criminals affect the way Blacks experience encounters with police officers, expecting that such encounters induce Blacks to feel stereotype threat (i.e., concern about being judged and treated unfairly by police because of the stereotype). In Study 1, we asked Black and White participants to report how they feel when interacting with police officers in general. As predicted, Blacks, but not Whites, reported concern that police officers stereotype them as criminals simply because of their race. In addition, this effect was found for Black men but not Black women. In Study 2, we asked Black and White men to imagine a specific police encounter and assessed potential downstream consequences of stereotype threat. Consistent with Study 1, Black but not White men anticipated feeling stereotype threat in the hypothetical police encounter. Further, racial differences in anticipated threat translated into racial differences in anticipated anxiety, self-regulatory efforts, and behavior that is commonly perceived as suspicious by police officers. By demonstrating that Blacks might expect to be judged and treated unfairly by police because of the negative stereotype of Black criminality, this research extends stereotype threat theory to the new domain of criminal justice encounters. It also has practical implications for understanding how the stereotype could ironically contribute to bias-based policing and racial disparities in the justice system. (c) 2015 APA, all rights reserved).

An Exploration of Shift Work, Fatigue, and Gender Among Police Officers: The BCOPS Study.

Science.gov (United States)

Violanti, John M; Owens, Sherry L; Fekedulegn, Desta; Ma, Claudia C; Charles, Luenda E; Andrew, Michael E

2018-02-01

The present study examined the association between shift work and fatigue among male ( n = 230) and female ( n = 78) police officers. A 15-year work history database was used to define dominant shifts as day, afternoon, or night. A 10-item questionnaire created from the Standard Shiftwork Index (SSI) assessed fatigue. Gender-stratified analyses of variance and covariance and Poisson regression were used to compare means and prevalence of individual items across shifts. No significant differences in total fatigue scores were observed across shifts. However, the prevalence of the fatigue item "feelings of tiredness" was 89% higher among male officers working the afternoon shift compared with officers working the day shift (prevalence ratio [PR] = 1.89, 95% confidence interval [CI] = [1.12, 3.23], p = .020), after adjustment for covariates. Women reported a lower prevalence of tiredness than men on the afternoon shift. Organizations with afternoon shift workers should consider reducing fatigue at work through education and other methods.

Risk of health complaints and disabilities among Dutch firefighters

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Bos, J; Mol, E.; Visser, B.; Frings-Dresen, M.H.W.

2004-01-01

Objectives: The purpose of the present study was threefold: (1) to compare the work demands on firefighters (FFs) and office workers (OWs), (2) to compare the prevalence of health complaints and disabilities in the work situation in these two groups, and (3) to explore the effect of work demands on

Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory-2-Restructured Form (MMPI-2-RF) predictors of police officer problem behavior and collateral self-report test scores.

Science.gov (United States)

Tarescavage, Anthony M; Fischler, Gary L; Cappo, Bruce M; Hill, David O; Corey, David M; Ben-Porath, Yossef S

2015-03-01

The current study examined the predictive validity of Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory-2-Restructured Form (MMPI-2-RF; Ben-Porath & Tellegen, 2008/2011) scores in police officer screenings. We utilized a sample of 712 police officer candidates (82.6% male) from 2 Midwestern police departments. The sample included 426 hired officers, most of whom had supervisor ratings of problem behaviors and human resource records of civilian complaints. With the full sample, we calculated zero-order correlations between MMPI-2-RF scale scores and scale scores from the California Psychological Inventory (Gough, 1956) and Inwald Personality Inventory (Inwald, 2006) by gender. In the hired sample, we correlated MMPI-2-RF scale scores with the outcome data for males only, owing to the relatively small number of hired women. Several scales demonstrated meaningful correlations with the criteria, particularly in the thought dysfunction and behavioral/externalizing dysfunction domains. After applying a correction for range restriction, the correlation coefficient magnitudes were generally in the moderate to large range. The practical implications of these findings were explored by means of risk ratio analyses, which indicated that officers who produced elevations at cutscores lower than the traditionally used 65 T-score level were as much as 10 times more likely than those scoring below the cutoff to exhibit problem behaviors. Overall, the results supported the validity of the MMPI-2-RF in this setting. Implications and limitations of this study are discussed. 2015 APA, all rights reserved

Physical activity in police beyond self-report.

Science.gov (United States)

Ramey, Sandra L; Perkhounkova, Yelena; Moon, Mikyung; Tseng, Hui-Chen; Wilson, Annerose; Hein, Maria; Hood, Kristin; Franke, Warren D

2014-03-01

Police officers have a higher risk for cardiovascular disease. Reductions in occupational physical activity may contribute to the risk, yet there have been few efforts to characterize the physical demands of police work beyond self-report. To compare measured physical activity between work and off-duty hours and assess the effects of stress on physical activity. Officers (n = 119) from six departments wore a pattern recognition monitor for 96 hours to measure total energy expenditure (kilocalorie per hour) (1k/cal = 4184 joules), activity intensity, and step count per hour. Participants were more active on their off-duty days than at work; the effects of stress on physical activity seemed moderated by sex. Police work is primarily a sedentary occupation, and officers tend to be more active on their off-duty days than during their work hours.

Women in International Policing: Replacing an “Old Boys Club”?

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Saskia Hufnagel

2018-03-01

Full Text Available Globalisation has increased the importance of international police cooperation. While cross-border law enforcement can be traced back as far as the Nineteenth Century, police cooperation today—such as Joint Investigation Teams, International Liaison Officers, and Interpol—only came about in the Twentieth Century. It was developed to counter transnational organised crime, such as drug crime and immigration crime, as well as terrorism. But, another aspect of international policing is that of peacekeeping; that is, the deployment of national police to countries during or after conflict to maintain law and order where the local police do not have sufficient capacities. This paper examines how women have been elevated in this police cooperation role, particularly Interpol and international peacekeeping. The discussion focuses on whether there are indications that internationally related tasks and agencies provide a more accepting environment for female police officers as opposed to a national police force setting.

Police suicide in small departments: a comparative analysis.

Science.gov (United States)

Violanti, John M; Mnatsakanova, Anna; Burchfiel, Cecil M; Hartley, Tara A; Andrew, Michael E

2012-01-01

The majority of police suicide research has focused on larger police departments. Very little research has been done within small departments. The present study compared suicide rates between small and larger police departments. Two Hundred ninty-eight departments were drawn from the U.S. Public Safety Officer Benefits database totaling 119,624 officers. Annual suicide rates were calculated per 100,000 for each of four category (by size of department) and p-values from Chi-square tests were employed to assess differences in rates across categories. The annual suicide rate varied significantly across departments. Smaller police departments had a significantly higher suicide rate than large departments. Possible reasons include lack of availability for mental health assistance, increased workload and danger and community visibility.

Intranasal naloxone administration by police first responders is associated with decreased opioid overdose deaths.

Science.gov (United States)

Rando, Jessica; Broering, Derek; Olson, James E; Marco, Catherine; Evans, Stephen B

2015-09-01

This study sought to answer the question, "Can police officers administer intranasal naloxone to drug overdose victims to decrease the opioid overdose death rate?" This prospective interventional study was conducted in Lorain County, OH, from January 2011 to October 2014. Starting October 2013, trained police officers administered naloxone to suspected opioid overdose victims through a police officer naloxone prescription program (NPP). Those found by the county coroner to be positive for opioids at the time of death and those who received naloxone from police officers were included in this study. The rate of change in the total number of opioid-related deaths in Lorain County per quarter year, before and after initiation of the NPP, and the trend in the survival rate of overdose victims who were given naloxone were analyzed by linear regression. Significance was established a priori at P police officer NPP with average deaths per quarter of 5.5 for 2011, 15.3 for 2012, and 16.3 for the first 9 months of 2013. After initiation of the police officer NPP, the number of opioid overdose deaths decreased each quarter with an overall average of 13.4. Of the 67 participants who received naloxone by police officers, 52 (77.6%) survived, and 8 (11.9%) were lost to follow-up. Intranasal naloxone administration by police first responders is associated with decreased deaths in opioid overdose victims. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

K-9 Police Dog Bite

OpenAIRE

Vy Han; John R. Marshall

2017-01-01

History of present illness: A 30-year-old male who was brought into the emergency department (ED) by police officers after being bitten in the right lower extremity by a police German Shepard after attempting to flee authorities on foot. The patient stated that the dog immediately bit down on his right calf and proceeded to violently shake its head side to side without releasing its grip until police manually pulled the dog off of him. Upon arrival to the ED, he was tachycardic in the 120’...

Police officer on the frontline or a soldier? The effect of police militarization on crime

OpenAIRE

Bove, Vincenzo; Gavrilova, Evelina

2017-01-01

Sparked by high-profile confrontations between police and citizens in Ferguson, Missouri, and elsewhere, many commentators have criticized the excessive militarization of law enforcement. We investigate whether surplus military-grade equipment acquired by local police departments from the Pentagon has an effect on crime rates. We use temporal variations in US military expenditure and between-counties variation in the odds of receiving a positive amount of military aid to identify the causal e...

Emergency Preparedness and Role Clarity among Rescue Workers during the Terror Attacks in Norway July 22, 2011.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

May Janne Botha Pedersen

Full Text Available Few studies address preparedness and role clarity in rescue workers after a disaster. On July 22, 2011, Norway was struck by two terror attacks; 77 people were killed and many injured. Healthcare providers, police officers and firefighters worked under demanding conditions. The aims of this study were to examine the level of preparedness, exposure and role clarity. In addition, the relationship between demographic variables, preparedness and exposure and a role clarity during the rescue operations and; b achieved mastering for future disaster operations.In this cross-sectional study, healthcare providers (n = 859, police officers (n = 252 and firefighters (n = 102 returned a questionnaire approximately 10 months after the terror attacks.The rescue personnel were trained and experienced, and the majority knew their professional role (healthcare providers M = 4.1 vs. police officers: M = 3.9 vs. firefighters: M = 4.2, p 5 fatalities (OR 1.6, p < .05 were all associated with role clarity, together with a feeling of control, not being obstructed in work and perceiving the rescue work as a success. Moreover, independent predictors of being more prepared for future operations were arousal during the operation (OR 2.0, p < .001 and perceiving the rescue work as a success (OR 1.5, p < .001.Most of the rescue workers were experienced and knew their professional role. Training and everyday-work-experience must be a focal point when preparing rescue workers for disaster.

The Impact of Leadership Styles and Knowledge Sharing on Police Officers' Willingness to Exert Extra Effort to Provide Better Security: A Study in the Riot Unit of the Turkish National Police

Science.gov (United States)

Tombul, Fatih

2011-01-01

The motivation for this study is to understand the factors affecting police officers' willingness to exert extra effort for providing better service through knowledge sharing in different working environments such as riots. Since managers' leadership styles may be important factors affecting subordinates' willingness to exert extra effort, this…

Police-public interactions : a grid-group cultural theory perspective

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Loyens, Kim; Maesschalck, Jeroen

2014-01-01

Purpose - The police culture literature-suggests that police officers' attitude towards the public is characterised by Suspicion and an "us-vs-them" mentality. It also refers to the moral mission of protecting the public by being tough on crime. The traditional police culture model seems to imply

Police procedures in civil nuclear emergencies

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Smith, F.H.

1989-01-01

The responsibilities of the police in the event of a nuclear emergency are summarized. Preparation and planning is needed with site operators and other organisations who would also be involved in the event of an accident. Several points in particular are discussed; shelter and evacuation, the issue of potassium iodate tablets, protection of police officers, the police involvement in the operation support centres, public education and further discussion on the integration and development of the organisation of emergency procedures. (U.K.)

Police personality : and the relationship between personality and preferences for conflict resolution tactics

OpenAIRE

Abrahamsen, Solveig

2006-01-01

Do police officers possess certain personality characteristics that make them unique compared to the non-police population? This question has been the subject of an extensive line of research. Several researchers have found evidence of a so-called police personality, while other researchers have failed to detect personality differences between the police and the public. Also, some researchers have found that officers differ from each other in terms of job performance, and that personality dif...

Experiences of Autism Spectrum Disorder and Policing in England and Wales: Surveying Police and the Autism Community

Science.gov (United States)

Crane, Laura; Maras, Katie L.; Hawken, Tamsyn; Mulcahy, Sue; Memon, Amina

2016-01-01

An online survey gathered the experiences and views of 394 police officers (from England and Wales) regarding autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Just 42% of officers were satisfied with how they had worked with individuals with ASD and reasons for this varied. Although officers acknowledged the need for adjustments, organisational/time constraints…

Positive Response Distortion by Police Officer Applicants: Association of Paulhus Deception Scales with MMPI-2 and Inwald Personality Inventory Validity Scales

Science.gov (United States)

Detrick, Paul; Chibnall, John T.

2008-01-01

Interpretation of positive response distortion (socially desirable responding) in employment evaluations is an important validity issue. This study of police officer applicants examined the construct validity of the Paulhus Deception Scales (PDS)--Moralistic Bias (MB; exaggerated adjustment/agreeableness) and Egoistic Bias (EB; exaggerated…

Good Cop, Better Cop: Evaluation of a Geriatrics Training Program for Police.

Science.gov (United States)

Brown, Rebecca T; Ahalt, Cyrus; Rivera, Josette; Stijacic Cenzer, Irena; Wilhelm, Angela; Williams, Brie A

2017-08-01

To develop, implement, and evaluate a training program in aging-related health for police officers. Cross-sectional. Crisis intervention training program for police officers in San Francisco. Police officers attending one of five 2-hour trainings (N = 143). A lecture on aging-related health conditions pertinent to police work followed by three experiential trainings on how it feels to be "old." Participants evaluated the quality of the training and the likelihood that they would apply new knowledge to their work and rated their knowledge using a retrospective pre-post evaluation. In open-ended responses, participants reported work-related changes they anticipated making in response to the training. All 143 participants completed the evaluation. Eighty-four percent reported interacting with older adults at least monthly; 45% reported daily interactions. Participants rated the training quality at 4.6/5 and the likelihood they would apply new knowledge to their work at 4.4/5. Retrospective pre-post knowledge scores increased for all domains, including how to identify aging-related health conditions that can affect safety during police interactions (2.9/5 to 4.2/5; P police officers' self-reported knowledge and skills. Clinicians have an important opportunity to help enhance safe and effective community policing for older adults. © 2017, Copyright the Authors Journal compilation © 2017, The American Geriatrics Society.

Learning How to Learn: Implications for Non Traditional Adult Students

Science.gov (United States)

Tovar, Lynn A.

2008-01-01

In this article, learning how to learn for non traditional adult students is discussed with a focus on police officers and firefighters. Learning how to learn is particularly relevant for all returning non-traditional adults; however in the era of terrorism it is critical for the public safety officers returning to college after years of absence…

Police service in Victorian and Edwardian London: a somwhat atypical case of a hazardous occupation.

Science.gov (United States)

Shpayer-Makov, H

1995-01-01

British society in the nineteenth century showed a growing concern with public-health issues and with occupational hazards. Police service, which is at the centre of this paper, was not viewed by many as a hazardous occupation. Using the London Metropolitan Police as a case study, the paper suggests that working conditions in the Victorian and Edwardian police had detrimental effects on the health of officers. It is true that medical statistics of the time showed that police officers in London had a lower death rate than the average working man, but this comparison should not obscure the fact that policemen entered the force much healthier than when they retired and that this gap was not merely age-related. The paper sets out to answer the following questions: What were the prevalent injuries and illnesses in the Metropolitan Police? What was the work experience of the police officer and what impact did it have on his state of health? In addition to accounting for the deteriorating health of police officers, the paper provides the views of contemporary observers on the subject.

The Role of Leadership in Police Organizational Stress

Science.gov (United States)

1990-01-01

came from my wife, Lynn. She continues to believe in my dreams . I love her very much. vii Table of Contents Page DEDICATION...Police Organizational Stress Dr. Martin Symonds published the first study of police officer stress in 1970 in the American Journal of Psychoanalysis

How Algorithms Inscribe the Understanding of Crime in Police Work

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Waardenburg, L.; Sergeeva, A.; Huysman, Marleen

2018-01-01

This research focuses on the consequences of the shift to data-driven work for daily police work. Our ongoing ethnographic field study of a team of police officers shows that predictive policing algorithms inscribe a different crime theory-in-use – i.e., the understanding of why crime occurs and how

Pittsburgh Police Arrest Data

Data.gov (United States)

Allegheny County / City of Pittsburgh / Western PA Regional Data Center — Arrest data contains information on people taken into custody by City of Pittsburgh police officers. More serious crimes such as felony offenses are more likely to...

Twilight Policing. Private Security in Durban, South Africa

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Diphoorn, T.G.

2013-01-01

This ethnography analyses the everyday policing practices of armed response officers in Durban, South Africa. Armed response officers are private security officers who patrol communities in vehicles and respond to distress calls from clients. This study considers their interactions with other

The effect of social support, gratitude, resilience and satisfaction with life on depressive symptoms among police officers following Hurricane Katrina.

Science.gov (United States)

McCanlies, Erin C; Gu, Ja Kook; Andrew, Michael E; Violanti, John M

2018-02-01

Police officers in the New Orleans geographic area faced a number of challenges following Hurricane Katrina. This cross-sectional study examined the effect of social support, gratitude, resilience and satisfaction with life on symptoms of depression. A total of 86 male and 30 female police officers from Louisiana participated in this study. Ordinary least-square (OLS) regression mediation analysis was used to estimate direct and indirect effects between social support, gratitude, resilience, satisfaction with life and symptoms of depression. All models were adjusted for age, alcohol intake, military experience and an increase in the number of sick days since Hurricane Katrina. Mean depressive symptom scores were 9.6 ± 9.1 for females and 10.9 ± 9.6 for males. Mediation analyses indicates that social support and gratitude are directly associated with fewer symptoms of depression. Social support also mediated the relationships between gratitude and depression, gratitude and satisfaction with life, and satisfaction with life and depression. Similarly, resilience mediated the relationship between social support and fewer symptoms of depression. Social support, gratitude and resilience are associated with higher satisfaction with life and fewer symptoms of depression. Targeting and building these factors may improve an officer's ability to address symptoms of depression.

The ways of police cadets’ social competence evaluation

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

V. M. Kiikov

2016-10-01

Full Text Available In the article analysis of general theoretic approaches towards competent and motivated behavior definitions, the model of police officer social competence was proposed along with the ways of its study. Based on development theory conception the initial validation of social competence logical system as a mean of cadets’ social competence evaluation was considered in the article. Additionally, the determination of personality development level as possibility for definition and evaluation of cadets’ social competence based on social behavior theory perspectives was considered. As well the social features of social competence of law­enforcement officers were discussed and the theoretical construction for schematized representation of police cadets’ social competence structure is presented. The model includes: social norms related to police activity; motivation to socially­oriented activity; social intelligence, as integrative characteristic of cognitive and operational processes; emotional steadiness and communication skills. It was stated that the main characteristic of police cadets’ social competence is efficiency of interaction between police and community. The other important factor influencing social competence is professional activity and in our case it is law­enforcement. The social environment of departmental educational institution was explored as a main factor contributing to development of police cadets’ social competence components.

31 CFR 29.302 - Definitions.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-07-01

... periods of military service that interrupt a period of employment under the Police and Firefighters Plan... means the date the employee entered on duty. Military service means— (1) For the Police and Firefighters.... Code (1997) (under the Police and Firefighters Plan) or section 31-1231(a) of the D.C. Code (1997...

Trauma and Mental Health in the Wake of a Technological Disaster : The Ghislenghien Gas Explosion

NARCIS (Netherlands)

De Soir, E.L.J.L.

2015-01-01

This thesis describes the mental health disturbances in the wake of the Ghislenghien gas explosion (July 30th 2004) which instantly killed five firefighters, one police officer and 18 other people. Moreover, 132 people were wounded among which many suffered severe burn injuries. The Ghislenghien

Police work stressors and cardiac vagal control.

Science.gov (United States)

Andrew, Michael E; Violanti, John M; Gu, Ja K; Fekedulegn, Desta; Li, Shengqiao; Hartley, Tara A; Charles, Luenda E; Mnatsakanova, Anna; Miller, Diane B; Burchfiel, Cecil M

2017-09-10

This study examines relationships between the frequency and intensity of police work stressors and cardiac vagal control, estimated using the high frequency component of heart rate variability (HRV). This is a cross-sectional study of 360 officers from the Buffalo New York Police Department. Police stress was measured using the Spielberger police stress survey, which includes exposure indices created as the product of the self-evaluation of how stressful certain events were and the self-reported frequency with which they occurred. Vagal control was estimated using the high frequency component of resting HRV calculated in units of milliseconds squared and reported in natural log scale. Associations between police work stressors and vagal control were examined using linear regression for significance testing and analysis of covariance for descriptive purposes, stratified by gender, and adjusted for age and race/ethnicity. There were no significant associations between police work stressor exposure indices and vagal control among men. Among women, the inverse associations between the lack of support stressor exposure and vagal control were statistically significant in adjusted models for indices of exposure over the past year (lowest stressor quartile: M = 5.57, 95% CI 5.07 to 6.08, and highest stressor quartile: M = 5.02, 95% CI 4.54 to 5.51, test of association from continuous linear regression of vagal control on lack of support stressor β = -0.273, P = .04). This study supports an inverse association between lack of organizational support and vagal control among female but not male police officers. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Why police officers and labour inspectors (do not) blow the whistle A grid group cultural theory perspective

OpenAIRE

Loyens, Kim

2013-01-01

Purpose - The purpose of this paper is to offer and test a theoretical framework that can be used to identify different styles of peer reporting, and explain why police officers and labour inspectors (do not) report peers' misconduct. Design/methodology/approach - A conceptual framework is developed that identifies underlying mechanisms of peer reporting. It aims to be an alternative for the blue code of silence literature and the general whistleblowing studies, which have a number of disadva...

A Training Method to Improve Police Use of Force Decision Making

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Judith P. Andersen

2016-04-01

Full Text Available Police safety and use of force decisions during critical incidents are an ongoing source of concern for both police practitioners and the public. Prior research in the area of police performance reveals that psychological and physiological stress responses during critical incidents can shape the outcome of the incident, either positively or negatively. The goal of this study was to test a training method to improve use of force decision making among police. This randomized controlled pilot study consisted of training officers to apply techniques to enhance psychological and physiological control during stressful critical incidents. Of a pool of 80 police officers, potential participants were invited based on equivalent age, years of experience, physiological characteristics (i.e., body mass index [BMI] and cardiovascular reactivity, and expertise. Results revealed that the intervention group displayed significantly better physiological control, situational awareness, and overall performance, and made a greater number of correct use of force decisions than officers in the control group (all ps < .01. The relevant improvements in use of force decision-making found in this pilot study indicate that this training method warrants further investigation. Improved use of force decision making directly translates into potential lifesaving decisions for police and the civilians they are working with.

Cancer incidence among firefighters

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Pukkala, Eero; Martinsen, Jan Ivar; Weiderpass, Elisabete

2014-01-01

OBJECTIVES: Firefighters are potentially exposed to a wide range of known and suspected carcinogens through their work. The objectives of this study were to examine the patterns of cancer among Nordic firefighters, and to compare them with the results from previous studies. METHODS: Data for this......OBJECTIVES: Firefighters are potentially exposed to a wide range of known and suspected carcinogens through their work. The objectives of this study were to examine the patterns of cancer among Nordic firefighters, and to compare them with the results from previous studies. METHODS: Data...... for this study were drawn from a linkage between the census data for 15 million people from the five Nordic countries and their cancer registries for the period 1961-2005. SIR analyses were conducted with the cancer incidence rates for the entire national study populations used as reference rates. RESULTS......: A total of 16 422 male firefighters were included in the final cohort. A moderate excess risk was seen for all cancer sites combined, (SIR=1.06, 95% CI 1.02 to 1.11). There were statistically significant excesses in the age category of 30-49 years in prostate cancer (SIR=2.59, 95% CI 1.34 to 4...

Professional efficacy, exhaustion, and work characteristics among police officers: A longitudinal test of the learning-related predictions of the demand-control model

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Taris, T.W.; Kompier, M.A.J.; Geurts, S.A.E.; Houtman, I.L.D.; Heuvel, F.F.M. van den

2010-01-01

The present study addressed the relationships among professional efficacy, emotional exhaustion, and job characteristics (job demands and job control) in the context of a two-wave panel study among 828 Dutch police officers. Based on the demand-control model, we expected that high demands/high

Social Behaviour in Police Interviews: Relating Data to Theories

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Bruijnes, Merijn; Linssen, Johannes Maria; op den Akker, Hendrikus J.A.; Theune, Mariet; Wapperom, Sjoerd; Broekema, Chris; Heylen, Dirk K.J.; D'Errico, Francesca; Poggi, Isabella; Vinciarelli, Alessandro; Vincze, Laura

2015-01-01

We analysed a corpus of enacted police interviews to get insight into the social behaviour of interviewees and police officers in this setting. We (exhaustively) collected the terms used to describe the interactions in those interviews. Through factor analysis, we showed that the theories

Police on the Front Line of Community Geriatric Healthcare: Challenges and Opportunities

Science.gov (United States)

Brown, Rebecca T.; Ahalt, Cyrus; Steinman, Michael A.; Kruger, Kelly; Williams, Brie A.

2015-01-01

As the population ages, police increasingly serve as first responders to incidents involving older adults in which aging-related health plays a critical role. The goals of this study were to assess police officers’ knowledge of aging-related health; to identify challenges police experience in their encounters with older adults; and to describe their recommendations for how to address those challenges. This was a mixed methods study of 141 San Francisco police officers recruited from mandatory police trainings between 2011 and 2013. Descriptive statistics were used to analyze 141 self-administered questionnaires and principles of grounded theory were used to analyze open-ended questionnaire responses and 11 additional qualitative interviews. Nearly all officers (89%) reported interacting with older adults at least monthly. Although 84% of police reported prior training in working with older adults, only 32% rated themselves knowledgeable about aging-related health. Participants described themselves as first-responders to medical and social emergencies involving older adults and identified several challenges including identifying and responding to aging-related conditions and ensuring appropriate medical and social service hand-offs. To address these challenges, officers recommended developing trainings focused on recognizing and responding to aging-related conditions and improving police knowledge of community resources for older adults. They also called for enhanced communication and collaboration between police and clinicians. These findings suggest that despite playing a front-line role in responding to older adults with complex medical and social needs, many police may benefit from additional knowledge about aging-related health and community resources. Collaboration between police and healthcare providers presents an important opportunity to develop geriatrics training and interprofessional systems of care to support police work with a rapidly aging

Police Tweets and Public Perceptions of Safety and Police Performance: An Experiment on Framing and Other Tweet Content

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Imke Smulders

2017-05-01

Full Text Available The introduction of new media as a means of communication by the police triggers interesting questions about the impact of such new developments, such as the effect on people’s safety perceptions. Since communication is mostly overlooked as a possible determinant of safety perception, this led to a research project into the relationship between Twitter use by community policing officers and citizen’s perceptions of safety. This article reports on a part of this study, an experiment on framing and other linguistic effects of tweets by police officers. To assess the aforementioned relationship, it is important to examine how the precise content of a community policing officer’s tweet is perceived by the public. In an experimental setting the effects of gain versus loss frames, implicit versus explicit advice and style of addressing have been tested, with regard to safety perceptions and several related factors. The results show that gain framed tweets yield significantly more positive responses concerning opinion about police performance, perceived risk of burglary or assault, safety perception and marginally for perceived crime level in the neighbourhood. Including an explicitly or implicitly formulated piece of advice in the tweets doesn’t make a difference in any of the queried variables and style of addressing has only small effects: formal address leads to slightly more positive opinions about police performance than impersonal address.  The results show that formulation aspects – specifically framing – are worth taking into account in safety communications and that this type of research is beneficial for studying effects of social media.

Using simulation to educate police about mental illness: A collaborative initiative

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Wendy Stanyon

2014-06-01

Full Text Available Mental illness is a major public health concern in Canada and also globally. According to the World Health Organization, five of the top ten disabilities worldwide are mental health disorders. Within Canada, one in five individuals is living with mental illness each year. Currently, there are 6.7 million Canadians living with mental illness and over 1 million Canadian youth living with mental illness. Police are frequently the first responders to situations in the community involving people with mental illness, and police services are increasingly aware of the need to provide officers with additional training and strategies for effectively interacting with these citizens. This study examined the effectiveness of four online, interactive video-based simulations designed to educate police officers about mental illness and strategies for interacting with people with mental illness. The simulations were created through the efforts of a unique partnership involving a police service, a mental health facility and two postsecondary institutions. Frontline police officers from Ontario were divided into one of three groups (simulation, face to face, control. Using a pre- and post-test questionnaire, the groups were compared on their level of knowledge and understanding of mental illness. In addition, focus groups explored the impact of the simulations on officers’ level of confidence in engaging with individuals with mental illness and officers’ perceptions of the simulations’ ease of use and level of realism. The study’s findings determined that the simulations were just as effective as face-to-face learning, and the officers reported the simulations were easy to use and reflected real-life scenarios they had encountered on the job. As mental health continues to be a major public concern, not only in Canada but also globally, interactive simulations may provide an effective and affordable education resource not only for police officers but for

Fitness for Work Evaluation of Firefighters in Tehran

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ramin Mehrdad

2013-04-01

Full Text Available Firefighting is extremely strenuous and physically demanding work and involves ability to cope with emergency life-or-death situations. Because of the high physical demands of firefighting, successful job performance and minimizing of morbidity and mortality depends on fitness for duty. The firefighting department of Tehran does not perform periodic medical assessment for firefighters. The aim of this study was to evaluate medical fitness among firefighters in Tehran. In this cross sectional study we examined 147 firefighters. Medical and occupational history obtained by interview, then we performed physical examination, blood tests, ECG, spirometry and audiometry. Then results compared with guidelines for firefighters in the USA, Australia and the United Kingdom. Seven percent of our participants had a kind of pulmonary dysfunction and 25% had some degrees of hearing loss. A considerable percent of them had modifiable coronary heart disease risk factors. Thirteen participitants were unfit for this job that among them; ten firefighters were unfit based on vision capability, one case due to hypertention and two cases because of pulmonary dysfunction. Because of hazardouse nature of firefighting; preplacement, periodic medical evaluations and assesment of fitness for firefighters in Iran is highly recommended. Establishment of fitness criteria for firefighters in Iran is necessery to perform assigned functions safely.

Respiratory Symptoms in Firefighters

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Greven, Frans E.; Rooyackers, Jos M.; Kerstjens, Huib A. M.; Heederik, Dick J.

Background The aim of the present study was to determine the prevalence and risk factors associated with respiratory symptoms in common firefighters in the Netherlands. Methods A total of 1,330 firefighters from the municipal fire brigades of three provinces of the Netherlands were included in the

CERN's first female firefighter

CERN Multimedia

Alizée Dauvergne

2010-01-01

Until recently, the women's changing room in the Fire Station, built in 2005, has always been empty. With the arrival of Séverine Peverelly, CERN's first female firefighter, it now has a purpose. Séverine Peverelly took up her post as a firefighter in April. Séverine, who comes from Gap in France, took up her post as a firefighter in the CERN fire brigade at the beginning of April. "We were looking for a new member," explains David Peyron, Head of the Fire and Rescue Service. It didn't matter if it was a man or a woman; we needed a firefighter with the right skills, and Séverine just happened to have them." With ten years experience working in French fire services, Séverine was looking for a new challenge. "What attracted me to CERN was the international dimension, because that creates additional challenges," she explains. And these can be considerable! For one thing, every country has its own way of worki...

Acute effects of firefighting on cardiac performance.

Science.gov (United States)

Fernhall, Bo; Fahs, Christopher A; Horn, Gavin; Rowland, Thomas; Smith, Denise

2012-02-01

This study examined standard echocardiographic measures of cardiac size and performance in response to a 3-h firefighting training exercise. Forty experienced male personnel completed a standardized 3 h live firefighting exercise. Before and after the firefighting activities, participants were weighed, height, heart rate, blood pressure and blood samples were obtained, and echocardiographic measurements were made. Firefighting produced significant decreases in left ventricular diastolic dimension, stroke volume, fractional shortening, and mitral E velocity, tachycardia, a rise in core temperature, and a reduction in calculated plasma volume. On tissue Doppler imaging, there were no changes in systolic contractile function, but a decreased lateral wall diastolic velocity was observed. These findings show that 3 h of live firefighting produced cardiac changes consistent with cardiac fatigue, coupled with a decrease in systemic arterial compliance. These data show that live firefighting produces significant cardiovascular changes and future work is needed to evaluate if these changes are related to the increase in cardiovascular risk during live firefighting.

28 CFR 104.43 - Determination of presumed economic loss for decedents.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-07-01

... Personal Representatives bringing claims on behalf of decedents, the Special Master shall consider sums...) SEPTEMBER 11TH VICTIM COMPENSATION FUND OF 2001 Amount of Compensation for Eligible Claimants. § 104.43... firefighters or police officers, the Special Master may consider all forms of compensation (or pay) to which...

31 CFR 29.103 - Definitions.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-07-01

... XI of the Balanced Budget Act of 1997, Public Law 105-33, 111 Stat. 251, 712-731, 756-759, as amended... correct. Retirement Funds means the District of Columbia Teachers, Police Officers, and Firefighters Federal Pension Fund established under section 11081 of the Act, the District of Columbia Judicial...

Police Departments Connect to School District Camera Feeds to Aid Incident Response

Science.gov (United States)

Pittman, Elaine

2010-01-01

School systems and police departments are community partners, and ensuring student, faculty, and officer safety is a high priority for both. In Pennsylvania, police departments are being both innovative and proactive by using wireless technology to handle school safety. If there's an emergency, local police departments can increase situational…

Relationship between the police and crime victims: An analysis of the process and the level of satisfaction with police work

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Klisarić Milan

2014-01-01

Full Text Available The task of this study was to investigate the level of satisfaction of various categories of crime victims with various aspects of police work and behavior. The aim of this research was to examine whether the police treat all victims of crime equally responsibly, or whether there is a significant difference in the satisfaction of various categories of crime victims with various aspects of police work and behavior. On an occasional sample of 150 examinees, we analyzed the level of satisfaction of crime victims in relation to the expectations of the police regarding the reported criminal offenses and then the level of satisfaction towards different aspects of work and conduct of the police, such as reporting crime to the police, environmental conditions of interview and human compassion/empathy of police officers. The results indicate a significant difference in the satisfaction of specified aspects of police work among different categories of victims. Most dissatisfaction was expressed by members of the LGBT community and convicted persons when they appear in the role of victims. The research makes recommendations for improving the quality of the work and behavior of the police towards victims of crime.

Radon exposure assessment for underground workers: a case of Seoul Subway Police officers in Korea.

Science.gov (United States)

Song, Myeong Han; Chang, Byung-Uck; Kim, Yongjae; Cho, Kun-Woo

2011-11-01

The objective of this study is the systematic and individual assessment of the annual effective dose due to inhaled radon for the Seoul Subway Police officers, Korea. The annual average radon concentrations were found to be in the range of 18.9-114 Bq·m(-3) in their workplaces. The total annual effective doses which may likely to be received on duty were assessed to be in the range of 0.41-1.64 mSv·y(-1). These were well below the recommended action level 10 mSv·y(-1) by ICRP. However, the effective doses were higher than subway station staff in Seoul, Korea.

Radon exposure assessment for underground workers: A case of Seoul Subway Police officers in Korea

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Song, M. H.; Chang, B. U.; Kim, Y.; Cho, K. W.

2011-01-01

The objective of this study is the systematic and individual assessment of the annual effective dose due to inhaled radon for the Seoul Subway Police officers, Korea. The annual average radon concentrations were found to be in the range of 18.9-114 Bq -3 in their workplaces. The total annual effective doses which may likely to be received on duty were assessed to be in the range of 0.41-1.64 mSv.y -1 . These were well below the recommended action level 10 mSv.y -1 by ICRP. However, the effective doses were higher than subway station staff in Seoul, Korea. (authors)

How to improve interactions between police and the mentally ill

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Yasmeen eKrameddine

2015-01-01

Full Text Available There have been repeated instances of police forces having violent, sometimes fatal, interactions with individuals with mental illness. Police forces are frequently first responders to those with mental illness. Despite this, training police in how to best interact with individuals who have a mental illness has been poorly studied. The present article reviews the literature examining mental illness training programs delivered to law enforcement officers. Some of the key findings are the benefits of training utilizing realistic hands-on scenarios, which focus primarily on verbal and non-verbal communication, increasing empathy, and de-escalation strategies. Current issues in training police officers are firstly the tendency for organizations to provide training without proper outcome measures of effectiveness, secondly the focus of training is on changing attitudes although there is little evidence to demonstrate this relates to behavioural change, and thirdly the belief that a mental health training program given on a single occasion is sufficient to improve interactions over the longer-term. Future police training needs to address these issues.

Occupational stress among police personnel in India

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

G Ragesh

2017-06-01

Full Text Available Background: Occupational stress and associated physical and mental health related issues are not addressed in Indian police personnel with adequate importance. Methods: Cross-sectional survey was conducted among police personnel (both male and female in Calicut urban police district, Kerala state, India. Police personnel from all designations (ranks, except from the all India services (Indian Police Service were included in the study. Data were collected using a specifically designed datasheet covering socio-demographic profile, physical and mental health related details which was prepared by researchers. Occupational stress was measured using Operational Police Stress Questionnaire (PSQ-OP and Organisational Police Stress Questionnaire (PSQ-ORG. Result: The study found that both operational and organisational stress was significant among the police officers. Organisational stress was experienced in moderate level by 68% and in high level by 14%. Operational stress scores were in the moderate range in 67% and in high range in 16.5%. The younger age group (21-35 years and lower level rank police personnel had higher stress. Stress was higher among female police personnel compared to males. While 23% of them had been diagnosed with physical illnesses, a significant four per cent of them with mental illness, and 29% of them reported substance abuse. Conclusion: The results point to the high level of stress among Indian police personnel and the need for urgent interventions from the government to address the occupational stress.

Work Engagement among Rescue Workers: Psychometric Properties of the Portuguese UWES.

Science.gov (United States)

Sinval, Jorge; Marques-Pinto, Alexandra; Queirós, Cristina; Marôco, João

2017-01-01

Rescue workers have a stressful and risky occupation where being engaged is crucial to face physical and emotional risks in order to help other persons. This study aims to estimate work engagement levels of rescue workers (namely comparing nurses, firefighters, and police officers) and to assess the validity evidence related to the internal structure of the Portuguese versions of the UWES-17 and UWES-9, namely, dimensionality, measurement invariance between occupational groups, and reliability of the scores. To evaluate the dimensionality, we compared the fit of the three-factor model with the fit of a second-order model. A Portuguese version of the instrument was applied to a convenience sample of 3,887 rescue workers (50% nurses, 39% firefighters, and 11% police officers). Work engagement levels were moderate to high, with firefighters being the highest and nurses being the lowest engaged. Psychometric properties were evaluated in the three-factor original structure revealing acceptable fit to the data in the UWES-17, although the UWES-9 had better psychometric properties. Given the observed statistically significant correlations between the three original factors, we proposed a 2 nd hierarchal structure that we named work engagement. The UWES-9 first-order model obtained full uniqueness measurement invariance, and the second-order model obtained partial (metric) second-order invariance.

Police Communications

Science.gov (United States)

1981-01-01

Oklahoma City Police Department developed a computerized communications system, based on Johnson Space Center's (JSC's) 1960-mission control knowledge. JSC furnished information on lighting and other fatigue reducing measures, and provided specifications for equipment and design layouts. JSC also advised OCPD how to avoid communications bottlenecks associated with simultaneous handling of telephone, radio and inner-office transmissions. Oklahoma City saved money in reduced design and engineering costs by utilizing the already developed NASA technology.

A Psychometric Properties of the Malay-version Police Stress Questionnaire

Science.gov (United States)

IRNIZA, Rasdi; EMILIA, Zainal Abidin; MUHAMMAD SALILUDDIN, Suhainizam; NIZAM ISHA, Ahmad Shahrul

2014-01-01

Background: Police Stress Questionnaire (PSQ) was developed to measure police-specific stressors. The present study was the first to have translated the PSQ to Malay. This study aims to test the reliability, construct validity, and component structure of the Malay-version PSQ. Methods: A set of survey consisted of the Malay-version PSQ, General Health Questionnaire (GHQ-12), Job Content Questionnaire (JCQ), Global Stress Questionnaire (GSQ) and General Self-rated Health (GSRH) were distributed to 300 traffic police officers in Kuala Lumpur and all traffic police officers in a few districts of Pahang and Negeri Sembilan. Results: The response rate was 65.5% (N = 262). The reported Cronbach’s alpha coefficient was 0.93 for Operational PSQ (PSQ-Op) and 0.94 for Organisational PSQ (PSQ-Org). Findings indicated that the PSQ had positive construct validity with the GSRH, GSQ, and GHQ. After excluding four factors related to lifestyles, all police-specific stressors were highly loaded (0.50) in one component. Conclusion: It is confirmed that the Malay-version PSQ, excluding the four factors related to lifestyle, was uni-dimensional, reliable, and a valid questionnaire. This study proffers a potentially better instrument for assessing the stressors among Malaysian police. PMID:25977621

The New Community Policing: Developing a Partnership-Based Theoretical Foundation

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Adam J McKee

2016-10-01

Full Text Available This paper presents a Partnership Model of Community Policing based on Partnership concepts developed by Riane Eisler and undergirded by Cultural Transformation Theory as a guiding principle (1987, 2010, 2013. This model is more reflective of the daily lived experiences of community police officers. It is culturally relevant and based on the whole of the police officer’s relationship with the community within the context in which the interactions occur. This "New Community Policing" is an extension of Riane Eisler’s Cultural Transformation Theory and is an attempt to answer her call for a movement towards a partnership model of social organization. Ultimately, "8 Pillars of the New Community Policing" are developed to aid in defining and implementing community policing.

CLUSTERING ANALYSIS OF OFFICER'S BEHAVIOURS IN LONDON POLICE FOOT PATROL ACTIVITIES

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

J. Shen

2015-07-01

Full Text Available In this small paper we aim at presenting a framework of conceptual representation and clustering analysis of police officers’ patrol pattern obtained from mining their raw movement trajectory data. This have been achieved by a model developed to accounts for the spatio-temporal dynamics human movements by incorporating both the behaviour features of the travellers and the semantic meaning of the environment they are moving in. Hence, the similarity metric of traveller behaviours is jointly defined according to the stay time allocation in each Spatio-temporal region of interests (ST-ROI to support clustering analysis of patrol behaviours. The proposed framework enables the analysis of behaviour and preferences on higher level based on raw moment trajectories. The model is firstly applied to police patrol data provided by the Metropolitan Police and will be tested by other type of dataset afterwards.

Can fitness and movement quality prevent back injury in elite task force police officers? A 5-year longitudinal study.

Science.gov (United States)

McGill, Stuart; Frost, David; Lam, Thomas; Finlay, Tim; Darby, Kevin; Cannon, Jordan

2015-01-01

Elite police work has bursts of intense physically demanding work requiring high levels of fitness, or capacity, and movement competency; which are assumed to increase one's injury resilience. The purpose of this study was to follow members of an elite police force (N = 53) to test whether back injuries (N = 14) could be predicted from measures of fitness and movement quality. Measures of torso endurance, relative and absolute strength, hip ROM and movement quality using the Functional Movement Screen(TM) and other dynamic movement tests were obtained from every officer at baseline. When variables were grouped and considered holistically, rather than individually, back injury could be predicted. Seven variables best predicted those who would suffer a back injury (64% sensitivity and 95% specificity for an overall concordance of 87%). Overall, the ability to predict back injury was not high, suggesting that there is more complexity to this relationship than is explained with the variables tested here. Practitioner Summary: Members of elite police forces have exposure to intense physically demanding work. Increased levels of fitness and movement competency have been assumed to increase injury resilience. However, complexity in the interactions between exposure, movement competency, training, fitness and injury may occlude the true relationship between these variables.

Police Bodies and Police Minds: Professional Learning through Bodily Practices of Sport Participation

Science.gov (United States)

Lindberg, Ola; Rantatalo, Oscar; Stenling, Cecilia

2017-01-01

The purpose of this paper is to contribute to the literature concerned with bodily perspectives on professional learning by reporting on a study of Swedish police officers' sport participation as a form of occupational learning. The study seeks to answer how ideals of work practice and sport participation intersect, how professional learning is…

Policing and Islamophobia in Germany: The Role of Workplace Experience

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Heidi Mescher

2008-06-01

Full Text Available This study starts from a recognition that the German police have a significant potential to promote integration in contemporary multiethnic Germany. It employs three measures of Islamophobic attitudes and contact quality amongst a sample of 727 German police officers, and relates these to measures of job satisfaction, political affiliation, individual responsibility, and recognition. The data reveal Islamophobia to be significantly linked to these variables. Detailed analyses indicate that the respondents’ experience of policing may produce levels of dissatisfaction that impacts upon their outgroup attitudes. The implications of this for initiatives to promote police-Muslim relations are explored.

Biomonitoring in California firefighters: metals and perfluorinated chemicals.

Science.gov (United States)

Dobraca, Dina; Israel, Leslie; McNeel, Sandra; Voss, Robert; Wang, Miaomiao; Gajek, Ryszard; Park, June-Soo; Harwani, Suhash; Barley, Frank; She, Jianwen; Das, Rupali

2015-01-01

To assess California firefighters' blood concentrations of selected chemicals and compare with a representative US population. We report laboratory methods and analytic results for cadmium, lead, mercury, and manganese in whole blood and 12 serum perfluorinated chemicals in a sample of 101 Southern California firefighters. Firefighters' blood metal concentrations were all similar to or lower than the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) values, except for six participants whose mercury concentrations (range: 9.79 to 13.42 μg/L) were close to or higher than the NHANES reporting threshold of 10 μg/L. Perfluorodecanoic acid concentrations were elevated compared with NHANES and other firefighter studies. Perfluorodecanoic acid concentrations were three times higher in this firefighter group than in NHANES adult males. Firefighters may have unidentified sources of occupational exposure to perfluorinated chemicals.

Pain, health perception and sleep: impact on the quality of life of firefighters/rescue professionals.

Science.gov (United States)

Marconato, Rafael Silva; Monteiro, Maria Ines

2015-01-01

To evaluate the quality of life of firefighters and rescue professionals, and characterize their socio-demographic, health, work and lifestyle profile. Cross-sectional study that used a socio-demographic, lifestyle, health, work data questionnaire and the WHOQOL-BREF quality of life aspects, in Fire Department bases, Civil Air Patrol Group of the Military Police and Rescue Group of Emergency Services. Ninety professionals participated in this study - 71 firefighters, 9 nurses, 7 doctors and 3 flight crew members. The average age of the group was 36.4 ± 7.8 years; they worked about 63.7 hours per week; 20.2% reported pain in the last week and 72.7% had body mass index above 25 kg/m2. The average of the WHOQOL-BREF domains was: physical (74.6), psychological (75.2), social (76.5) and environmental (58.7). Significant association was found (Mann-Whitney test and Spearman correlation) between the WHOQOL-BREF domains and pain in the past six months, in the last week, health perception, job satisfaction, hours of sleep, domestic tasks and study. The main factors related to quality of life were presence of pain, health perception, sleep and domestic activity.

Patterns of Interaction in Police Interviews : The Role of Cultural Dependency

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Beune, K.; Giebels, Ellen; Taylor, Paul J.

2010-01-01

The authors analyzed authentic, videotaped police interviews (N = 27) to examine how the use of different influencing behaviors by police officers affects the provision of information by suspects. The analysis focused on variations in cue-response patterns across suspects from cultures that tend to

28 CFR 92.3 - How and when should I apply to participate in the Police Corps?

Science.gov (United States)

2010-07-01

... participate in the Police Corps? 92.3 Section 92.3 Judicial Administration DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE (CONTINUED) OFFICE OF COMMUNITY ORIENTED POLICING SERVICES (COPS) Police Corps Eligibility and Selection Criteria § 92.3 How and when should I apply to participate in the Police Corps? (a) The application and...

Prevalence of Metabolic syndrome in Tabriz city firefighters

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Mehrangiz Ebrahimi-Mameghani

2011-09-01

Full Text Available Background: Metabolic syndrome (Metsyn is closely associated with cardiovascular disease (CVD particularly in stressful jobs such as firefighting. As studies assessing prevalence of Metsyn among firefighters are rare, this study was aimed to assess prevalence of Metsyn, insulin resistance and LP(a level among firefighters in Tabriz city.Methods: 76 firefighters and 73 official staffs in Tabriz firefighting organization were compared for demographic characteristics, anthropometric and blood pressure level. Obesity was defined using three indexes including body mass index (BMI, waist circumference (WC and waist-to-hip ratio (WHR. Fasting serum was used for assessing lipid profile, LP(a and HOMA score. Metsyn was determined using international diabetes federation (IDF criteria.Results: Prevalence of obesity was more based on the waist circumference compared with other obesity indexes, 28.9 % and 35.6 % in firefighters and staffs, respectively. Around half of the cases and controls suffered from hypertension. Prevalence of Metsyn was found in 56/6 % of firefighters and 60/3% of staffs. The mean of LP(a and HOMA score in firefighters and staffs was 18.40 mg/dl and 1.17 vs. 18.15 mg/dl and 1.48, respectively. Neither LP(a (P=0.823 and HOMA score (P=0.668 nor biochemical parameters were statistically different between two groups.Conclusion: Obesity and Metsyn were common among firefighters and the staffs. Knowledge promotion focusing on lifestyle modification such as physical activity and healthy eating is suggested.

Percepção da saúde mental em policiais militares da força tática e de rua The perception of mental health in military police officers of the tactical force and street officers

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Katya Luciane de Oliveira

2010-12-01

Full Text Available A vida laboral do policial militar está permeada por situações que envolvem estresse extremo. Esse fato pode gerar possíveis quadros de desequilíbrio emocional. Assim, explorar a percepção de policiais militares da força tática e de rua acerca dos aspectos que permeiam sua saúde mental foi o objetivo deste estudo. Participaram 24 policiais militares de dois Batalhões da Polícia Militar do Estado de São Paulo. Para aqueles que consentiram na participação, foi aplicado individualmente uma escala com 30 questões, abordando assuntos relativos ao tema. Os resultados evidenciaram que os participantes (91,7%, sempre ou às vezes, percebiam-se estressados; uma parte (41,7% relatou já ter agido impulsivamente em alguma ocorrência; 88,3%, sempre ou às vezes, se sentiam emocionalmente cansados após o dia de trabalho; 62,5% afirmaram que às vezes percebiam-se agressivos no trabalho; 20,8% já pensaram em suicídio e 8,3% nunca se sentiam realizados com a profissão. Sugere-se a necessidade de novos estudos.In his work, the military police officer is constantly exposed to situations involving extreme stress. It can result in a state of emotional imbalance. Thus, the purpose of this study is to explore the perception of the military police officers, both the tactical force and the street officers, regarding the aspects that affect their mental health. The participants were 24 military police officers, from two battalions of the Military Police of the state of São Paulo. Those who consented to participate had to answer, individually, 30 questions addressing issues related to the topic. The results showed that the participants (91.7% sometimes, or always, feel stressed; some of them (41.7% reported that they sometimes act on impulse; 88.3% sometimes, or always, feel emotionally exhausted after a day of work; 62.5% said they had been aggressive at work; 20.8% had already considered suicide; and 8.3% were not satisfied with their jobs. In

Scum cuddlers:police and the sex offenders’ register in England and Wales

OpenAIRE

Nash, Mike

2014-01-01

Police in England and Wales have been given an increasingly important role in community offender management. In many ways removed from what might be regarded as ‘real’ police work, it has nonetheless become a standard way of working for large numbers of police officers. An aspect of this work has brought the police into much closer and lasting professional contact with sex offenders as a result of new responsibilities given them under the Sexual Offenders Act, 1997. This article will discuss ...

Dialogic Reverberations: Police, Domestic Abuse, and the Discontinuance of Cases

Science.gov (United States)

Lea, Susan J.; Lynn, Nick

2012-01-01

This study investigated the social construction of domestic abuse by police officers, specifically in the context of arguments presented to the prosecutor for a decision on whether to proceed with or discontinue the case. Nineteen police files were examined with a particular focus on the MG3, the "Report to Crown Prosecutors for Charging…

Peritraumatic tonic immobility is associated with PTSD symptom severity in Brazilian police officers: a prospective study.

Science.gov (United States)

Maia, Deborah B; Nóbrega, Augusta; Marques-Portella, Carla; Mendlowicz, Mauro V; Volchan, Eliane; Coutinho, Evandro S; Figueira, Ivan

2015-01-01

Peritraumatic reactions feature prominently among the main predictors for development of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Peritraumatic tonic immobility (PTI), a less investigated but equally important type of peritraumatic response, has been recently attracting the attention of researchers and clinicians for its close association with traumatic reactions and PTSD. Our objective was to investigate the role of PTI, peritraumatic panic, and dissociation as predictors of PTSD symptoms in a cohort of police recruits (n=132). Participants were asked to complete the following questionnaires during academy training and after the first year of work: Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Checklist - Civilian Version (PCL-C), Physical Reactions Subscale (PRS), Peritraumatic Dissociative Experiences Questionnaire (PDEQ), Tonic Immobility Scale (TIS), and Critical Incident History Questionnaire. Employing a zero-inflated negative binomial regression model, we found that each additional point in the TIS was associated with a 9% increment in PCL-C mean scores (RM = 1.09), whereas for PRS, the increment was 7% (RM = 1.07). As the severity of peritraumatic dissociation increased one point in the PDEQ, the chance of having at least one symptom in the PCL-C increased 22% (OR = 1.22). Our findings highlight the need to expand investigation on the incidence and impact of PTI on the mental health of police officers.

The nature and extent of police use of force in encounters with people with behavioral health disorders.

Science.gov (United States)

Morabito, Melissa S; Socia, Kelly; Wik, Amanda; Fisher, William H

Previous research studies have examined the treatment of people with mental illnesses by the police. Much available data support the adoption of the Crisis Intervention Team (CIT) model. A key issue in CIT development has been reduction in the use of force by CIT officers, and it is suggested that such adoption does accomplish such reduction. However, to date, scant research compares variation in police use of force by CIT officers across populations with mental illnesses, co-occurring disorders, and substance abuse disorders, as compared to their non-disordered peers. Using data from the Portland Police Bureau, a police agency in which all patrol officers have been trained in the CIT model, we analyze whether police use-of-force differs across these groups. Police use-of-force data were collected for 4211 incidents from the Portland Police Bureau from 2008 to 2011. Results indicate that people perceived as having comorbid behavioral health disorders were generally more likely to have force used against them, and more likely to be perceived as resistant, than people that were perceived as having only substance use disorder, only mental health disorders, or no apparent behavioral health disorders. People with co-occurring disorders are more likely to be perceived as violently resisting police officers and have force used against them. Further, people with no perceived disorders are more likely to have a firearm pointed at them in use-of-force encounters, but also the least likely to be perceived as resisting. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Examining Police Strategic Resource Allocation in a Time of Austerity

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Garth den Heyer

2014-03-01

Full Text Available The increasing importance of proactive policing has highlighted the need to ensure that the police utilise their resources both efficiently and effectively. Traditionally, police agencies have allocated resources in response to their operational demands or requirements, with the majority of resources being distributed in response to political demands and public calls for service. In recent years there has been a greater emphasis by police to deliver services proactively, and to direct resources to specific geographic areas of high crime or to specific crimes, and to apply intelligence led targeted policing initiatives. The changing operating environment to a public service ethos of accountability and ‘do more with less’ means that historical methods of allocating police officers may not meet an agency's strategic goals. This paper examines if an economic approach to allocating police strategic resources is an appropriate and equitable method in a time of austerity. This greater emphasis on proactive, rather than reactive policing, which also represents a shift from centralised control, underlines the need to ensure the efficient and effective use of resources.

Effects of reflex-based self-defence training on police performance in simulated high-pressure arrest situations

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Renden, Peter G.; Savelsbergh, Geert J. P.; Oudejans, Raoul R. D.

2017-01-01

We investigated the effects of reflex-based self-defence training on police performance in simulated high-pressure arrest situations. Police officers received this training as well as a regular police arrest and self-defence skills training (control training) in a crossover design. Officers’

What is the preferred number of consecutive night shifts? results from a crossover intervention study among police officers in Denmark.

Science.gov (United States)

Nabe-Nielsen, Kirsten; Jensen, Marie Aarrebo; Hansen, Åse Marie; Kristiansen, Jesper; Garde, Anne Helene

2016-10-01

Among police officers in Denmark, we studied (i) how many consecutive night shifts participants preferred at baseline; (ii) preferences regarding three intervention conditions (two, four, and seven consecutive night shifts followed by the same number of days off/day shifts: '2 + 2', '4 + 4', '7 + 7') at follow-up; (iii) characteristics of participants preferring each of these intervention conditions. Questionnaire data from a crossover intervention study were used (baseline: n = 73; follow-up: n = 68). At baseline, 49% preferred four consecutive night shifts. At follow-up, 57% preferred '4 + 4', 26% preferred '2 + 2' and 26% preferred '7 + 7'. Participants, who preferred longer spells of night work experienced that night work was less demanding, found it easier to sleep at different times of the day, and were more frequently evening types compared with participants who preferred shorter spells of night work. The participants' preferences are likely to be influenced by their previous shift work experience. Practitioner Summary: We investigated police officers' preferences regarding the number of consecutive night shifts. The majority preferred four consecutive night shifts. Those who preferred the longer spells of night work found night work less demanding, found it easier to sleep at different times of the day, and were more frequently evening types.

Effect of Aspirin Supplementation on Hemodynamics in Older Firefighters.

Science.gov (United States)

Lane-Cordova, Abbi D; Ranadive, Sushant M; Yan, Huimin; Kappus, Rebecca M; Sun, Peng; Bunsawat, Kanokwan; Smith, Denise L; Horn, Gavin P; Ploutz-Snyder, Robert; Fernhall, B O

2015-12-01

Cardiovascular events are the leading cause of line-of-duty fatality for firefighters. Aspirin reduces the risk of cardiovascular events in men and may reduce fatalities in older (>40 yr) firefighters. We hypothesized that both chronic and acute aspirin supplementation would improve vascular function after live firefighting but that chronic supplementation would also improve resting hemodynamics. Twenty-four firefighters (40-60 yr) were randomly assigned to acute or chronic aspirin supplementation or placebo in a balanced, crossover design. Arterial stiffness, brachial and central blood pressures, as well as forearm vasodilatory capacity and blood flow were measured at rest and immediately after live firefighting. Total hyperemic blood flow (area under the curve (AUC)) was increased (P 0.05 for interaction). Arterial stiffness/central blood pressure increased (P < 0.04) with no effect of aspirin (from 0.0811 ± 0.001 to 0.0844 ± 0.003 m·s·mm⁻¹ Hg⁻¹ in aspirin condition versus 0.0802 ± 0.002 to 0.0858 ± 0.002 m·s⁻¹·mm Hg⁻¹ in placebo condition), whereas peripheral and central systolic and pulse pressures decreased after firefighting across conditions (P < 0.05). Live firefighting resulted in increased AUC and pressure-controlled arterial stiffness and decreased blood pressure in older firefighters, but aspirin supplementation did not affect macro- or microvascular responsiveness at rest or after firefighting.

Work Engagement among Rescue Workers: Psychometric Properties of the Portuguese UWES

Science.gov (United States)

Sinval, Jorge; Marques-Pinto, Alexandra; Queirós, Cristina; Marôco, João

2018-01-01

Rescue workers have a stressful and risky occupation where being engaged is crucial to face physical and emotional risks in order to help other persons. This study aims to estimate work engagement levels of rescue workers (namely comparing nurses, firefighters, and police officers) and to assess the validity evidence related to the internal structure of the Portuguese versions of the UWES-17 and UWES-9, namely, dimensionality, measurement invariance between occupational groups, and reliability of the scores. To evaluate the dimensionality, we compared the fit of the three-factor model with the fit of a second-order model. A Portuguese version of the instrument was applied to a convenience sample of 3,887 rescue workers (50% nurses, 39% firefighters, and 11% police officers). Work engagement levels were moderate to high, with firefighters being the highest and nurses being the lowest engaged. Psychometric properties were evaluated in the three-factor original structure revealing acceptable fit to the data in the UWES-17, although the UWES-9 had better psychometric properties. Given the observed statistically significant correlations between the three original factors, we proposed a 2nd hierarchal structure that we named work engagement. The UWES-9 first-order model obtained full uniqueness measurement invariance, and the second-order model obtained partial (metric) second-order invariance. PMID:29403403

Work Engagement among Rescue Workers: Psychometric Properties of the Portuguese UWES

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Jorge Sinval

2018-01-01

Full Text Available Rescue workers have a stressful and risky occupation where being engaged is crucial to face physical and emotional risks in order to help other persons. This study aims to estimate work engagement levels of rescue workers (namely comparing nurses, firefighters, and police officers and to assess the validity evidence related to the internal structure of the Portuguese versions of the UWES-17 and UWES-9, namely, dimensionality, measurement invariance between occupational groups, and reliability of the scores. To evaluate the dimensionality, we compared the fit of the three-factor model with the fit of a second-order model. A Portuguese version of the instrument was applied to a convenience sample of 3,887 rescue workers (50% nurses, 39% firefighters, and 11% police officers. Work engagement levels were moderate to high, with firefighters being the highest and nurses being the lowest engaged. Psychometric properties were evaluated in the three-factor original structure revealing acceptable fit to the data in the UWES-17, although the UWES-9 had better psychometric properties. Given the observed statistically significant correlations between the three original factors, we proposed a 2nd hierarchal structure that we named work engagement. The UWES-9 first-order model obtained full uniqueness measurement invariance, and the second-order model obtained partial (metric second-order invariance.

Safety climate and firefighting: Focus group results.

Science.gov (United States)

DeJoy, David M; Smith, Todd D; Dyal, Mari-Amanda

2017-09-01

Firefighting is a hazardous occupation and there have been numerous calls for fundamental changes in how fire service organizations approach safety and balance safety with other operational priorities. These calls, however, have yielded little systematic research. As part of a larger project to develop and test a model of safety climate for the fire service, focus groups were used to identify potentially important dimensions of safety climate pertinent to firefighting. Analyses revealed nine overarching themes. Competency/professionalism, physical/psychological readiness, and that positive traits sometimes produce negative consequences were themes at the individual level; cohesion and supervisor leadership/support at the workgroup level; and politics/bureaucracy, resources, leadership, and hiring/promotion at the organizational level. A multi-level perspective seems appropriate for examining safety climate in firefighting. Safety climate in firefighting appears to be multi-dimensional and some dimensions prominent in the general safety climate literature also seem relevant to firefighting. These results also suggest that the fire service may be undergoing transitions encompassing mission, personnel, and its fundamental approach to safety and risk. These results help point the way to the development of safety climate measures specific to firefighting and to interventions for improving safety performance. Copyright © 2017 National Safety Council and Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

FIREGUIDE: Firefighter guide and tracker.

Science.gov (United States)

Gandhi, Siddhesh Rajan; Ganz, Aura; Mullett, G

2010-01-01

In this paper, we introduce an indoor location tracking and navigation system (FIREGUIDE) using Bluetooth and RFID technology. FIREGUIDE assists the firefighters to find the nearest exit location and presents the Incident Commander the current firefighter's location superimposed on a map of the building floor. We envision that the FIREGUIDE system will save significant number of fire fighters and victims' lives.

Firefighter Nozzle Reaction

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Chin, Selena K.; Sunderland, Peter B.; Jomaas, Grunde

2017-01-01

to anchor forces, the hose becomes straight. The nozzle reaction is found to equal the jet momentum flow rate, and it does not change when an elbow connects the hose to the nozzle. A forward force must be exerted by a firefighter or another anchor that matches the forward force that the jet would exert...... on a perpendicular wall. Three reaction expressions are derived, allowing it to be determined in terms of hose diameter, jet diameter, flow rate, and static pressure upstream of the nozzle. The nozzle reaction predictions used by the fire service are 56% to 90% of those obtained here for typical firefighting hand...

An evaluation of a psychosocial stress and coping model in the police work context

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Gerrit J. Louw

2010-03-01

Research purpose: The purpose of the study was to determine how Moos's hypothesised stress and coping model (1994 fitted a sample of police officers. Motivation for the study: The study was an attempt to understand police officers' unique needs and how the frequency and/or intensity of perceived stress could be reduced so that they would be able to cope more effectively with stress. Research design, approach and method: A non-experimental survey design, following the quantitative tradition, was used in pursuit of the research objectives. A random sample of 505 participants was extracted from a population of serving male and female police officers reflecting the typical South African ethnic groups. Structural equation modelling (SEM was used to establish the adequacy of between the hypothesised Moos model and the sample. Main findings: The hypothesised theoretical framework was disproved. A respecified model and inter-correlations confirm that some officers experience burnout, while, paradoxically, others continue to be unaffected because of the buffering effect of social support, personality factors and other resilience factors not revealed in this study. Practical/managerial implications: The study calls on police management for awareness of the negative health consequences of prolonged stressors. Simultaneously, employee assistance programmes could be directed to problem-solving strategies, perceived self-efficacy and learned resourcefulness to improve control over prolonged negative stress consequences among members. Contribution/value-add: This research provides a theoretical framework to understand, describe and assess individual well-being in the police work context.

"What makes you think you have special privileges because you are a police officer?" A qualitative exploration of police's role in the risk environment of female sex workers.

Science.gov (United States)

Sherman, Susan G; Footer, Katherine; Illangasekare, Samantha; Clark, Erin; Pearson, Erin; Decker, Michele R

2015-01-01

Worldwide, female sex workers (FSWs) have high rates of HIV. Many factors that escalate their risk lay outside of their control, primarily in the environments in which they practice sex. An understudied yet powerful risk environment is that of police. We qualitatively explored sex workers' interactions with police in their personal and professional lives. Thirty-five FSWs were purposively sampled in Baltimore, MD, in 2012. Women discussed experiences of police verbal harassment, sexual exploitation, extortion, and a lack of police responsiveness to 911 calls in emergencies, largely partner violence. Women's mistrust of police was often developed at an early age and further reinforced by interactions in their personal and professional lives. The study underscores the need for targeting police in reducing sex workers' HIV and other risks. The case for police's role in generating risk is evident, which could be addressed through structural interventions targeting both police practices and policies.

A job-related fitness test for the Dutch police.

Science.gov (United States)

Strating, M; Bakker, R H; Dijkstra, G J; Lemmink, K A P M; Groothoff, J W

2010-06-01

The variety of tasks that characterize police work highlights the importance of being in good physical condition. To take a first step at standardizing the administration of a job-related test to assess a person's ability to perform the physical demands of the core tasks of police work. The principal research questions were: are test scores related to gender, age and function and are test scores related to body mass index (BMI) and the number of hours of physical exercise? Data of 6999 police officers, geographically spread over all parts of The Netherlands, who completed a physical competence test over a 1 year period were analysed. Women performed the test significantly more slowly than men. The mean test score was also related to age; the older a person the longer it took to complete the test. A higher BMI was associated with less hours of body exercise a week and a slower test performance, both in women and men. The differences in individual test scores, based on gender and age, have implications for future strategy within the police force. From a viewpoint of 'same job, same standard' one has to accept that test-score differences may lead to the exclusion of certain staff. However, from a viewpoint of 'diversity as a business issue', one may have to accept that on average, both female and older police officers are physically less tailored to their jobs than their male and younger colleagues.

Pain, health perception and sleep: impact on the quality of life of firefighters/rescue professionals

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Rafael Silva Marconato

2015-12-01

Full Text Available Objective: to evaluate the quality of life of firefighters and rescue professionals, and characterize their socio-demographic, health, work and lifestyle profile. Methods: cross-sectional study that used a socio-demographic, lifestyle, health, work data questionnaire and the WHOQOL-BREF quality of life aspects, in Fire Department bases, Civil Air Patrol Group of the Military Police and Rescue Group of Emergency Services. Results: ninety professionals participated in this study - 71 firefighters, 9 nurses, 7 doctors and 3 flight crew members. The average age of the group was 36.4 ± 7.8 years; they worked about 63.7 hours per week; 20.2% reported pain in the last week and 72.7% had body mass index above 25 kg/m2. The average of the WHOQOL-BREF domains was: physical (74.6, psychological (75.2, social (76.5 and environmental (58.7. Significant association was found (Mann-Whitney test and Spearman correlation between the WHOQOL-BREF domains and pain in the past six months, in the last week, health perception, job satisfaction, hours of sleep, domestic tasks and study. Conclusion: the main factors related to quality of life were presence of pain, health perception, sleep and domestic activity.

Job Stress and Dyadic Synchrony in Police Marriages: A Preliminary Investigation

Science.gov (United States)

ROBERTS, NICOLE A.; LEONARD, RACHEL C.; BUTLER, EMILY A.; LEVENSON, ROBERT W.; KANTER, JONATHAN W.

2015-01-01

Despite reports documenting adverse effects of stress on police marriages, few empirical studies focus on actual emotional behaviors of officers and spouses. In this preliminary investigation, 17 male police officers and their nonpolice wives completed daily stress diaries for 1 week and then participated in a laboratory-based discussion about their respective days. Conversations were video-recorded and coded for specific emotional behaviors reflecting hostility and affection, which are strong predictors of marital outcomes. We examined associations between officers’ job stress (per diaries and the Police Stress Survey) and couples’ emotional behavior (mean levels and behavioral synchrony) using a dyadic repeated measures design capitalizing on the large number of observations available for each couple (1020 observations). When officers reported more job stress, they showed less hostility, less synchrony with their wives’ hostility, and more synchrony with their wives’ affection; their wives showed greater synchrony with officers’ hostility and less synchrony with officers’ affection. Therefore, for officers, greater job stress was associated with less behavioral negativity, potentially less attunement to wives’ negativity, but potentially greater attunement to wives’ affection—perhaps a compensatory strategy or attempt to buffer their marriage from stress. These attempts may be less effective, however, if, as our synchrony findings may suggest, wives are focusing on officers’ hostility rather than affection. Although it will be important to replicate these results given the small sample, our findings reveal that patterns of behavioral synchrony may be a key means to better understand how job stress exacts a toll on police marriages. PMID:23763686

Strategic restructuring for effective police system in Nigeria

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ann I. Ogbo

2014-11-01

, particularly in the area of training and re-training of the Police officers. A mind set of seeing a well-trained police officer as an investment to the country’s security sector which translates to security of life and properties must be developed and nurtured.

A Case Study: The Lafayette Police Department Utilization of Learning Organization Culture and its Impact on the Investigations Division Recruit Officer Training Module

OpenAIRE

Galloway, Scott D

2010-01-01

ABSTRACT The Lafayette Police Field Training Program utilizes knowledge sharing, knowledge sourcing, and emphasizes organizational assimilation by cycling patrol recruits through a detective division training section as a competency model to help train patrol recruit officers. Emergent themes from this research study revealed that the current design of the detective training module is effective for employee networking and organizational assimilation. The qualitative case study analysis ind...

Peritraumatic tonic immobility is associated with PTSD symptom severity in Brazilian police officers: a prospective study

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Deborah B. Maia

2015-03-01

Full Text Available Objective: Peritraumatic reactions feature prominently among the main predictors for development of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD. Peritraumatic tonic immobility (PTI, a less investigated but equally important type of peritraumatic response, has been recently attracting the attention of researchers and clinicians for its close association with traumatic reactions and PTSD. Our objective was to investigate the role of PTI, peritraumatic panic, and dissociation as predictors of PTSD symptoms in a cohort of police recruits (n=132. Methods: Participants were asked to complete the following questionnaires during academy training and after the first year of work: Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Checklist - Civilian Version (PCL-C, Physical Reactions Subscale (PRS, Peritraumatic Dissociative Experiences Questionnaire (PDEQ, Tonic Immobility Scale (TIS, and Critical Incident History Questionnaire. Results: Employing a zero-inflated negative binomial regression model, we found that each additional point in the TIS was associated with a 9% increment in PCL-C mean scores (RM = 1.09, whereas for PRS, the increment was 7% (RM = 1.07. As the severity of peritraumatic dissociation increased one point in the PDEQ, the chance of having at least one symptom in the PCL-C increased 22% (OR = 1.22. Conclusions: Our findings highlight the need to expand investigation on the incidence and impact of PTI on the mental health of police officers.

EMPLOYING SENSOR NETWORK TO GUIDE FIREFIGHTERS IN DANGEROUS AREA

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Koohi, Hamidreza; Nadernejad, Ehsan; Fathi, Mahmoud

2010-01-01

In this paper, we intend to focus on the sensor network applications in firefighting. A distributed algorithm is developed for the sensor network to guide firefighters through a burning area. The sensor network models the danger of the area under coverage as obstacles, and has the property to adapt...... itself against possible changes. The protocol developed, will integrate the artificial potential field of the sensors with the information of the intended place of moving firefighter so that it guides the firefighter step by step through the sensor network by choosing the safest path in dangerous zones....... This protocol is simulated by Visual-Sense and the simulation results are available. Keyword: Firefighter, Sensor Network, Potential Field, Area’s Danger, Navigation...

Mental health of a police force: estimating prevalence of work-related depression in Australia without a direct national measure.

Science.gov (United States)

Lawson, Katrina J; Rodwell, John J; Noblet, Andrew J

2012-06-01

The risk of work-related depression in Australia was estimated based on a survey of 631 police officers. Psychological wellbeing and psychological distress items were mapped onto a measure of depression to identify optimal cutoff points. Based on a sample of police officers, Australian workers, in general, are at risk of depression when general psychological wellbeing is considerably compromised. Large-scale estimation of work-related depression in the broader population of employed persons in Australia is reasonable. The relatively high prevalence of depression among police officers emphasizes the need to examine prevalence rates of depression among Australian employees.

[Suicide among the French National Police forces: Implication of life events and life trajectories].

Science.gov (United States)

Encrenaz, G; Miras, A; Contrand, B; Séguin, M; Moulki, M; Queinec, R; René, J-S; Fériot, A; Mougin, M; Bonfils, M; Marien, P; Michel, G; Lagarde, E

2016-08-01

Research indicates that suicide rates are high among members of law enforcement. Our objectives were: (1) to determine life events implicated in suicide mortality among French law enforcement; and (2) to describe the different life trajectories of police officers who deceased by suicide. All suicides of police officers which occurred during 2008 (n=49) were explored using the psychological autopsy method. Key informants were: a supervisor, a colleague and a member of the family or a close friend. Each of them were interviewed by trained psychologists using standardized questionnaires exploring: sociodemographic characteristics, life events, social integration and support, health service use, mental health with the Composite International Diagnostic Interview short form (CIDI-SF), occupational stress with the Spielberger Inventory, impulsiveness with the Barratt Impulsiveness Scale and aggressiveness with the Brown-Goodwin Lifetime Aggression Scale. Information was then summarized in a timetable life trajectory of all life areas. All cases were finally appraised by at least two experts in order to identify the determinants of the suicide and to determine psychiatric diagnoses. For each period of time, a burdensomeness score was determined, from 6 (no adversity) to 1 (adversities in each sphere of life). Of the 49 cases of suicide, two were excluded and 39 were investigated and appraised (response rate: 39/47=83%). Eighty-two percent of the suicide cases were men and the mean age at death was 35years. In more than half of the cases, police officers used their service weapon to commit suicide. All deceased police officers were suffering from mental health symptoms (primarily depression). Of them, two thirds had used healthcare for this distress. The main other cause of suicide was problems in the married life (70% of the cases). Four distinct types of life trajectories of adversities could be identified by a qualitative analysis. It is the first time such a study was

Prevalence of psychotropic drug use in military police units.

Science.gov (United States)

Costa, Sérgio Henrique Nascente; Yonamine, Maurício; Ramos, Andrea Luciana Martins; Oliveira, Fernando Gomes Ferreira; Rodrigues, Caroline Rego; da Cunha, Luiz Carlos

2015-06-01

The present study aimed to verify the prevalence of psychoactive drug use (amphetamines, methamphetamines, cannabinoids, cocaine, opioids and benzodiazepines) among military police officers in the state of Goiás. Data were obtained from urine samples voluntarily provided by the officers participating in the study, who were informed of the study methods and signed a free and informed consent form. The samples were subject to screening analysis by immunochromatography (Multi-DrugOneStep Test®), with positive tests confirmed by gas chromatography- mass spectrometry (GC-MS) and data analyzed by descriptive statistics. The results indicated the presence of the following drugs: amphetamines (0.33%), cannabinoids (0.67%) and benzodiazepines (1.34%); 97.66% showed negative results. The positive cases were distributed as follows: benzodiazepines (57.1%); cannabinoids (28.6%) and amphetamines (14.3%). In conclusion, the detection of psychoactive substances in voluntary sampling of military police officers indicates the need to implement drug testing among active military officers and preventive public policies aimed at eliminating the abusive consumption of psychotropic drugs.

Police and mental health clinician partnership in response to mental health crisis: A qualitative study.

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McKenna, Brian; Furness, Trentham; Oakes, Jane; Brown, Steve

2015-10-01

Police officers as first responders to acute mental health crisis in the community, commonly transport people in mental health crisis to a hospital emergency department. However, emergency departments are not the optimal environments to provide assessment and care to those experiencing mental health crises. In 2012, the Northern Police and Clinician Emergency Response (NPACER) team combining police and mental health clinicians was created to reduce behavioural escalation and provide better outcomes for people with mental health needs through diversion to appropriate mental health and community services. The aim of this study was to describe the perceptions of major stakeholders on the ability of the team to reduce behavioural escalation and improve the service utilization of people in mental health crisis. Responses of a purposive sample of 17 people (carer or consumer advisors, mental health or emergency department staff, and police or ambulance officers) who had knowledge of, or had interfaced with, the NPACER were thematically analyzed after one-to-one semistructured interviews. Themes emerged about the challenge created by a stand-alone police response, with the collaborative strengths of the NPACER (communication, information sharing, and knowledge/skill development) seen as the solution. Themes on improvements in service utilization were revealed at the point of community contact, in police stations, transition through the emergency department, and admission to acute inpatient units. The NPACER enabled emergency department diversion, direct access to inpatient mental health services, reduced police officer 'down-time', improved interagency collaboration and knowledge transfer, and improvements in service utilization and transition. © 2015 Australian College of Mental Health Nurses Inc.

A Concept for Support of Firefighter Frontline Communication

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Tobias Dyrks

2013-04-01

Full Text Available In an indoor firefighter mission, coordination and communication support are of the utmost importance. We present our experience from over five years of research with current firefighter support technology. In contrast to some large scale emergency response research, our work is focused on the frontline interaction between teams of firefighters and the incident commander on a single site. In this paper we investigate the flaws in firefighter communication systems. Frequent technical failures and the high cognitive costs incurred by communicating impede coordination. We then extract a list of requirements for an assistant emergency management technology from expert interviews. Thirdly, we provide a system concept and explore challenges for building a novel firefighter support system based on our previous work. The system has three key features: robust ad-hoc network, telemetry and text messaging, as well as implicit interaction. The result would provide a complementary mode of communication in addition to the current trunked radio.

An Alternative Approach to Preservice Police Training: Combining Training and Education Learning Outcomes

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Martin, Richard H.

2014-01-01

Many states offer police and corrections officer certification through state approved police basic training, either after hire (in-service) or before hire (preservice). Only large agencies conduct their own basic training academies after being hired. The trend is to save money through preservice training offered by colleges. This especially…

Plato and the Police: Dogs, Guardians, and Why Accountability Is the Wrong Answer

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Deane, Samantha; Shuffelton, Amy

2016-01-01

Attention to significant commonalities between the position of teachers and police officers, we suggest, illuminates problematic aspects of their position within a democracy. Demographically, both the teaching force and the police force are disproportionately white, yet the commonalities extend beyond race. We suspect too little attention has been…

K-9 Police Dog Bite

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Vy Han

2017-01-01

Full Text Available History of present illness: A 30-year-old male who was brought into the emergency department (ED by police officers after being bitten in the right lower extremity by a police German Shepard after attempting to flee authorities on foot. The patient stated that the dog immediately bit down on his right calf and proceeded to violently shake its head side to side without releasing its grip until police manually pulled the dog off of him. Upon arrival to the ED, he was tachycardic in the 120’s, complaining of severe, throbbing, sharp pain in the right lower extremity, and was neurovascular intact on exam. Significant findings: The photograph is of the anterior compartment of the right lower leg demonstrating multiple deep lacerations with exposed and torn muscle. X-ray showed no foreign body. Discussion: Police dog bites should be treated more cautiously than typical dog bites because these highly-trained dogs are generally larger breeds which are taught to subdue suspects with a bite-and-hold technique rather than bite and release. This can lead to extensive crush injuries, fractures, large caliber lacerations with associated muscle tissue injury and/or severe neurovascular compromise.1 Hence, police dog bites often require provocative diagnostic testing, specialist consultation for possible operative repair, and aggressive irrigation and ultimately admission for intravenous antibiotics.1 This patient’s wound was aggressively irrigated and evaluated by plastic surgery in the ED. He was ultimately admitted for intravenous antibiotics, pain control, wound care, and healing by secondary intention.

Youtube Cops and Power Without Limits : Understanding Police Violence in 21st Century Russia

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Chistyakova, Yulia; Robertson, Annette

2012-01-01

This paper explores the problem of police violence in contemporary Russia by reviewing research on police violence, drawing on Internet coverage of the issue and analysing relevant examples. In recent years the problems of police abuse of power, torture, cruelty and other crimes perpetrated by police officers (violence, drug dealing, extortion, and collusion with criminal groups) have been frequently discussed in the mass media, highlighted by human rights activists, and studied by social sci...

Research in the Real World: Studying Chicago Police Department's Crisis Intervention Team Program

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Watson, Amy C.

2010-01-01

Police agencies across the country are struggling to respond to significant number of persons with serious mental illness, who are landing on their doorsteps with sometimes tragic consequences. Arguably, the most widely adopted approach, the Crisis Intervention Team (CIT) model, is a specialized police-based program designed to improve officers'…

(The null) Importance of police experience on intuitive credibility of people with intellectual disabilities.

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Manzanero, Antonio L; Quintana, José M; Contreras, María J

2014-10-21

In the present study, the intuitive ability of police to discriminate between real and false statements of people with mild and moderate (IQ range=50-80, average=60.0) intellectual disabilities (ID) was analyzed. The assessments issued by groups with different levels of experience in police techniques (psychology students, and police officers) were compared. The results showed no differences between the two groups in their ability to discriminate (d'=0.785 and d'=0.644, respectively). When the experience of the police was taken into consideration, no differences were found between "experienced" and "novice" police officers (d'=0.721 and d'=0.582, respectively). No differences were found in response criteria, which were neutral in all cases. Moreover, 34.73% of cases evaluated by the inexperienced group were incorrectly discriminated, in comparison to the 37.75% of incorrect assessments made by police. The implications of the limited ability of intuition to discriminate between real and simulated victims with ID, which did not yield significant differences between experienced and inexperienced assessors in obtaining and assessing statements, are discussed. In light of the results of this study, it is concluded that adequate resources and standardized procedures to properly address people with ID who come into contact with the police and judicial institutions need to be provided. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Subclinical Markers of Cardiovascular Disease Among Police Officers: A Longitudinal Assessment of the Cortisol Awakening Response and Flow Mediated Artery Dilation.

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Violanti, John M; Fekedulegn, Desta; Andrew, Michael E; Charles, Luenda E; Gu, Ja K; Miller, Diane B

2018-05-07

To examine the association of the cortisol awakening response (CAR) with change in brachial artery flow-mediated dilation (FMD%) in police officers over a seven-year period. Baseline CAR was obtained from four saliva samples taken fifteen minutes apart immediately after awakening. Analysis of covariance was used to compare the change in FMD% (FMD%Follow-up-FMD%Baseline) across tertiles of area under the cortisol curve with respect to increase (AUCI). Regression analysis was use to assess trend. Officers (n = 172; 81% men) had a mean ± SD age of 41 ± 7.6 years. Men in the lowest AUCI tertile (i.e., atypical waking cortisol pattern) had a significantly larger seven-year mean decline in FMD% (mean ± SE: -2.56 ± 0.64) compared to men in the highest tertile (-0.89 ± 0.69) (p = 0.0087). An awakening cortisol AUCI predicted worsening of FMD% approximately seven years later among male officers.

Assessment by citizens of the level of confidence of police and protection from criminal entry

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Anna A. Glukhova

2017-09-01

Full Text Available Objective on the basis of sociological research to determine the level of confidence in police among the population of Nizhny Novgorod region and to measure the subjective assessment by citizens of the degree of protection from criminal attacks. Methods general scientific analysis systemicstructural approach to the analysis of research object comparativelegal as well as logical methods and the special scientific method questionnaire method ndash questioning of residents of Nizhny Novgorod region. Results the characteristics of the process of actual interaction between citizens and police are identified and classified the attitude to police and the level of trust in police in general and in certain areas of their work in various categories of the population are identified the typology of population groups depending on their concepts about police functioning is carried out. Scientific novelty for the first time the article discusses public opinion of the Nizhny Novgorod region residents about police officers the actual characteristics and interaction between citizens and police are revealed proposals and practical recommendations were formulated for adjustment of the work of territorial bodies of the Ministry of Interior with the aim of increasing the level of their credibility with the population. Among them are a to improve the efficiency of propaganda of the police work results in mass media including the work with citizensrsquo claims disclosure and investigation of crimes especially those which caused a broad public resonance b to inform citizens and police officers about the social importance of the activities of Internal Affairs bodies and internal troops for ensuring public order prevention suppression disclosure of crimes and offences c to expand the number of journalists specializing in lawenforcement issues d to simplify the procedure for receiving claims from citizens about small and medium crimes with the use of modern technologies

The racialization of ethnic minority police officers and researchers : on positionality and (auto)ethnographic fieldwork

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Cankaya, S.

2017-01-01

This article reflects on the personal, epistemological and methodological dilemmas of conducting (auto)ethnographic fieldwork within the police organisation. The argument is that positionality and ascribed identities complicate existing dilemmas of using participant observation within the police

Firefighter Workplace Learning: An Exploratory Case Study

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Tracey, Edward A.

2014-01-01

Despite there being a significant amount of research investigating workplace learning, research exploring firefighter workplace learning is almost nonexistent. The purpose of this qualitative multi-case study was to explore how firefighters conceptualize, report, and practice workplace learning. The researcher also investigated how firefighters…

Police trauma and cardiovascular disease: association between PTSD symptoms and metabolic syndrome.

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Violanti, John M; Fekedulegn, Desta; Hartley, Tara A; Andrew, Michael E; Charles, Luenda E; Mnatsakanova, Anna; Burchfiel, Cecil M

2006-01-01

Although prior evidence exists concerning the association between posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and cardiovascular disease, few studies have examined associations of PTSD symptomatology and the metabolic syndrome in the high stress occupation of police work. The metabolic syndrome is a clustering of cardiovascular disease risk factors that have also been independently associated with psychological conditions. The aim of this study was to examine associations between the PTSD symptoms and metabolic syndrome in police officers. A stratified sample of 115 police officers was randomly selected from the Buffalo, NY Police Department. PTSD symptoms were measured with the Impact of Event scale (IES), divided into categories of subclinical, mild, moderate and severe symptom levels. The metabolic syndrome was considered present if three or more of its component parameters (obesity, elevated blood pressure, reduced high density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol, elevated triglycerides, and abnormal glucose levels) were present in each officer. Results indicated a significantly increased prevalence of the metabolic syndrome among those officers in the severe PTSD symptom category compared with the lowest PTSD severity category (prevalence ratio (PR) = 3.31, 95% C.I. = 1.19 - 9.22). Adjustment for age did not alter the association appreciably (PR = 3.12, 95% C.I. = 1.15 - 8.50). Adjustment for several demographic and lifestyle factors (age, education, smoking, alcohol intake) reduced the magnitude of the prevalence ratio slightly for the severe versus subclinical PTSD category (PR = 2.69, 95% C.I. = 0. 79 - 9.13), with adjustment for age and education accounting for most of the attenuation (PR = 2.71, 95% C.I. = 0.99 - 7.37). Thus, officers with severe PTSD symptoms were approximately three times more likely to have the metabolic syndrome and education may account for some of this association.

Comparing the Effects of Different Body Armor Systems on the Occupational Performance of Police Officers

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Orr, Robin; Hinton, Ben; Norris, Geoff

2018-01-01

Policing duties may inherently be dangerous due to stab, blunt trauma and ballistic threats. The addition of individual light armor vests (ILAVs) has been suggested as a means to protect officers. However, the addition of the extra load of the ILAV may affect officer ability to conduct occupational tasks. The purpose of this study was to determine if wearing any of three different ILAVs made by different companies with their preferred materials and designs (ILAV A, 4.68 percent body weight, ILAV B, 4.05 percent body weight, & ILAV C, 3.71 percent body weight) affected occupational task performance when compared to that in normal station wear. A prospective, within-subjects repeated measures design was employed, using a counterbalanced randomization in which each ILAV was worn for an entire day while officers completed a variety of occupationally relevant tasks. These tasks included a victim drag, car exit and 5-meter sprint, step down and marksmanship task. To compare the effects of the ILAVs on these tasks, a multivariate repeated measures analysis of variance (ANOVA) was conducted, with post hoc pairwise comparisons using a Bonferroni adjustment. Results showed that performance in each task did not vary between any of the ILAV or normal station wear conditions. There was less variability in the marksmanship task with ILAV B, however. The results suggest that none of the ILAVs used in this study were heavy enough to significantly affect task performance in the assessed tasks when compared to wearing normal station wear. PMID:29723995

Functioning of police in Volgograd oblast in the estimations of the public

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Anna P. Alekseyeva

2015-12-01

Full Text Available Objective to determine the reliability and objectivity of information to the population on the functioning of police in Volgograd oblast. Methods sociological absentee polling in the form of a questionnaire statistical logical documentary graphic method of systemic analysis. Results the opinions of the population on police are extremely controversial. It is connected mostly with the sources of information which mostly are not reliable and objective. The article shows that despite the growth of victimization the level of anxiety of the population about the criminal attacks is gradually reduced and the sense of security in citizens is strengthened though often due to their personal efforts to protect their life health and property. Only every fifth citizen relies on the participation of law enforcers in ensuring security and public order. The survey revealed that about half of the citizens who are potentially interested in the reaction of law enforcement officers to the crime actually agree to leave the offender unpunished due to the mistrust of the police. A third of claimants were unsatisfied with the police action on their application which does not correlate with the declared numbers. The opinion of Volgograd citizens on the frequency of bribery among police officers remains unchanged whereas other malfeasances received a significant increase. And despite this the attitude of the respondents towards the police in general has improved. Mostly it was the result of media activities that inform the public about successful police work using TV shows documentaries and feature films. The successful work of the police is also confirmed by statistic that shows the rapid decline in recorded crime. Scientific novelty for the first time on the basis of a combination of various methods the reliability and objectivity of information to the population is investigated on the police of Volgograd oblast. Practical significance the main provisions and

[The impact of professional activities on the physical and mental health of the civil and military police of Rio de Janeiro (RJ, Brazil)].

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Minayo, Maria Cecília de Souza; de Assis, Simone Gonçalves; de Oliveira, Raquel Vasconcellos Carvalhaes

2011-04-01

In this article, we analyze the physical and mental stress and illness of military and civil police force officers in the State of Rio de Janeiro (Brazil) due to their working conditions and professional activities. The same methodology was used for the study of two categories, namely a quantitative approach (simple random sampling by conglomerates, involving a total of 1,458 civil police officers and 1,108 military police officers, who answered questionnaires anonymously) and a qualitative approach (focal groups involving 143 professionals and 18 interviews with managers of both police forces). The data presented here are all original. Disorders identified were: overweight and obesity in both forces but mainly in the Military Police; low frequency of physical exercise and high levels of cholesterol, especially in the Civil Police. The main health complaints are neck, back or spinal cord pain, eyesight complaints and headaches/ migraines. Sixteen point two per cent of officers of both forces reported physical lesions that were more prevalent in the Military Police, among whom psychic suffering was also more frequent (SRQ20). The need for changes in the individual and professional dimensions and in institutional aspects regarding the conditions and organization of work and of health services is emphasized.

Caring and Daring Discourses at Work: Doing Gender through Occupational Choices in Elderly Care and Police Work

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Fejes, Andreas; Haake, Ulrika

2013-01-01

This paper aims to problematise how gender is being done--1. through occupational choices in two occupations that are traditionally gender divided, elderly care and police work, and 2. through the division of work assignments in police work. Interviews with care workers and police officers are analysed using a "doing gender" perspective, a…

Firefighters' noise exposure: A literature review

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Taxini, Carla Linhares

2013-01-01

Full Text Available Aim: To review the literature about the effects of environmental noise on the hearing ability of firefighters. Method: The PubMed and Scielo databases were searched and studies from 2002 to 2012 that included the keywords firefighters, noise, and hearing loss were identified. Initially, 24 studies were selected, but only 10 met the inclusion criteria of investigating the effects of occupational noise on firefighters. Results: Only 2 (20% studies quantified levels of sound pressure and performed audiological tests to identify associations with noise intensity and 3 (30% questionnaire-based studies reported that these professionals are more susceptible to hearing loss. Four (50% studies found that noise exposure damages the auditory system in this population. Discussion: These findings indicate that there is a necessity for preventive measures to be adopted by this population since it is considered to be at risk. Conclusion: In recent years, there have been few studies of firefighters' exposure to occupational noise, but our findings show the importance of new studies that include proper means of quantifying their exposure to noise in different work environments, in order to identify possible adverse conditions as well as to aid in the diagnosis of hearing loss.

Association of work-related stress with mental health problems in a special police force unit.

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Garbarino, Sergio; Cuomo, Giovanni; Chiorri, Carlo; Magnavita, Nicola

2013-01-01

Law and order enforcement tasks may expose special force police officers to significant psychosocial risk factors. The aim of this work is to investigate the relationship between job stress and the presence of mental health symptoms while controlling sociodemographical, occupational and personality variables in special force police officers. At different time points, 292 of 294 members of the 'VI Reparto Mobile', a special police force engaged exclusively in the enforcement of law and order, responded to our invitation to complete questionnaires for the assessment of personality traits, work-related stress (using the Demand-Control-Support (DCS) and the Effort-Reward-Imbalance (ERI) models) and mental health problems such as depression, anxiety and burnout. Regression analyses showed that lower levels of support and reward and higher levels of effort and overcommitment were associated with higher levels of mental health symptoms. Psychological screening revealed 21 (7.3%) likely cases of mild depression (Beck Depression Inventory, BDI≥10). Officers who had experienced a discrepancy between work effort and rewards showed a marked increase in the risk of depression (OR 7.89, 95% CI 2.32 to 26.82) when compared with their counterparts who did not perceive themselves to be in a condition of distress. The findings of this study suggest that work-related stress may play a role in the development of mental health problems in police officers. The prevalence of mental health symptoms in the cohort investigated here was low, but not negligible in the case of depression. Since special forces police officers have to perform sensitive tasks for which a healthy psychological functioning is needed, the results of this study suggest that steps should be taken to prevent distress and improve the mental well-being of these workers.

Firefighting and mental health: Experiences of repeated exposure to trauma.

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Jahnke, Sara A; Poston, Walker S Carlos; Haddock, Christopher K; Murphy, Beth

2016-02-15

Firefighters must be ready to respond to a broad range of emergencies every duty day. In the course of many of these emergencies, firefighters witness events which have the potential to induce emotional trauma, such as badly injured people, deceased children, and individuals who are highly distraught. Previous research suggests that repeated exposure to these traumas (RET) may have negative impacts on the emotional and mental health of fire service personnel. Research on the mental health of firefighters has been limited to small surveys reporting the prevalence of specific mental health problems such as depression and post-traumatic stress disorder among firefighters. Despite the likelihood that RET leads to negative outcomes in firefighters, data is lacking on how exposure impacts fire service personnel. The current study examines the experiences of firefighters related to RET. Using formative research methods, we examined the beliefs and experiences of firefighters and administrators from across the United States regarding the impact of RET on firefighter health. Study findings highlight the cumulative psychological toll of repeated exposure to traumatic events including desensitization, flashbacks, and irritability. Results of the current study suggest that RET is a significant concern for emergency responders that warrants additional research and attention. It is likely that the long term consequences of RET are closely intertwined with other mental health outcomes and general well-being of this important occupational group.

Impact of a film portrayal of a police officer with spinal cord injury on attitudes towards disability: a media effects experiment.

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Reinhardt, Jan D; Pennycott, Andrew; Fellinghauer, Bernd A G

2014-01-01

The portrayal of disabled people in the media can influence the public's perception of disability in both positive and negative ways. In this article, an experimental before and after design is used to determine the effects of a short film on the attitudes of non-disabled and disabled persons concerning employment and productivity of persons with disabilities. Three questions were posed to 480 study participants prior to and following a short film featuring a police officer with paraplegia. Linear mixed models were used to assess the effects of time point and disability status on the responses. The non-disabled participants' ratings of eligibility for employment of a paraplegic man and estimates of the employment rate of disabled people were significantly enhanced following the film. Nevertheless, the film had no significant effects on the ratings given by participants with disabilities in terms of eligibility, employment rate or productivity. This investigation highlights the potentially important influence of media portrayal and coverage of people with disabilities on attitudes of the public concerning disability. Restrictions in participation may result from an interaction of persons with impairments with an environment that is dominated by negative attitudes towards disability The portrayal of disabled people in the media can influence the public's attitudes towards disability in both positive and negative ways In this experimental study, attitudes of the general public were significantly improved following viewing a short film featuring a positive media portrayal of a police officer with paraplegia.

Evaluation of Stress Experienced by Emergency Telecommunications Personnel Employed in a Large Metropolitan Police Department.

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Ramey, Sandra L; Perkhounkova, Yelena; Hein, Maria; Chung, Sophia J; Anderson, Amanda A

2017-07-01

Emergency telecommunications personnel (ETCP) form the hub of police agencies and persistently deal with distressing situations on a daily basis, making them highly susceptible to psychological and physiological ailments. To date, few studies have examined the necessity or feasibility of implementing a resilience training intervention for ETCP. In this study, the authors assessed baseline psychological data from the ETCP of a large police department to determine the differences in baseline measures for ETCP and police officers. Participants included ETCP ages 29 to 64 years ( n = 19). Results showed that ETCP self-reported greater levels of psychological stress compared with police officers ( p < .05) for the majority of measures; ETCP experience excessive levels of stress and greater prevalence of chronic disease. Consideration should be given to piloting resilience interventions within this group to manage stress; improve health, performance, and decision making; and decrease the prevalence of chronic disease.

Memory and the operational witness: Police officer recall of firearms encounters as a function of active response role.

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Hope, Lorraine; Blocksidge, David; Gabbert, Fiona; Sauer, James D; Lewinski, William; Mirashi, Arta; Atuk, Emel

2016-02-01

Investigations after critical events often depend on accurate and detailed recall accounts from operational witnesses (e.g., law enforcement officers, military personnel, and emergency responders). However, the challenging, and often stressful, nature of such events, together with the cognitive demands imposed on operational witnesses as a function of their active role, may impair subsequent recall. We compared the recall performance of operational active witnesses with that of nonoperational observer witnesses for a challenging simulated scenario involving an armed perpetrator. Seventy-six police officers participated in pairs. In each pair, 1 officer (active witness) was armed and instructed to respond to the scenario as they would in an operational setting, while the other (observer witness) was instructed to simply observe the scenario. All officers then completed free reports and responded to closed questions. Active witnesses showed a pattern of heart rate activity consistent with an increased stress response during the event, and subsequently reported significantly fewer correct details about the critical phase of the scenario. The level of stress experienced during the scenario mediated the effect of officer role on memory performance. Across the sample, almost one-fifth of officers reported that the perpetrator had pointed a weapon at them although the weapon had remained in the waistband of the perpetrator's trousers throughout the critical phase of the encounter. These findings highlight the need for investigator awareness of both the impact of operational involvement and stress-related effects on memory for ostensibly salient details, and reflect the importance of careful and ethical information elicitation techniques. PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2016 APA, all rights reserved.

Stress Management in the Police Work

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Valeria-Liliana-Amelia Purda-Nicoară (Netotea-Suciu

2012-09-01

Full Text Available According to the World Health Organization estimates, stress is one of the risk factors most frequently affecting human health, along with obesity, alcoholism, drugs and smoking, and the suicide due to work-related stress will be the main cause of death in 2025 (Turc, 2006. Given this, and the that the profession of police officer has been ranked in the top ten most stressful jobs the U.S. (by The American Institute of Stress and categorized as one of the most stressful occupations in the world (by Michael Pittaro, executive director of The Council on Alcohol and Drug Abuse in 2008, in a study on occupational stress in police1, both because of the nature of police work, and because of the multiple influences associated with the work environment, this article aims to briefly review the issue of stress in the field of police work, covering many aspects of it, such as sources of stress, forms of stress and its implications, the prevention factors, strategies to reduce stress and combat its negative effects, so that workers in this field be able to recognize it when stress is present and what it was caused by, and be able to manage it effectively.

Keep your eyes open: dispositional vigilance moderates the relationship between operational police stress and stress symptoms.

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Kubiak, Jeanette; Krick, Annika; Egloff, Boris

2017-09-01

Vigilant coping is characterized by a deep processing of threat-related information. In many cases, vigilant coping increases stress symptoms, whereas avoidant coping decreases negative affect. However, vigilance may be beneficial when stress-eliciting situations involve a risk of injury or escalation as is usually the case in police operations. We investigated the roles of vigilance and cognitive avoidance in police operations in a cross-sectional survey. The participants were 137 students (104 men, M age  = 28.54, SD = 8.04) from the Federal University of Applied Administrative Sciences; 76 of them were already police officers (work experience: M = 12.59 years), and 61 were police officer candidates who had completed a 3- to 6-month police internship. Participants completed a paper-and-pencil survey and reported their operational stress, dispositional vigilance and cognitive avoidance in police operations, and stress symptoms. We found that vigilance was negatively associated with stress symptoms and moderated the relationship between operational stress and stress symptoms. Cognitive avoidance, on the other hand, just missed the level of statistical significance in our test of whether it was positively associated with stress symptoms. Our findings demonstrate that vigilance may protect against the negative consequences of stress in police operations.

Seeking justice: Women's police stations in Latin America | IDRC ...

International Development Research Centre (IDRC) Digital Library (Canada)

... detail that Luz Marina Lezama Suazo was chief of the local women's police station ... regular stations and are staffed by specially trained officers, most of them women. ... Furthermore, the stations often lack adequate financial, human, and ...

Face Recognition by Metropolitan Police Super-Recognisers.

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Robertson, David J; Noyes, Eilidh; Dowsett, Andrew J; Jenkins, Rob; Burton, A Mike

2016-01-01

Face recognition is used to prove identity across a wide variety of settings. Despite this, research consistently shows that people are typically rather poor at matching faces to photos. Some professional groups, such as police and passport officers, have been shown to perform just as poorly as the general public on standard tests of face recognition. However, face recognition skills are subject to wide individual variation, with some people showing exceptional ability-a group that has come to be known as 'super-recognisers'. The Metropolitan Police Force (London) recruits 'super-recognisers' from within its ranks, for deployment on various identification tasks. Here we test four working super-recognisers from within this police force, and ask whether they are really able to perform at levels above control groups. We consistently find that the police 'super-recognisers' perform at well above normal levels on tests of unfamiliar and familiar face matching, with degraded as well as high quality images. Recruiting employees with high levels of skill in these areas, and allocating them to relevant tasks, is an efficient way to overcome some of the known difficulties associated with unfamiliar face recognition.

Exploring occupational and health behavioral causes of firefighter obesity: a qualitative study.

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Dobson, Marnie; Choi, BongKyoo; Schnall, Peter L; Wigger, Erin; Garcia-Rivas, Javier; Israel, Leslie; Baker, Dean B

2013-07-01

Firefighters, as an occupational group, have one of the highest prevalence rates of obesity. A qualitative study investigated occupational and health behavioral determinants of obesity among firefighters. Four focus groups were conducted with firefighters of every rank as Phase I of the FORWARD study which was designed to assess health behavioral and occupational characteristics related to obesity in firefighters. Analysis revealed five main themes of central importance to firefighters: (1) fire station eating culture; (2) night calls and sleep interruption; (3) supervisor leadership and physical fitness; (4) sedentary work; and (5) age and generational influences. The results showed a strong interrelationship between occupational and health behavioral causes of obesity in firefighters. The relevance of these qualitative findings are discussed along with the implications for future obesity interventions with firefighters. Copyright © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Consumo de substâncias lícitas e ilícitas por policiais da cidade do Rio de Janeiro Consumption of licit and illicit substances by police officers in the city of Rio de Janeiro

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Patrícia Constantino

2013-03-01

Full Text Available Investiga-se o consumo de substâncias psicoativas entre policiais civis e militares da cidade do Rio de Janeiro. Os dados provêm de dois estudos seccionais sobre condições de trabalho e saúde que aplicaram questionário a amostra representativa das duas corporações. Os resultados mostram maiores frequências de consumo regular de tabaco (23,3% dos civis versus 19,1% dos militares, de uso diário de bebida alcoólica (12% dos civis versus 11% dos militares e de tranquilizantes no último ano (13,3% dos civis e 10,1% dos militares. O consumo de maconha envolveu 0,1% dos policiais civis e 1,1% dos militares, e o uso de cocaína entre os militares foi de 1,1%. O consumo de álcool apresentou-se intenso e acarretando problemas no trabalho e nas relações sociais e familiares destes policiais. Ressalta-se a necessidade de políticas públicas preventivas às adicções e a possível subestimação das informações sobre as substâncias ilícitas.The consumption of psychoactive substances by civil and military police of the city of Rio de Janeiro was investigated. Data was gathered from two cross-sectional studies on a questionnaire on work and health conditions given to a sample from the two corporations. The results show higher frequencies of regular consumption of tobacco (23.3% by civil police and 19.1% by military police, daily use of alcohol (12% by civil police and 11% by military police and tranquilizers in the past year (13.3% by civil police and 10.1% by military police. The consumption of marijuana among officers was 0.1% by civil police and 1.1% by military police, and cocaine use among the military police was 1.1%. Alcohol consumption proved to be intense and causes problems at work and in the social and family relationships of these officers. The need for preventive policies for addiction and the possible underestimation of information on illicit substances is emphasized.

28 CFR 92.2 - Am I eligible to apply to participate in the Police Corps?

Science.gov (United States)

2010-07-01

... the Police Corps? 92.2 Section 92.2 Judicial Administration DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE (CONTINUED) OFFICE... the participant will complete an educational course of study leading to the award of a baccalaureate... in full or otherwise satisfied. (c) Educational assistance under the Police Corps Act for any course...

Transitional Journey Maps : Capturing the dynamics of operational policing

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Jansen, R.J.; Van Egmond, R.; De Ridder, H.; Silvester, S.

2013-01-01

Operational police work can be characterized by the continuous switching between surveillance, responding to incidents, and office activities. Transitions between these activities are initiated by radio contact, messages on a mobile data terminal, or personal observations. The “information

The impact of total sleep deprivation upon cognitive functioning in firefighters

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Kujawski S

2018-05-01

Full Text Available Sławomir Kujawski,1 Joanna Słomko,1 Małgorzata Tafil-Klawe,2 Monika Zawadka-Kunikowska,1 Justyna Szrajda,1 Julia L Newton,3 Paweł Zalewski,1 Jacek J Klawe1 1Department of Hygiene, Epidemiology and Ergonomics, Nicolaus Copernicus University, Toruń, Poland; 2Department of Human Physiology, Nicolaus Copernicus University, Toruń, Poland; 3Institute for Cellular Medicine, Faculty of Medical Sciences, Newcastle University, Framlington Place, Newcastle-upon-Tyne, UK Introduction: Firefighters as a profession are required to maintain high levels of attention for prolonged periods. However, total sleep deprivation (TSD could influence negatively upon performance, particularly when the task is prolonged and repetitive. Purpose: The aim of this study is to examine the influence of TSD on cognitive functioning in a group of firefighters. Subjects and methods: Sixty volunteers who were active male fire brigade officers were examined with a computerized battery test that consisted of simple reaction time (SRT (repeated three times, choice reaction time, visual attention test, and delayed matching to sample. Six series of measurements were undertaken over a period of TSD. Results: Performance in the second attempt in SRT test was significantly worse in terms of increased number of errors and, consequently, decreased number of correct responses during TSD. In contrast, the choice reaction time number of correct responses as well as the visual attention test reaction time for all and correct responses significantly improved compared to initial time points. Conclusion: The study has confirmed that subjects committed significantly more errors and, consequently, noted a smaller number of correct responses in the second attempt of SRT test. However, the remaining results showed reversed direction of TSD influence. TSD potentially leads to worse performance in a relatively easy task in a group of firefighters. Errors during repetitive tasks in firefighting

Patterns of Interaction in Police Interviews : The Role of Cultural Dependency

OpenAIRE

Beune, Karlijn; Giebels, Ellen; Taylor, Paul J.

2010-01-01

The authors analyzed authentic, videotaped police interviews (N = 27) to examine how the use of different influencing behaviors by police officers affects the provision of information by suspects. The analysis focused on variations in cue-response patterns across suspects from cultures that tend to use more direct and content-oriented communication (i.e., low-context cultures) and cultures in which communication is typically more indirect and context orientated (i.e., high-context cultures). ...

EXPERIMENTAL SUBSTANTIATION OF ATTRIBUTIONAL STYLE IN TRAFFIC POLICE OFFICERS’ BEHAVIOR

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Olga Vladimirovna Merkusheva

2016-02-01

Full Text Available The article prepared for the ‘Psychological and Methodological Aspects of Professional Personnel Training at Internal Affairs Bodies of the Russian Federation’ scholar tradition looks at the applied aspect of handling security issues by traffic police officers. It presents the results of empirical study of the employees’ psychological characteristics conducted to substantiate their attributional style, which determines the specific character as well as the qua-lity and reliability of traffic police officers’ performance. Traffic police officers’ attributional style of behavior is researched with the help of attributional cognitive techniques for hazard phenomena detection as well as social perception and attribution technique and is viewed as the most stable entity, which reflects the employee’s personal and professional focus.Goal: to provide empirical substantiation of attributional style in traffic police officers’ behavior as an integral personality characteristic that ensures timely detection of hazard phenomena.

Perception, action and cognition of football referees in extreme temperatures: Impact on decision performance

OpenAIRE

Gaoua, N; de Oliveira, RF; Hunter, S

2017-01-01

Different professional domains require high levels of physical performance alongside fast and accurate decision-making. Construction workers, police officers, firefighters, elite sports men and women, the military and emergency medical professionals are often exposed to hostile environments with limited options for behavioral coping strategies. In this (mini) review we use football refereeing as an example to discuss the combined effect of intense physical activity and extreme temperatures on...

Effects of thigh holster use on kinematics and kinetics of active duty police officers

OpenAIRE

Larsen, Louise B.; Tranberg, Roy; Ramstrand, Nerrolyn

2016-01-01

Background: Body armour, duty belts and belt mounted holsters are standard equipment used by the Swedish police and have been shown to affect performance of police specific tasks, to decrease mobility and to potentially influence back pain. This study aimed to investigate the effects on gait kinematics and kinetics associated with use of an alternate load carriage system incorporating a thigh holster. Methods: Kinematic, kinetic and temporospatial data were collected using three dimensional g...

A multilevel study on the relationships between work characteristics, self-efficacy, collective efficacy, and organizational citizenship behavior: the case of Taiwanese police duty-executing organizations.

Science.gov (United States)

Chen, Chun-Hsi Vivian; Kao, Rui-Hsin

2011-01-01

Public security, traffic management, and service for the people are the 3 major functions of policing in Taiwan. This definition encompasses not only the traditional job characteristics, but also the level of contextual characteristics and social characteristics because of police work's characteristics and its frequent interaction with the public. Thus, the present study conducted a multilevel model analysis by taking self-efficacy and collective efficacy as the mediating variables. The purpose was to investigate the influences of motivational work characteristics (knowledge-oriented) and social work characteristics (socially and contextually oriented) of work-design model on the police officers' organizational citizenship behavior (OCB), by using first-line police officers in Taiwan as the research objects. The study showed not only that knowledge characteristics will influence the self-efficacy of a police officer and that self-efficacy can in turn influence individual police officers' OCB, but also the contextual effect of social characteristics, contextual characteristics, and collective efficacy on self-efficacy and individuals' OCB. Additionally, there was a crosslevel moderating effect from contextual characteristics on the relationship between knowledge characteristics and self-efficacy and the relationship between self-efficacy and the individuals' OCB. The authors conclude the article with research implications.

Serum heavy metals and hemoglobin related compounds in Saudi Arabia firefighters

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Al-Malki Abdulrahman L

2009-07-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Firefighters are frequently exposed to significant concentrations of hazardous materials including heavy metals, aldehydes, hydrogen chloride, dichlorofluoromethane and some particulates. Many of these materials have been implicated in the triggering of several diseases. The aim of the present study is to investigate the effect of fire smoke exposure on serum heavy metals and possible affection on iron functions compounds (total iron binding capacity, transferrin saturation percent, ferritin, unsaturated iron-binding capacity blood hemoglobin and carboxyhemoglobin,. Subjects and methods Two groups of male firefighter volunteers were included; the first included 28 firefighters from Jeddah city, while the second included 21 firefighters from Yanbu city with an overall age rang of 20–48 years. An additional group of 23 male non-firefighters volunteered from both cities as normal control subjects. Blood samples were collected from all volunteer subjects and investigated for relevant parameters. Results The results obtained showed that there were no statistically significant changes in the levels of serum heavy metals in firefighters as compared to normal control subjects. Blood carboxyhemoglobin and serum ferritin were statistically increased in Jeddah firefighters, (p Conclusion Such results might point to the need for more health protective and prophylactic measures to avoid such hazardous health effects (elevated Blood carboxyhemoglobin and serum ferritin and decreased serum TIBC and UIBC that might endanger firefighters working under dangerous conditions. Firefighters must be under regular medical follow-up through standard timetabled medical laboratory investigations to allow for early detection of any serum biochemical or blood hematological changes.

Prevalence of oral mucosal lesions in a brazilian military police population.

Science.gov (United States)

Araújo, Viviani-Silva; Godinho, Eliane-Lopes; Farias, Lucyana-Conceição; Marques-Silva, Luciano; Santos, Sérgio-Henrique-Sousa; Rodrigues-Neto, João-Felício; Ferreira, Raquel-Conceição; De-Paula, Alfredo-Maurício-Batista; Martins, Andréa-Maria-Eleutério-de Barros-Lima; Sena-Guimarães, André-Luiz

2015-04-01

Data obtained from oral health surveys are very important for identifying disease-susceptible groups and for developing dental care and prevention programs. So, the purpose of the current article was to investigate the prevalence of oral mucosa lesions (OMLs) in a population of Brazilian police. Interviews and oral cavity examinations were performed on a sample of 395 police officers who were randomly selected by the calibrated researcher. The number of individuals was obtained by a sample calculation using the finite population correction. The diagnostic criteria were based on the WHO (1997) criteria and adapted to Brazilian surveys. In total, 8.61% of the population presented some OML. Traumatic injuries and benign migratory glossitis (BMG) were the most prevalent lesions. The prevalence of potentially malignant disorders was lower than among the Brazilian population.The most prevalent lesion among the police officers was related to trauma. Patients dissatisfied with oral health had a higher risk of presenting OMLs. Key words:Mouth disease, mouth mucosa, military personnel, public health, oral pathology, oral leukoplakia.

Personality, depressive symptoms and prior trauma exposure of new recruits at two Metropolitan Police Service academies in South Africa

OpenAIRE

U Subramaney; E Libhaber; N Pitts; M Vorster

2012-01-01

Background. Police officers are predisposed to trauma exposure. The development of depression and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) may be influenced by personality style, prior exposure to traumatic events and prior depression. Objectives. To describe the personality profiles of new Metropolitan Police Service (MPS) officers, and to determine the association between personality profiles, trauma exposure and depressive symptoms. Methods. We performed a cross-sectional analysis o...

The Nigerian Police, Safety and Public Policing: An Overview

OpenAIRE

Oteh Chukwuemeka Okpo; Flora Ntunde O; Alexander Anichie

2012-01-01

This paper is a study on the Nigerian police, considering the historical origin of the police and the communal responsibility of promoting its entire citizenry, the paper takes an analytical accessment of the Nigerian police, safety and policing of the Nigeria people. The study used the questionnaires instrument of research methods to carry out the study and made several findings amongst which include the fact that the Nigerian people have lost confidence in the police force as a result of se...

Police use of handcuffs in the homeless population leads to long-term negative attitudes within this group.

Science.gov (United States)

Krameddine, Yasmeen I; Silverstone, Peter H

2016-01-01

The police interact with homeless individuals frequently. However, there has been relatively little research on the attitudes of homeless individuals towards the police, and how police interactions may impact these. This is important since the attitudes of homeless individuals can impact how often they report crimes, and how well they support police when they are investigating crimes in this population. We interviewed 213 homeless individuals in a single city, representing approximately 10% of the total homeless population. They were interviewed at either homeless shelters, or events held specifically for the homeless population. Of these individuals, 75% were male, and 47% had interacted with a police officer within the past month. Self-reports suggested that 60% had a drug and/or alcohol issue and 78% had a mental illness. We found a highly statistically significant difference between the group that had been handcuffed and/or arrested compared to those that had not. This was across multiple domains and included how the individual regarded the police in terms of their empathy and communication skills, and how much they trusted the police. These changes were long-term, and if a homeless individual had been arrested or handcuffed (and verbal reporting suggested that being handcuffed was the by far the most important factor) then these negative attitudes lasted at least 2 years. The primary conclusion from this study is that when police handcuff a homeless individual, this can lead to long-term negative views about the police across several domains that appear to be long lasting, and were linked to feelings of not being respected by the police. It is therefore proposed that police officers should be made aware of the potential long-term negative consequences of this single action, and that police forces should consider providing specific training to minimize any unnecessary overuse of handcuffs. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Police investigations: discretion denied yet undeniably exercised

Science.gov (United States)

Belur, J.; Tilley, N.; Osrin, D.; Daruwalla, N.; Kumar, M.; Tiwari, V.

2014-01-01

Police investigations involve determining whether a crime has been committed, and if so what type of crime, who has committed it and whether there is the evidence to charge the perpetrators. Drawing on fieldwork in Delhi and Mumbai, this paper explores how police investigations unfolded in the specific context of women’s deaths by burning in India. In particular, it focuses on the use of discretion despite its denial by those exercising it. In India, there are distinctive statutes relating to women’s suspicious deaths, reflecting the widespread expectation that the bride’s family will pay a dowry to the groom’s family and the tensions to which this may on occasion give rise in the early years of a marriage. Often, there are conflicting claims influencing how the woman’s death is classified. These in turn affect police investigation. The nature and direction of police discretion in investigating women’s deaths by burning reflect in part the unique nature of the legislation and the particular sensitivities in relation to these types of death. They also highlight processes that are liable to be at work in any crime investigation. It was found that police officers exercised unacknowledged discretion at seven specific points in the investigative process, with potentially significant consequences for the achievement of just outcomes: first response, recording the victim’s ‘dying declaration’, inquest, registering of the ‘First Information Report’, collecting evidence, arrest and framing of the charges. PMID:26376482

46 CFR 167.45-30 - Use of approved fire-fighting equipment.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-10-01

... PUBLIC NAUTICAL SCHOOL SHIPS Special Firefighting and Fire Prevention Requirements § 167.45-30 Use of approved fire-fighting equipment. Portable fire extinguishers or fire-extinguishing systems which conform... 46 Shipping 7 2010-10-01 2010-10-01 false Use of approved fire-fighting equipment. 167.45-30...

Obesity and Injury-Related Absenteeism in a Population-Based Firefighter Cohort

Science.gov (United States)

Poston, Walker S.C.; Jitnarin, Nattinee; Haddock, C. Keith; Jahnke, Sara A.; Tuley, Brianne C.

2018-01-01

A consistent relationship has been demonstrated between obesity and absenteeism in the workplace. However, most studies have focused on primarily sedentary occupational groups. Firefighting is a physically demanding profession that involves significant potential for exposure to dangerous situations and strenuous work. No studies to date have evaluated the impact of obesity on risk for absenteeism among firefighters. We examined the cross-sectional association between BMI and obesity and injury-related absenteeism. BMI, body fat percentage (BF%), waist circumference (WC), injury, and injury-related absenteeism were assessed in 478 career male firefighters. One hundred and fifteen firefighters reported an injury in the previous year and the number of days absent from work due to their injury. BMI was an independent predictor of absenteeism due to injury even after adjustment for confounding variables. Firefighters meeting the definition of class II and III obesity had nearly five times (odds ratio (OR) = 4.89; 95% confidence interval (CI) = 3.63–6.58) the number missed work days due to injury when compared to their normal weight counterparts and their elevated risk was greater than firefighters with class I obesity (OR = 2.71; 95% CI = 2.01–3.65) or those who were overweight (OR = 2.55; 95% CI = 1.90–3.41). The attributable per capita costs of class II and III obesity-related absenteeism over the last year were $1,682.90 per firefighter, $254.00 per firefighter for class I obesity, and $74.41 per firefighter for overweight. Our findings suggest that class II and III obesity were associated with substantial attributable costs to employers and our cost estimates probably underestimate the actual financial burden. PMID:21633400

Police practices and perceptions regarding juvenile interrogation and interrogative suggestibility.

Science.gov (United States)

Meyer, Jessica R; Reppucci, N Dickon

2007-01-01

Recent media coverage has highlighted cases in which young suspects were wrongly convicted because they provided interrogation-induced false confessions. Although youth may be more highly suggestible and easily influenced by authority than adults, police are trained to use the same psychologically coercive and deceptive tactics with youth as with adults. This investigation is the first standard documentation of the reported interrogation practices of law enforcement and police beliefs about the reliability of these techniques and their knowledge of child development. Participants were 332 law enforcement officers who completed surveys about interrogation procedures and developmental issues pertaining to youth. Results indicated that, while police acknowledge some developmental differences between youth and adults, there were indications that (1) how police perceive youth in general and how they perceive and treat them in the interrogation context may be contradictory and (2) their general view is that youth can be dealt with in the same manner as adults. Copyright (c) 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Unaccompanied Asylum-Seeking Refugee Children’s Forced Repatriation: Social Workers’ and Police Officers’ Health and Job Characteristics

Science.gov (United States)

Sundqvist, Johanna; Hansson, Jonas; Ghazinour, Mehdi; Ögren, Kenneth; Padyab, Mojgan

2015-01-01

During the past ten years the number of unaccompanied asylum-seeking refugee children has dramatically increased in Sweden. Some of them are permitted to stay in the receiving country, but some are forced back to their country of origin. Social workers and police officers are involved in these forced repatriations, and such complex situations may cause stressful working conditions. This study aimed to bridge the gap in knowledge of the relationship between general mental health and working with unaccompanied asylum-seeking refugee children who are due for forced repatriation. In addition, the role of psychosocial job characteristics in such relationships was investigated. A questionnaire including sociodemographic characteristics, the Swedish Demand-Control-Support Questionnaire, and the 12-item General Mental Health Questionnaire were distributed nationally. Univariate and multivariable regression models were used. Poorer mental health was associated with working with unaccompanied asylum-seeking refugee children among social workers but not among police officers. Psychological job demand was a significant predictor for general mental health among social workers, while psychological job demand, decision latitude, and marital status were predictors among police officers. Findings are discussed with special regard to the context of social work and police professions in Sweden. PMID:26153185

Firefighter Nozzle Reaction

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Chin, Selena K.; Sunderland, Peter B.; Jomaas, Grunde

2017-01-01

Nozzle reaction and hose tension are analyzed using conservation of fluid momentum and assuming steady, inviscid flow and a flexible hose in frictionless contact with the ground. An expression that is independent of the bend angle is derived for the hose tension. If this tension is exceeded owing...... to anchor forces, the hose becomes straight. The nozzle reaction is found to equal the jet momentum flow rate, and it does not change when an elbow connects the hose to the nozzle. A forward force must be exerted by a firefighter or another anchor that matches the forward force that the jet would exert...... on a perpendicular wall. Three reaction expressions are derived, allowing it to be determined in terms of hose diameter, jet diameter, flow rate, and static pressure upstream of the nozzle. The nozzle reaction predictions used by the fire service are 56% to 90% of those obtained here for typical firefighting hand...

Stress appraisal, coping, and work engagement among police recruits: an exploratory study.

Science.gov (United States)

Kaiseler, Mariana; Queirós, Cristina; Passos, Fernando; Sousa, Pedro

2014-04-01

This study investigated the influence of stress appraisal and coping on work engagement levels (Absorption, Vigour, and Dedication) of police recruits. Participants were 387 men, ages 20 to 33 yr. (M = 24.1, SD = 2.4), in their last month of academy training before becoming police officers. Partially in support of predictions, work engagement was associated with Stressor control perceived, but not Stress intensity experienced over a self-selected stressor. Although the three dimensions of work engagement were explained by Stressor control and coping, Absorption was the dimension better explained by these variables. Police recruits reporting higher Absorption, Vigour, and Dedication reported using more Active coping and less Behavioural disengagement. Results showed that stress appraisal and coping are important variables influencing work engagement among police recruits. Findings suggested that future applied interventions fostering work engagement among police recruits should reinforce perceptions of control over a stressor as well as Active coping strategies.

The Police Executive and Governance: Adapting Police Leadership to an Increase in Oversight and Accountability in Police Operations

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Gary Ellis

2014-03-01

Full Text Available In a democracy, it is generally understood that the police serve at the will of the people and are accountable through police governance. This usually consists of elected and/or appointed officials whose primary legal authority is to set policy and appoint the police leaders whom they hold accountable for ensuring that effective policing operations are carried out. It is widely held in common law jurisdictions that the governing body is limited in their role and cannot get involved in “operational policing issues.” In June 2010, the G20 world leaders’ conference was held in Toronto, Canada. The events surrounding the police actions during this conference caused a great deal of concern and led the Toronto Police Services Board, who are the governing authority for the Toronto Police Service, to commission a review to look at their own role. The findings in relation to “board” involvement in the operational side of policing challenged a long held belief regarding the limited role of governance in police operations. These findings will be examined in relation to the lack of board expertise and the challenges faced by police leaders to adapt and develop their attitudes, skills and abilities to respond to any expansion of governance authority.

Aviation-Related Wildland Firefighter Fatalities--United States, 2000-2013.

Science.gov (United States)

Butler, Corey R; O'Connor, Mary B; Lincoln, Jennifer M

2015-07-31

Airplanes and helicopters are integral to the management and suppression of wildfires, often operating in high-risk, low-altitude environments. To update data on aviation-related wildland firefighting fatalities, identify risk factors, and make recommendations for improved safety, CDC's National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) analyzed reports from multiple data sources for the period 2000-2013. Among 298 wildland firefighter fatalities identified during 2000-2013, 78 (26.2%) were aviation-related occupational fatalities that occurred during 41 separate events involving 42 aircraft. Aircraft crashes accounted for 38 events. Pilots, copilots, and flight engineers represented 53 (68%) of the aviation-related fatalities. The leading causes of fatal aircraft crashes were engine, structure, or component failure (24%); pilot loss of control (24%); failure to maintain clearance from terrain, water, or objects (20%); and hazardous weather (15%). To reduce fatalities from aviation-related wildland firefighting activities, stringent safety guidelines need to be followed during all phases of firefighting, including training exercises. Crew resource management techniques, which use all available resources, information, equipment, and personnel to achieve safe and efficient flight operations, can be applied to firefighting operations.

The Police Response to Mental Illness on Campus

Science.gov (United States)

Margolis, Gary J.; Shtull, Penny R.

2012-01-01

Campus police officers are often among the initial contacts for behavioral incidents involving people with mental illness. Their training and access to resources influence decisions to direct the individual to support services and/or through campus disciplinary processes and/or the criminal justice system. Over the past decade, there has been an…

Police must join the fast track to end AIDS by 2030.

Science.gov (United States)

Crofts, Nick; Patterson, David

2016-01-01

World leaders have committed to ending AIDS by 2030, but stigma and discrimination remain significant obstacles. In particular, police are critical, front-line determinants of risk for many people living with HIV (PLHIV) and members of other key affected populations (KAPs). The negative impact of adverse police behaviours and practices on HIV risk is well documented, and these risks undermine global efforts to end AIDS. Far less well documented, and less common, are attempts to ameliorate this impact by working to change police behaviours. This Special Issue seeks to help redress this imbalance by presenting a selection of original, provocative and important interventions from academics, police officers and other stakeholders concerned with documenting the potential for constructive, progressive and evidence-based approaches to the reduction of HIV risk. We recommend urgent boosting of efforts and funding to engage police in the HIV response. Among other strategies, this needs sustainable funding of programmes and their evaluation, and increased and continuing advocacy and education at all levels to match policy and law reform.

Enhancing Police Responses to Domestic Violence Incidents: Reports From Client Advocates in New South Wales.

Science.gov (United States)

Goodman-Delahunty, Jane; Crehan, Anna Corbo

2016-07-01

In an online survey about experiences with the police complaint system, 239 client advocates described a recent incident in which a client with grounds to lodge a complaint declined to do so. Almost one third of those incidents involved domestic violence. Thematic analysis of case descriptions revealed that many police did not take domestic violence reports seriously. A typology of problematic police conduct was developed. Many officers failed to observe current procedures and appeared to lack knowledge of relevant laws. Citizens feared retaliatory victimization by police and/or perceived that complaining was futile. Implications of these findings are reviewed in light of procedural justice theory. © The Author(s) 2015.

Work engagement among rescue workers: psychometric properties of the portuguese UWES

OpenAIRE

Jorge Sinval; Alexandra Marques-Pinto; Cristina Queirós; João Marôco

2018-01-01

Rescue workers have a stressful and risky occupation where being engaged is crucial to face physical and emotional risks in order to help other persons. This study aims to estimate work engagement levels of rescue workers (namely comparing nurses, firefighters, and police officers) and to assess the validity evidence related to the internal structure of the Portuguese versions of the UWES-17 and UWES-9, namely, dimensionality, measurement invariance between occupational groups, and reliabilit...

The Meanings of "Community Policing" for the Brazilian Military Police

OpenAIRE

Ludmila Ribeiro; Victor Neiva e Oliveira; Alexandre Magno Alves Diniz

2016-01-01

In recent years, Brazilian military police forces have adopted community policing programs in order to increase confidence in the institution and reduce crime rates. The objective of this study was to verify what the police frontline personnel understands by community policing and how they perceive the results of its implementation. A survey was conducted with 592 military policemen involved in operational activities in 32 military police companies of Belo Horizonte. The results point to a va...

Nonfatal Injuries to Law Enforcement Officers: A Rise in Assaults.

Science.gov (United States)

Tiesman, Hope M; Gwilliam, Melody; Konda, Srinivas; Rojek, Jeff; Marsh, Suzanne

2018-04-01

Limited studies exist that describe nonfatal work-related injuries to law enforcement officers. The aim of this study is to provide national estimates and trends of nonfatal injuries to law enforcement officers from 2003 through 2014. Nonfatal injuries were obtained from the National Electronic Injury Surveillance System-Occupational Supplement. Data were obtained for injuries treated in U.S. emergency departments from 2003 to 2014. Nonfatal injury rates were calculated using denominators from the Current Population Survey. Negative binomial regression was used to analyze temporal trends. Data were analyzed in 2016-2017. Between 2003 and 2014, an estimated 669,100 law enforcement officers were treated in U.S. emergency departments for nonfatal injuries. The overall rate of 635 per 10,000 full-time equivalents was three times higher than all other U.S. workers rate (213 per 10,000 full-time equivalents). The three leading injury events were assaults and violent acts (35%), bodily reactions and exertion (15%), and transportation incidents (14%). Injury rates were highest for the youngest officers, aged 21-24 years. Male and female law enforcement officers had similar nonfatal injury rates. Rates for most injuries remained stable; however, rates for assault-related injuries grew among law enforcement officers between 2003 and 2011. National Electronic Injury Surveillance System-Occupational Supplement data demonstrate a significant upward trend in assault injuries among U.S. law enforcement officers and this warrants further investigation. Police-citizen interactions are dynamic social encounters and evidence-based policing is vital to the health and safety of both police and civilians. The law enforcement community should energize efforts toward the study of how policing tactics impact both officer and citizen injuries. Published by Elsevier Inc.

Effect of heat on firefighters' work performance and physiology.

Science.gov (United States)

Larsen, Brianna; Snow, Rodney; Aisbett, Brad

2015-10-01

Wildland firefighters often perform their duties under both hot and mild ambient temperatures. However, the direct impact of different ambient temperatures on firefighters' work performance has not been quantified. This study compared firefighters' work performance and physiology during simulated wildland firefighting work in hot (HOT; 32°C, 43% RH) and temperate (CON; 19°C, 56% RH) conditions. Firefighters (n=38), matched and allocated to either the CON (n=18) or HOT (n=20) condition, performed simulated self-paced wildland fire suppression tasks (e.g., hose rolling/dragging, raking) in firefighting clothing for six hours, separated by dedicated rest breaks. Task repetitions were counted (and converted to distance or area). Core temperature (Tc), skin temperature (Tsk), and heart rate were recorded continuously throughout the protocol. Urine output was measured before and during the protocol, and urine specific gravity (USG) analysed, to estimate hydration. Ad libitum fluid intake was also recorded. There were no differences in overall work output between conditions for any physical task. Heart rate was higher in the HOT (55±2% HRmax) compared to the CON condition (51±2% HRmax) for the rest periods between bouts, and for the static hose hold task (69±3% HRmax versus 65±3% HRmax). Tc and Tsk were 0.3±0.1°C and 3.1±0.2°C higher in the HOT compared to the CON trial. Both pre- and within- shift fluid intake were increased two-fold in the heat, and participants in the heat recorded lower USG results than their CON counterparts. There was no difference between the CON and HOT conditions in terms of their work performance, and firefighters in both experimental groups increased their work output over the course of the simulated shift. Though significantly hotter, participants in the heat also managed to avoid excessive cardiovascular and thermal strain, likely aided by the frequent rest breaks in the protocol, and through doubling their fluid intake. Therefore

Depression and heart rate variability in firefighters

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Li-Mei Liao

2014-07-01

Full Text Available Introduction: Depression has been found to increase the risk of mortality in patients with coronary artery disease through a mechanism of changing cardiac autonomic tone which is reflected by alteration of heart rate variability indices. This study investigated whether such mechanism existed in firefighters who were at high risk of depression and sudden cardiac death. Methods and results: In total, 107 firefighters were recruited. All completed Beck Depression Inventory and underwent 24-h ambulatory electrocardiographic monitoring. The root-mean-square of successive differences, standard deviation of all normal-to-normal intervals index, and the percentage of differences between adjacent normal-to-normal intervals >50 ms were significantly lower in depressed than in non-depressed firefighters after controlling for hypertension, age, and body mass index (40.1 ± 18.8 vs 62.5 ± 77.4, p < 0.01; 63.0 ± 19.2 vs 72.1 ± 34.8, p < 0.01; 8.4 ± 7.2 vs 12.7 ± 10.9, p < 0.01, respectively. Conclusion: Decreased vagal tone is a possible mechanism linking depression and sudden cardiac death in firefighters.

Striking the Right Balance: Police Experience, Perceptions and Use of Independent Support Persons During Interviews Involving People with Intellectual Disability.

Science.gov (United States)

Henshaw, Marie; Spivak, Benjamin; Thomas, Stuart D M

2018-03-01

Several jurisdictions mandate the presence of an independent support person during police interviews with vulnerable people. The current study investigated police officers' experiences and perceptions of these volunteers during interviews with people with intellectual disability(ies) (ID). The sample comprised 229 police officers who attended a mandatory firearms training course in Melbourne, Australia, in 2010. Participants commonly reported utilizing independent support persons and displayed a fair understanding of their role. Overall, volunteers were engaged more frequently than family/friends; police considered the volunteers to be more impartial during interviews, whereas family/friends provided a greater level of emotional support to interviewees. Independent support persons need to demonstrate two quite different types of support to people with intellectual disability(ies) during police interviews; these require quite different skill sets and suggest the need for more tailored training and support for these volunteers. Implications for future research and policy are discussed. © 2016 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Injuries associated with police use of force.

Science.gov (United States)

Bozeman, William P; Stopyra, Jason P; Klinger, David A; Martin, Brian P; Graham, Derrel D; Johnson, James C; Mahoney-Tesoriero, Katherine; Vail, Sydney J

2018-03-01

Use of force [UOF] by police can result in serious injuries and fatalities. The risk of significant injuries associated with different force modalities is poorly defined. We sought to determine the incidence of police UOF and compare the likelihood of significant injury with different force modalities. A prospective multicenter observational study of all UOF incidents was conducted via mandatory UOF investigations at three mid-sized police agencies over a two year period. Expert physicians reviewed police and medical records to determine injury severity using a priori injury severity stratification criteria. There were 893 UOF incidents, representing a UOF rate of 0.086% of 1,041,737 calls for service (1 in 1167) and 0.78% of 114,064 criminal arrests(1 in 128). Suspects were primarily young (mean age, 31 years; range, 12-86 years) males (89%). The 1,399 force utilizations included unarmed physical force (n = 710, 51%), CEWs (504, 30%), chemical (88, 6.3%), canines (47, 3.4%), impact weapons (9, 0.6%), kinetic impact munitions (8, 0.6%), firearms (6, 0.4%), and other (27, 1.9%). Among 914 suspects, 898 (98%) sustained no or mild injury after police UOF. Significant (moderate or severe) injuries occurred in 16 (1.8%) subjects. Logistic regression analysis shows these are most associated with firearm and canine use. There was one fatality (0.1%) due to gunshots. No significant injuries occurred among 504 CEW uses (0%; 95% confidence interval, 0.0-0.9%). Of the 355 suspects transported to a medical facility, 78 (22%) were hospitalized. The majority of hospitalizations were unrelated to UOF (n = 59, 76%), whereas a minority (n = 19, 24%) were due to injuries related to police UOF. Police UOF is rare. When force is used officers most commonly rely on unarmed physical force and CEWs. Significant injuries are rare. Transport for medical evaluation is a poor surrogate for significant injury due to UOF. Epidemiological, level II.

Mainstreaming gender in the police: the Maharashtra experience.

Science.gov (United States)

Chakravarty, S

1998-11-01

This study reviewed the history of sex segregation in the police forces of Maharashtra state, India, and policy interventions since 1994 to reverse the trends; it also describes the process of improving gender equity in the policy department as part of a gender aim to control violence against women. Police jobs are allocated based on gender. Passage of the 1975 Sex Discrimination Act was not implemented fully within police departments. In fact, the Police Force actively worked to keep itself outside the purview of the Act. Supervisors maintained the attitude that women were unsuitable for police work. Women were suspected of lacking in career commitments and were limited to only a small number within the force. These attitudes restricted women's entry, deployment, and promotions. The Government of Maharashtra has been pressured by district level women's groups to secure women's rights and to change the social environment that supports violence against women. The efforts uncovered violence unreported due to social pressure. It was thought that women's greater presence in policy departments would encourage women to report domestic crimes. The policemen disliked the interference of women. Since women were recruited for specific duties, the result was low self-esteem, frustration due to lack of promotions, sexual harassment, ostracism, and reduced job expectations. In 1993, officers received gender-sensitizing training. The training at the Institute of Development Studies at the University of Sussex focused on rules, practices, access to resources, and formal and informal inclusions and exclusions.

Intervenção visando a auto-estima e qualidade de vida dos policiais civis do Rio de Janeiro Self-esteem and quality of life: essential for the mental health of police officers

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Edson Ribeiro Andrade

2009-02-01

Full Text Available Apresentamos parte de uma pesquisa-ação por meio da qual elaboramos, aplicamos e avaliamos uma proposta piloto de intervenção, visando a contribuir para a saúde mental de policiais civis do Rio de Janeiro. Conjugamos abordagem quantitativa e qualitativa em desenho com características de avaliação ex-ante e ex-post. Participaram 148 policiais de uma delegacia especializada da capital (76 alocados no GrupoExperimental e 72 no Grupo de Controle, pareados segundo algumas variáveis. A aferição da auto-estima, feita pela escala de Rosenberg, mostrou diferenças no GE após a intervenção. Não observamos diferença na qualidade de vida, medida pelo WHOQOL-Bref. A maioria dos policiais avaliou positivamente a intervenção, sugerindo sua ampliação para a categoria como um todo. Concluímos que é possível e proveitoso realizar intervenção que ofereça suporte emocional aos policiais, enfocando auto-estima e qualidade de vida.The results here shown are part of an action-research that aimed to elaborate, apply and evaluate a pilot project for contributing to the mental health of Rio de Janeiro police officers. This research comprises both quantitative and qualitative approaches in an ex-ante and ex-post evaluation pattern. The subjects of this research were 148 police officers serving in a special division of the city of Rio de Janeiro Police Department (76 were placed in the Experimental Group and 72 in the Control Group, according to certain variables. The article focuses on the results of the assessment made through standardized scales of self-esteem (Rosenberg Scale, quality of life (WHOQOL-Bref, and is complemented with a qualitative assessment using Content Analysis. The results show that interventions aimed at producing emotional support for police officers with emphasis on Quality of Life and Self-Esteem are possible and useful.

Very Long (> 48 hours) Shifts and Cardiovascular Strain in Firefighters: a Theoretical Framework.

Science.gov (United States)

Choi, Bongkyoo; Schnall, Peter L; Dobson, Marnie; Garcia-Rivas, Javier; Kim, Hyoungryoul; Zaldivar, Frank; Israel, Leslie; Baker, Dean

2014-03-06

Shift work and overtime have been implicated as important work-related risk factors for cardiovascular disease (CVD). Many firefighters who contractually work on a 24-hr work schedule, often do overtime (additional 24-hr shifts) which can result in working multiple, consecutive 24-hr shifts. Very little research has been conducted on firefighters at work that examines the impact of performing consecutive 24-hr shifts on cardiovascular physiology. Also, there have been no standard field methods for assessing in firefighters the cardiovascular changes that result from 24-hr shifts, what we call "cardiovascular strain". The objective of this study, as the first step toward elucidating the role of very long (> 48 hrs) shifts in the development of CVD in firefighters, is to develop and describe a theoretical framework for studying cardiovascular strain in firefighters on very long shifts (i.e., > 2 consecutive 24-hr shifts). The developed theoretical framework was built on an extensive literature review, our recently completed studies with firefighters in Southern California, e-mail and discussions with several firefighters on their experiences of consecutive shifts, and our recently conducted feasibility study in a small group of firefighters of several ambulatory cardiovascular strain biomarkers (heart rate, heart rate variability, blood pressure, salivary cortisol, and salivary C-reactive protein). The theoretical framework developed in this study will facilitate future field studies on consecutive 24-hr shifts and cardiovascular health in firefighters. Also it will increase our understanding of the mechanisms by which shift work or long work hours can affect CVD, particularly through CVD biological risk factors, and thereby inform policy about sustainable work and rest schedules for firefighters.

The communicative construction of safety in wildland firefighting (Proceedings)

Science.gov (United States)

Jody Jahn

2012-01-01

This dissertation project used a two-study mixed methods approach, examining the communicative accomplishment of safety from two perspectives: high reliability organizing (Weick, Sutcliffe, & Obstfeld 1999), and safety climate (Zohar 1980). In Study One, 27 firefighters from two functionally similar wildland firefighting crews were interviewed about their crew-...

Physical and thermal strain of firefighters according to the firefighting tactics used to suppress wildfires.

Science.gov (United States)

Rodríguez-Marroyo, J A; Villa, J G; López-Satue, J; Pernía, R; Carballo, B; García-López, J; Foster, C

2011-11-01

The aim of this study was to analyse the physiological strain of firefighters, using heart rate (HR) and core temperature, during real wildfire suppression according to the type of attack performed (direct, indirect or mixed). Three intensity zones were established according to the HR corresponding to the ventilatory threshold (VT) and respiratory compensation threshold (RCT): zone 1, RCT. The exercise workload (training impulse (TRIMP)), the physiological strain index (PSI) and the cumulative heat strain index(CHSI) were calculated using the time spent in each zone, and the HR and core temperature, respectively. Significantly higher mean HR, time spent in Z2 and Z3 and TRIMP h(-1) were found in direct and mixed versus indirect attacks. The highest PSI and CHSI were observed in the direct attack. In conclusion, exercise strain and combined thermal strain, but not core temperature during wildfire suppression, are related to the type of attack performed. STATEMENT OF RELEVANCE: Our findings demonstrated that wildfire firefighting is associated with high physiological demands, which vary significantly depending on the tactics chosen for performing the task. These results should be kept in mind when planning programmes to improve wildland firefighters' physical fitness, which will allow improvement in their performance.

Women Firefighters and Workplace Harassment: Associated Suicidality and Mental Health Sequelae.

Science.gov (United States)

Hom, Melanie A; Stanley, Ian H; Spencer-Thomas, Sally; Joiner, Thomas E

2017-12-01

This cross-sectional study investigated the association between harassment, career suicidality, and psychiatric symptoms among women firefighters. Women firefighters (n = 290) completed self-report measures of experiences with harassment on the job, career suicidality, and various psychiatric symptoms. Logistic regression analyses and one-way analyses of variance were used to address study aims. Of the sample, 21.7% reported having experienced sexual harassment and 20.3% reported having been threatened or harassed in another way on their firefighting job. Sexual harassment and other threats/harassment on the job were both significantly associated with a greater likelihood of reporting career suicidal ideation, as well as reporting more severe psychiatric symptoms. Harassment and threats experienced on the job may be associated with increased suicide risk and more severe psychiatric symptoms among women firefighters. Efforts are needed to reduce the occurrence of harassment and threats within the fire service and provide support for women firefighters who have been harassed or threatened.

Policing for Conflict Zones: What Have Local Policing Groups Taught Us?

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Bruce Baker

2017-08-01

Full Text Available The police are invariably severely reduced or even cease to be active in times of conflict. Policing as an activity, however, persists, with local groups taking up the role of maintaining order and combating crime. Such local policing is very diverse in its practices and in the nature of its links with the state. Using examples of local policing practices in four sub-Saharan conflicts, this article considers different patterns of harnessing local capacity to provide policing services. The patterns range from authorities utilising existing local policing providers or initiating new local responses, to local non-government organisations [NGOs] seeking to fill policing gaps left by the state, or long-established local provision continuing unchanged. Each response, whether one of cooperation, delegation, neglect or abandonment, is evaluated for its effectiveness, and lessons to be learned from their practices are offered. Together the four case studies suggest new pathways to achieving police effectiveness and reform in challenging conflict environments.

[Job perception, work conditions and burnout in emergency workers].

Science.gov (United States)

Argentero, P; Setti, I

2008-01-01

The psychological syndrome of burnout in the helping professions has received much attention. Numerous studies have investigated the risk factors involved and their negative consequences for those whose work brings them into contact with people in states of physical and psychological suffering. In particular, emergency workers like police officers, fire-fighters and ambulance personnel who witness critical events are at high risk of developing negative psychological effects. Despite the ample literature investigating burnout in single emergency worker categories, currently there are few studies that deal with this topic from a comparative point of view, i.e. comparing the conditions of wellbeing of emergency workers across different organizations. The main aim of this pilot study was to compare different categories of emergency workers (83 ambulance workers, 42 operators of 118--free local health emergency service, 112 fire-fighters and 61 police officers) in order to identify which present a condition of wellbeing and which, on the contrary, may foster the burnout syndrome. Subjects were administered the Organizational Checkup System (OCS) to evaluate subjects' risk of burnout and their perception of their own work role and of their organizational environment. The second aim of this paper was to compare subjects on the basis of the main socio-demographic characteristics (gender, age and work seniority) in order to verify the presence of meaningful differences due, not just to the specific work category, but also to different subjective variables. The findings showed a condition of wellbeing, e.g. a high level of Energy and Involvement, in police officers as compared to 118 operators, who instead displayed a psychological state of burnout. Concerning the perception of organizational characteristics, fire-fighters displayed significant Control on tasks performed and good Social Integration in their work team. Furthermore, we noted the alignment of personal and

A Race to Force the Issue: A Use-of-Force Doctrine in Policing

Science.gov (United States)

2017-03-01

reactions to the police shooting of an unarmed teen and the 21 Ibid., 2. 22 Michael Wines , “Are the...alleged excessive force claims to be determined based on the “totality of the circumstances” as perceived by the officer without the benefit of “20/20...Michael Wines , “Are Police Bigoted?” In it, Wines wrote, “The death of the black teenager shined a spotlight on the plague of shootings of black men by

Stress among police body handlers. A long-term follow-up.

Science.gov (United States)

Alexander, D A

1993-12-01

Thirty-five police officers were followed up three years after they had been first assessed following their involvement in the retrieval and identification of human remains after a major disaster. Most of these officers were free from signs of psychiatric morbidity. Organisational and managerial practices appear to be powerful antidotes to adverse post-traumatic reactions. In this study the use of a longitudinal design, with a pre-disaster baseline and a control group, suggests that these are robust findings.

Impact of Different Personal Protective Clothing on Wildland Firefighters' Physiological Strain

OpenAIRE

Carballo-Leyenda, Belén; Villa, José G.; López-Satué, Jorge; Rodríguez-Marroyo, Jose A.

2017-01-01

Wildfire firefighting is an extremely demanding occupation performed under hot environment. The use of personal protective clothing (PPC) is needed to protect subjects from the thermal exposure. However, the additional use of PPC may increase the wildland firefighters' physiological strain, and consequently limit their performance. The aim of this study was to analyze the effect of four different PPC on the physiological strain of wildland firefighters under moderate conditions (30?C and 30% ...

Perception of police on discrimination in Serbia

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Zekavica Radomir

2014-01-01

Full Text Available This paper presents and analyses results deriving from the research on the attitudes of criminal investigation officers in five police departments in Serbia: Belgrade, Novi Sad, Novi Pazar, Subotica and Vranje. The case studies examined the attitudes of members of criminal investigation police and their perception(s of discrimination towards vulnerable groups. The study aimed to determine the level of animosity exhibited in speech, to analyse socio-ethnic distance, to observe reactions towards measures designed to improve the situation of vulnerable groups, to consider the relationship among institutions regarding their responsibility for the occurrence of discrimination and its impact on the reduction of it, to discuss personal experiences of discrimination and to analyse attitudes regarding certain claims of a stereotypical character. Moreover, the paper also presents a comparative analysis of similar surveys on the perception of citizens towards discrimination that have thus far been conducted in Serbia. The results demonstrated that the police in Serbia did not exhibit a particularly discriminatory attitude towards citizens. It is important to note that the most prominent socio-ethnic distances were exhibited in relation to Roma and members of the LGBT community.

Police Training to Align Law Enforcement and HIV Prevention: Preliminary Evidence From the Field

Science.gov (United States)

Agrawal, Alpna; Moreau, Bruce; Kumar, Pratima; Weiss-Laxer, Nomi; Heimer, Robert

2011-01-01

Having identified gaps in implementation of Rhode Island's syringe access law and police occupational safety education, public health and police professionals developed police training to boost legal knowledge, improve syringe access attitudes, and address needlestick injuries. Baseline data (94 officers) confirmed anxiety about needlestick injuries, poor legal knowledge, and occupational risk overestimation. Before training, respondents believed that syringe access promotes drug use (51%), increases likelihood of police needlestick injuries (58%), and fails to reduce epidemics (38%). Pretraining to posttraining evaluation suggested significant shifts in legal and occupational safety knowledge; changes in attitudes toward syringe access were promising. Training that combines occupational safety with syringe access content can help align law enforcement with public health goals. Additional research is needed to assess street-level effect and to inform intervention tailoring. PMID:21940924

Usos y representaciones del ‘olfato policial’ entre los miembros de la policía bonaerense

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José Garriga Zucal

2013-07-01

Full Text Available Este artigo reflete sobre o conjunto de práticas policiais comumente referido como “faro policial.” Esse sistema, que distingue os cidadãos de criminosos por seus gestos, tons de voz, formas do corpo, roupas, etc, é generalizado entre os membros da polícia e interpretados por eles como muito eficaz no reconhecimento e captura de criminosos. Propomo-nos a revelar a formação desses valores e práticas do ponto de vista da polícia. Do seu ponto de vista, o “faro” é um atributo positivo adquirido por meio da experiência de trabalho. Propomos a estudar a ligação entre o “faro” com certos sujeitos sociais estigmatizados e a relação com as formas de discriminação que se interpenetram em todo o tecido da sociedade. The article Uses and Representation of the ‘Police Nose’ among Officers of The Buenos Aires Police Force reflects on the set of police practices commonly referred to as “police sense of smell”. This system, which distinguishes citizens from criminals by their gestures, tones of voice, body language, clothes, etc. is widespread among police officers and seen by them as highly effective in the recognition and arrest of criminals. We propose to reveal the formation of these values and practices from the police’s point of view. In their eyes, the “police nose” is a positive skill acquired through work experience. We propose to study the connection between the “nose” and certain stigmatized social subjects and relations with forms of discrimination that penetrate the whole make-up of society. Key words: police, violence, stigma, police nose, agency

Predicting Postprobationary Job Performance of Police Officers Using CPI and MMPI-2-RF Test Data Obtained During Preemployment Psychological Screening.

Science.gov (United States)

Roberts, Ryan M; Tarescavage, Anthony M; Ben-Porath, Yossef S; Roberts, Michael D

2018-02-09

We examined associations between prehire California Psychological Inventory (CPI) and prorated Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory-2 Restructured Form (MMPI-2-RF) scores (calculated from MMPI profiles) and supervisor ratings for a sample of 143 male police officers. Substantive scale scores in this sample were meaningfully lower than those obtained by the tests' normative samples in the case of the MMPI-2-RF and meaningfully higher in the case of the CPI (indicating less psychological dysfunction). Test scores from both instruments showed substantial range restriction, consistent with those produced by members of the police candidate comparison groups (Corey & Ben-Porath, 2014 ; Roberts & Johnson, 2001 ). After applying a statistical correction for range restriction, we found a number of meaningful associations between both CPI and MMPI-2-RF substantive scale scores and supervisor ratings. For the MMPI-2-RF, findings for scales from the emotional dysfunction and interpersonal functioning domains of the test were particularly strong. For the CPI, findings for scales indicating conformity with social norms, integrity, and tolerance were strong, as were the findings for an index indicating risk of termination. Hierarchical regression analyses showed that MMPI-2-RF and CPI scores complement each other, accounting for incremental variance in the prediction of job-related variables over and above each other. Implications of these findings for assessment science and practice are discussed.

Downside Seen in Rush to Hire School-Based Police

Science.gov (United States)

Shah, Nirvi

2013-01-01

With nightmare visions of a gunman stalking school halls, districts often rush to hire police officers to patrol their campuses after news of a school shooting. Critics of that impulsive response, which has been in high gear nationwide since the Sandy Hook Elementary School shootings in December, acknowledge the concern for student and staff…

Learning fire-fighting lessons after Chernobyl

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Anon.

1990-01-01

Fire protection measures in Soviet nuclear power plants were set out in November 1987, in the Nuclear Power Plant Design Fire Protection Standards (VSN 01-87, USSR Ministry of Atomic Energy). The most important of these measures are. Avoiding as far as possible the use of combustible materials in plant structures and equipment. Dividing buildings and areas into suitable fire-fighting zones. Ensuring reliable fire protection of the control and safety systems. Protecting technical personnel from the dangers of a fire while they are performing essential accident-repair work and facilitating evacuation procedures (providing at least two evacuation routes and exits, anti-smoke protection of evacuation routes and control panel areas etc). Installing automatic fire-extinguishing and fire alarm systems. Providing various stationary facilities and equipment to assist the use of mobile fire-fighting appliances. In addition, a special fire-fighting division is being set up in every nuclear power plant while the first unit is still being constructed. These divisions work in close co-operation with the technical personnel management of the plant and with the bodies responsible for monitoring nuclear safety. (author)

Association between job stress and occupational injuries among Korean firefighters: a nationwide cross-sectional study.

Science.gov (United States)

Kim, Yeong-Kwang; Ahn, Yeon-Soon; Kim, KyooSang; Yoon, Jin-Ha; Roh, Jaehoon

2016-11-25

We aimed to assess the nature of association between job stress and occupational injuries among firefighters in Korea. Cross-sectional study. We conducted a nationwide survey using self-reported questionnaires in South Korea. A survey was conducted among 30 630 firefighters; 25 616 (83.6%) responded. Our study included firefighters who were 20-59 years old. Individuals with occupational injury; high job demands (OR=1.22, 95% CI 1.01 to 1.47) were also associated with the frequency of injuries. Among emergency medical services personnel, high job demands (OR=1.26, 95% CI 1.03 to 1.54), high interpersonal conflicts (OR=1.40, 95% CI 1.19 to 1.66), a poor organisational system (OR=1.55, 95% CI 1.30 to 1.85), lack of reward (OR=1.43, 95% CI 1.21 to 1.69) and a negative workplace environment (OR=1.30, 95% CI 1.10 to 1.54) were associated with the occurrence of occupational injury; low job control (OR=1.20, 95% CI 1.04 to 1.38), high interpersonal conflicts (OR=1.18, 95% CI 1.03 to 1.36), lack of reward (OR=1.17, 95% CI 1.02 to 1.35) and a negative workplace climate (OR=1.16, 95% CI 1.01 to 1.34) were also associated with a greater number of injuries. Among officers, high job demands (OR=1.96, 95% CI 1.35 to 2.85) and a negative workplace environment (OR=1.54, 95% CI 1.13 to 2.10) were associated with the occurrence of occupational injuries; however, there was no significant correlation between job stress and the number of injuries. High job stress among firefighters was associated with both the occurrence of occupational injury, and also with an increased frequency of injuries. Therefore, job stress should be addressed to prevent occupational injuries among firefighters. Published by the BMJ Publishing Group Limited. For permission to use (where not already granted under a licence) please go to http://www.bmj.com/company/products-services/rights-and-licensing/.

Effects of Profile, Religiosity and Job Attitude on the Job Performance of the Philippine National Police: The Case of Bulacan Province

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Romeo D.C. Inasoria

2014-10-01

Full Text Available The Philippine National Police in the Province of Bulacan continuously update and enrich themselves to ensure peace and order in the province by reviewing the police operational procedures. Reform programs take place and seek to address the ills of society and the root causes of insurgency. Dynamic program actions are further reinforced by activities and projects towards capability building. Various programs had been develop in order to uplift the moral status of the police. But despite of these undertakings, there are still police officers who engage themselves in corruption and unethical practices. Hence, this research tries to look into a way to understand the relationship between the profile, religiosity, job attitude and job performance of the Philippine National Police in the Province of Bulacan. The respondents of this study consist ofthree hundred and ten (310 Police Non-Commissioned Officers (PNCO assigned in twenty-one (21 Municipal Police Stations,three (3 City Police Stations, the Provincial Head Quarter and provincial Public Safety Company.Using a descriptive-correlation survey method, the researcher believes to find the link between and among the variables. The findings of the study proved that there is a correlation in the profiles, level of religiosity and job attitude of the respondents to job performance Conclusion and recommendation are also presented in the paper.

[Stress: diagnosis of military police personnel in a Brazilian city].

Science.gov (United States)

Costa, Marcos; Júnior, Horácio Accioly; Oliveira, José; Maia, Eulália

2007-04-01

To diagnose the occurrence and stage of stress among military police enlisted personnel and officers in the city of Natal (the capital of the state of Rio Grande do Norte, Brazil), and to determine the prevalence of physical and mental symptoms. This cross-sectional descriptive study investigated a sample of 264 individuals from a population of 3,193 military personnel from the Natal police command. The data were collected between June 2004 and January 2005 using Lipp's Adult Stress Symptoms Inventory (Inventário de Sintomas de Stress para Adultos de Lipp). The research assessed: (1) presence of stress, (2) the stage of stress (alert, resistance, near-burnout, and burnout), (3) the prevalence of physical and mental symptoms, and (4) the relationship between stress and police unit, rank, gender, drinking, smoking, educational level, marital status, age, years of police service, and salary. No stress symptoms were found in 52.6% of the sample; 47.4% had symptoms. Of the 47.4% of the police personnel with stress symptoms, they were distributed as: 3.4% in the alert stage, 39.8% in the resistance stage, 3.8% in the near-burnout stage, and 0.4% in the burnout stage. Psychological symptoms were recorded in 76.0% of the police personnel with stress, and physical symptoms in 24.0% of them. Of the variables investigated, only gender was related to stress (P = 0.0337), with the female police personnel being more likely to suffer from stress. The levels of stress and symptoms do not indicate a critical situation of fatigue. However, it is recommended that the police take preventive actions, including implementing an effective program for the diagnosis of, training on, and control of stress.

Addressing firefighter safety around solar PV systems

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Harris, B. [Sustainable Energy Technologies, Calgary, AB (Canada)

2010-11-15

The article discussed new considerations for installing photovoltaic (PV) systems that address the needs of fire service personnel. The presence of a PV system presents a multitude of dangers for firefighters, including electrical shock, the inhalation of toxic gases from being unable to cut a hole through the roof, falling debris and flying glass, and dead loading on a compromised structure and tripping on conduits. Mapping systems should be modified so that buildings with PV systems are identified for first responders, including firefighters who should learn that solar modules present an electrical hazard during the day but not at night; covering PV modules with foam or salvage covers may not shut the system down to a safe level; it takes a few moments for the power in PV modules to reduce to zero; and PV modules or conduit should never be cut, broke, chopped, or walked upon. The California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection recommends creating pathways and allowing easier access to the roof by setting the modules back from roof edges, creating a structurally sound pathway for firefighters to walk on and space to cut ventilation holes. However, the setback rule makes the economics of solar installation less viable for residential applications. The technological innovations aimed at addressing system safety all focus on limiting firefighter contact with live electrical components to within the extra-low-voltage (ELV) band. Some of the inverters on the market that support ELV system architecture were described. 1 fig.

Pilot task-based assessment of noise levels among firefighters.

Science.gov (United States)

Neitzel, Rl; Hong, O; Quinlan, P; Hulea, R

2013-11-01

Over one million American firefighters are routinely exposed to various occupational hazards agents. While efforts have been made to identify and reduce some causes of injuries and illnesses among firefighters, relatively little has been done to evaluate and understand occupational noise exposures in this group. The purpose of this pilot study was to apply a task-based noise exposure assessment methodology to firefighting operations to evaluate potential noise exposure sources, and to use collected task-based noise levels to create noise exposure estimates for evaluation of risk of noise-induced hearing loss by comparison to the 8-hr and 24-hr recommended exposure limits (RELs) for noise of 85 and 80.3 dBA, respectively. Task-based noise exposures (n=100 measurements) were measured in three different fire departments (a rural department in Southeast Michigan and suburban and urban departments in Northern California). These levels were then combined with time-at-task information collected from firefighters to estimate 8-hr noise exposures for the rural and suburban fire departments (n=6 estimates for each department). Data from 24-hr dosimetry measurements and crude self-reported activity categories from the urban fire department (n=4 measurements) were used to create 24-hr exposure estimates to evaluate the bias associated with the task-based estimates. Task-based noise levels were found to range from 82-109 dBA, with the highest levels resulting from use of saws and pneumatic chisels. Some short (e.g., 30 min) sequences of common tasks were found to result in nearly an entire allowable daily exposure. The majority of estimated 8-hr and 24-hr exposures exceeded the relevant recommended exposure limit. Predicted 24-hr exposures showed substantial imprecision in some cases, suggesting the need for increased task specificity. The results indicate potential for overexposure to noise from a variety of firefighting tasks and equipment, and suggest a need for further

Spinal and temporo-mandibular disorders in male workers of the State Police.

Science.gov (United States)

Sancini, Angela; Tomei, Francesco; Tomei, Gianfranco; Caciari, Tiziana; Capozzella, Assunta; Di Famiani, Manuela; Samperi, Ilaria; Scala, Barbara; Fiaschetti, Maria; Cetica, Carlotta; Ciarrocca, Manuela

2013-01-01

The aims of this study are to evaluate the prevalence of disorders of the lumbar region and the temporo-mandibular district co-morbidity in drivers and workers of the State Police employed for different office activities. The study population included 103 drivers as cases and 100 police officers as controls. The study was carried out through questionnaire and clinical evaluation of the spine and temporo-mandibular region. At clinical examination, the drivers were found to have a higher prevalence (p temporo-mandibular joint (TMJ), when compared with the controls. The results also showed a higher prevalence (p < 0.05) of co-morbidity in the two districts among the drivers, when compared with the controls. These results confirm that morbidity related to back and TMJ and increase in co-morbidity between the two districts are higher in professional drivers.

Striking the Right Balance: Police Experience, Perceptions and Use of Independent Support Persons during Interviews Involving People with Intellectual Disability

Science.gov (United States)

Henshaw, Marie; Spivak, Benjamin; Thomas, Stuart D. M.

2018-01-01

Background: Several jurisdictions mandate the presence of an independent support person during police interviews with vulnerable people. The current study investigated police officers' experiences and perceptions of these volunteers during interviews with people with intellectual disability(ies) (ID). Methods: The sample comprised 229 police…

14 CFR 139.315 - Aircraft rescue and firefighting: Index determination.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-01-01

... 14 Aeronautics and Space 3 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Aircraft rescue and firefighting: Index... CERTIFICATION OF AIRPORTS Operations § 139.315 Aircraft rescue and firefighting: Index determination. (a) An index is required by paragraph (c) of this section for each certificate holder. The Index is determined...

Social Movements Against Racist Police Brutality and Department of Justice Intervention in Prince George's County, Maryland.

Science.gov (United States)

Hutto, Jonathan W; Green, Rodney D

2016-04-01

Racist police brutality has been systemic in Prince George's County, Maryland. The victims include African Americans, the mentally challenged, and immigrant populations, creating a complex and uneven public health impact. Three threads characterize the social movements and intervention since 1970. First, a significant demographic shift occurred as African Americans became the majority population in the late 1980s when the first Black county executive was elected in 1994. Despite the change in political leadership, police brutality remained rampant. Lower-income households located close to the District of Columbia and "inside the beltway" experienced the most police brutality. In 2001, The Washington Post revealed that between 1990 and 2000, Prince George's police shot and killed more citizens per officer than any of the 50 largest city and county law enforcement agencies in the country, 84 % of whom were black. Of the 147 persons shot during the 1990s, 12 were mentally and/or emotionally disturbed; 6 of these shootings were fatal. Second, resistance to police brutality emerged in a variety of political formations throughout the period, especially in the late 1990s. Sustained community pressure prompted the Department of Justice (DOJ) to open a civil rights investigation of the police department in November 2000. To avoid a potential federal lawsuit, the county leadership negotiated a memorandum of agreement (MOA) with the DOJ to enact policy reforms, part of which called for supplementing the departmental mobile crisis team, comprised of mental health care professionals, to respond to all cases involving mentally challenged citizens. Third, the incomplete process of change subsequent to the ending of DOJ oversight suggests a continued challenge to social movements opposing police brutality. This study focuses on the effectiveness of the MOA along with the activism of the People's Coalition for Police Accountability (PCPA) in reforming a culture of police brutality

A foodborne outbreak of brucellosis at a police station cafeteria, Lima, Peru

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Román, Karina; Castillo, Rosa; Gilman, Robert H.; Calderón, Maritza; Vivar, Aldo; Céspedes, Manuel; Smits, Henk L.; Meléndez, Paolo; Gotuzzo, Eduardo; Guerra, Humberto; Maves, Ryan C.; Matthias, Michael A.; Vinetz, Joseph M.; Saito, Mayuko

2013-01-01

Brucella melitensis is highly infectious for humans and can be transmitted to humans in a number of epidemiological contexts. Within the context of an ongoing brucellosis surveillance project, an outbreak at a Peruvian police officer cafeteria was discovered, which led to active surveillance

The Ferguson Effect - Are Police Anxieties To Blame

Science.gov (United States)

2017-03-01

www.national review.com/article/422605/Birmingham- cop -beaten-unconscious-feared-racism-charge. 3 Stephen Gossett, “Top Cop Says Beaten Officer Was...issue due to public perceptions, media coverage, and perpetuating mass protests, many of which have resulted in violence and police fatalities. The...Chief Pins Crime Surge on ‘Ferguson Effect.’ Are Cops Afraid to Do Their Jobs?,” The Christian Science Monitor, October 26, 2015, http

Policing football in Sweden

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Stott, Clifford; Havelund, Jonas; Lundberg, Filip

2016-01-01

of football policing in Sweden. Central to these is the empowerment and coordination of dialogue based approaches to the policing of football supporters in Sweden. The report points out that this is an area of crowd policing where Sweden are global leaders having influenced how policing is conducted in other...

Firefighter Down! How to Rapidly Remove Turnout Gear.

Science.gov (United States)

ALexander, John G

2016-04-01

The rescue of an injured colleague--and probably a good friend--is an emotionally charged event. A common initial response could be to remove everything as quickly as possible. Keep in mind that we have accepted practices for the removal of motorcycle equipment and football gear. There are also procedures for removing a patient from a vehicle or swimming pool. These all exist to protect a patient from further injury. We now have established practices for removing a firefighter from a window, or down a ladder. Why then do the procedures stop? Once a firefighter is rescued from a hot zone, he deserves the same level of consideration a football player, motorcycle rider or any other patient receives. We should not be in such a hurry that we don't care how we remove a protective ensemble. The injured firefighter deserves a system, or a procedure, that may be practiced by others and reduce the chance of further injury during

CERN’s firefighters hone their trauma response skills

CERN Multimedia

Anaïs Schaeffer

2016-01-01

Seven CERN firefighters have been trained in how to treat trauma victims. This training forms part of the Fire Brigade’s efforts to acquire specialist knowledge.   The fifteen trainees who took the PHTLS course at CERN, with the instructor team. On 23 and 24 May, the CERN Fire Brigade welcomed five instructors from Life Support France, an association that offers training in pre-hospital emergency treatment, to provide a course on Pre-Hospital Trauma Life Support (PHTLS). Fifteen “trainees” – seven CERN firefighters and eight rescue and healthcare professionals from outside the Organization (nurses, paramedics and firefighters) – took part in the course, at the end of which they were awarded an official PHTLS certificate, valid for four years. Of course, the whole PHTLS programme cannot be covered in just two days, so several months of additional work were required in advance of the course, particularly to acquire the necessary theoretical knowledg...

Occupational stress and suicidality among firefighters: Examining the buffering role of distress tolerance.

Science.gov (United States)

Stanley, Ian H; Boffa, Joseph W; Smith, Lia J; Tran, Jana K; Schmidt, N Brad; Joiner, Thomas E; Vujanovic, Anka A

2018-05-24

Past research indicates that firefighters are at increased risk for suicide. Firefighter-specific occupational stress may contribute to elevated suicidality. Among a large sample of firefighters, this study examined if occupational stress is associated with multiple indicators of suicide risk, and whether distress tolerance, the perceived and/or actual ability to endure negative emotional or physical states, attenuates these associations. A total of 831 firefighters participated (mean [SD] age = 38.37y[8.53y]; 94.5% male; 75.2% White). The Sources of Occupational Stress-14 (SOOS-14), Distress Tolerance Scale (DTS), and Suicidal Behaviors Questionnaire-Revised (SBQ-R) were utilized to examine firefighter-specific occupational stress, distress tolerance, and suicidality, respectively. Consistent with predictions, occupational stress interacted with distress tolerance, such that the effects of occupational stress on suicide risk, broadly, as well as lifetime suicide threats and current suicidal intent, specifically, were attenuated at high levels of distress tolerance. Distress tolerance may buffer the effects of occupational stress on suicidality among firefighters. Pending replication, findings suggest that distress tolerance may be a viable target for suicide prevention initiatives within the fire service. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Analysis of Moisture Evaporation from Underwear Designed for Fire-Fighters

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Elena Onofrei

2015-03-01

Full Text Available In this study we analysed the effect of moisture on the thermal protective performance of fire-fighter clothing in case of routine fire-fighting conditions. In the first stage of this research we investigated simultaneous heat and moisture transfer through a single-layer fabric, used as underwear for fire-fighters, at different moisture conditions. In the second stage of the study, the underwear in dry and wet state was tested together with protective clothing systems for fire-fighter consisting of three or four layers. It was found that during the evaporation of the moisture, a temperature plateau appeared during which temperatures hardly rose. The energy consumption used for the phase change of moisture located in the assembly dominated the heat transfer process as long as there was moisture present. As soon as all water had evaporated, the temperatures approached the temperatures measured for dry samples. The moisture within the clothing assembly did not lead to increased temperatures compared with the measurements with dry samples. This research has confirmed that moisture can positively affect the thermal protection of a clothing system.

Most cancer in firefighters is due to radio-frequency radiation exposure not inhaled carcinogens.

Science.gov (United States)

Milham, S

2009-11-01

Recent reviews and reports of cancer incidence and mortality in firefighters conclude that they are at an increased risk of a number of cancers. These include leukemia, multiple myeloma, non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, male breast cancer, malignant melanoma, and cancers of the brain, stomach, colon, rectum, prostate, urinary bladder, testes, and thyroid. Firefighters are exposed to a long list of recognized or probable carcinogens in combustion products and the presumed route of exposure to these carcinogens is by inhalation. Curiously, respiratory system cancers and diseases are usually not increased in firefighters as they are in workers exposed to known inhaled carcinogens. The list of cancers with increased risk in firefighters strongly overlaps the list of cancers at increased risk in workers exposed to electromagnetic fields (EMF) and radiofrequency radiation (RFR). Firefighters have increased exposure to RFR in the course of their work, from the mobile two-way radio communications devices which they routinely use while fighting fires, and at times from firehouse and fire vehicle radio transmitters. I suggest that some of the increased cancer risk in firefighters is caused by RFR exposure, and is therefore preventable. The precautionary principle should be applied to reduce the risk of cancer in firefighters, and workman's compensation rules will necessarily need to be modified.

Firefighter health and fitness assessment: a call to action.

Science.gov (United States)

Storer, Thomas W; Dolezal, Brett A; Abrazado, Marlon L; Smith, Denise L; Batalin, Maxim A; Tseng, Chi-Hong; Cooper, Christopher B

2014-03-01

Sudden cardiac deaths experienced by firefighters in the line of duty account for the largest proportion of deaths annually. Several fire service standards for fitness and wellness have been recommended but currently only 30% of U.S. fire departments are implementing programs for this purpose. The Department of Homeland Security Science and Technology Directorate has initiated the Physiological Health Assessment System for Emergency Responders (PHASER) program aiming to reduce these line-of-duty deaths through an integration of medical science and sensor technologies. Confirming previous reports, PHASER comprehensive risk assessment has identified lack of physical fitness with propensity for overexertion as a major modifiable risk factor. We sought to determine if current levels of fitness and cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk factors in a contemporary cohort of firefighters were better than those reported over the past 30 years. Fifty-one firefighters from a Southern California department were characterized for physical fitness and CVD risk factors using standard measures. Overall, physical fitness and risk factors were not different from previous reports of firefighter fitness and most subjects did not achieve recommended fitness standards. Considering the lack of widespread implementation of wellness/fitness programs in the U.S. fire service together with our findings that low physical fitness and the presence of CVD risk factors persist, we issue a call to action among health and fitness professionals to assist the fire service in implementing programs for firefighters that improve fitness and reduce CVD risk factors. Fitness professionals should be empowered to work with fire departments lending their expertise to guide programs that achieve these objectives, which may then lead to reduced incidence of sudden cardiac death or stroke.

Role of the police in linking individuals experiencing mental health crises with mental health services

Science.gov (United States)

2012-01-01

Background The police are considered frontline professionals in managing individuals experiencing mental health crises. This study examines the extent to which these individuals are disconnected from mental health services, and whether the police response has an influence on re-establishing contact. Methods Police records were searched for calls regarding individuals with acute mental health needs and police handling of these calls. Mental healthcare contact data were retrieved from a Psychiatric Case Register. Results The police were called upon for mental health crisis situations 492 times within the study year, involving 336 individuals (i.e. 1.7 per 1000 inhabitants per year). Half of these individuals (N=162) were disengaged from mental health services, lacking regular care contact in the year prior to the crisis (apart from contact for crisis intervention). In the month following the crisis, 21% of those who were previously disengaged from services had regular care contact, and this was more frequent (49%) if the police had contacted the mental health services during the crisis. The influence of police referral to the services was still present the following year. However, for the majority (58%) of disengaged individuals police did not contact the mental health services at the time of crisis. Conclusions The police deal with a substantial number of individuals experiencing a mental health crisis, half of whom are out of contact with mental health services, and police play an important role in linking these individuals to services. Training police officers to recognise and handle mental health crises, and implementing practical models of cooperation between the police and mental health services in dealing with such crises may further improve police referral of individuals disengaged from mental health services. PMID:23072687

Post-9/11 cancer incidence in World Trade Center-exposed New York City firefighters as compared to a pooled cohort of firefighters from San Francisco, Chicago and Philadelphia (9/11/2001-2009)

Science.gov (United States)

Moir, William; Zeig-Owens, Rachel; Daniels, Robert D; Hall, Charles B; Webber, Mayris P; Jaber, Nadia; Yiin, James H; Schwartz, Theresa; Liu, Xiaoxue; Vossbrinck, Madeline; Kelly, Kerry; Prezant, David J

2016-01-01

Background We previously reported a modest excess of cancer cases in World Trade Center (WTC) exposed firefighters as compared with the general population. This study aimed to separate the potential carcinogenic effects of firefighting and WTC-exposure by using a cohort of non-WTC-exposed firefighters as the referent group. Methods Relative rates (RRs) for all cancers combined and individual cancer subtypes from 9/11/2001-12/31/2009 were modelled using Poisson regression comparing 11,457 WTC-exposed firefighters to 8,220 non-WTC-exposed firefighters from San Francisco, Chicago, and Philadelphia. Results Compared with non-WTC-exposed firefighters, there was no difference in the RR of all cancers combined for WTC-exposed firefighters (RR=0.96, 95% CI: 0.83–1.12). Thyroid cancer was significantly elevated (RR=3.82, 95% CI: 1.07–20.81) over the entire study; this was attenuated (RR=3.43, 95% CI: 0.94–18.94) and non-significant in a secondary analysis controlling for possible surveillance bias. Prostate cancer was elevated during the latter half (1/1/2005-12/31/2009; RR=1.38, 95% CI: 1.01–1.88). Conclusions Further follow-up is needed with this referent population to assess the relationship between WTC-exposure and cancers with longer latency periods. PMID:27582474

[24-hour work: the interaction of stress and changes in the sleep-wake cycle in the police force].

Science.gov (United States)

Garbarino, Sergio

2014-01-01

Disruption in police officers. In recent years there has been a widespread growth in services, available regardless of time or day organization (24/7 service) and a diffuse increase in their use, both in work and private lives, generally ignoring the importance of a regular sleep organization. Police officers - often need to work extended shifts and long hours under highly stressful conditions, which results in reduced levels of safety and operational effectiveness. In numerous studies, perceived stress has been found to correlate with both subjective and objective disturbances in sleep. Consequently, excessive daytime sleepiness is one of the most frequent health and safety hazards that police officers have to deal with. Sleep deprivation affects performance outcomes through a wide range of cognitive domains. Sleepiness and fatigue, caused by sleep loss, extended work and wakefulness, circadian misalignment and sleep disorders are major causes of workplace human errors, incidents, and accidents. Therefore, prevention of sleep loss, high levels of stress and fatigue is a key factor to consider when assessing emergency intervention. In order to combat fatigue and sleepiness, a 30-90 minutes nap before night shift could be a viable option.

Measuring improvement in knowledge of drug policy reforms following a police education program in Tijuana, Mexico.

Science.gov (United States)

Arredondo, J; Strathdee, S A; Cepeda, J; Abramovitz, D; Artamonova, I; Clairgue, E; Bustamante, E; Mittal, M L; Rocha, T; Bañuelos, A; Olivarria, H O; Morales, M; Rangel, G; Magis, C; Beletsky, L

2017-11-08

Mexico's 2009 "narcomenudeo reform" decriminalized small amounts of drugs, shifting some drug law enforcement to the states and mandating drug treatment diversion instead of incarceration. Data from Tijuana suggested limited implementation of this harm reduction-oriented policy. We studied whether a police education program (PEP) improved officers' drug and syringe policy knowledge, and aimed to identify participant characteristics associated with improvement of drug policy knowledge. Pre- and post-training surveys were self-administered by municipal police officers to measure legal knowledge. Training impact was assessed through matched paired nominal data using McNemar's tests. Multivariable logistic regression was used to identify predictors of improved legal knowledge, as measured by officers' ability to identify conceptual legal provisions related to syringe possession and thresholds of drugs covered under the reform. Of 1750 respondents comparing pre- versus post training, officers reported significant improvement (p < 0.001) in their technical understanding of syringe possession (56 to 91%) and drug amounts decriminalized, including marijuana (9 to 52%), heroin (8 to 71%), and methamphetamine (7 to 70%). The training was associated with even greater success in improving conceptual legal knowledge for syringe possession (67 to 96%) (p < 0.001), marijuana (16 to 91%), heroin (11 to 91%), and methamphetamine (11 to 89%). In multivariable modeling, those with at least a high school education were more likely to exhibit improvement of conceptual legal knowledge of syringe possession (adjusted odds ratio [aOR] 2.6, 95% CI 1.4-3.2) and decriminalization for heroin (aOR 2.7, 95% CI 1.3-4.3), methamphetamine (aOR 2.2, 95% CI 1.4-3.2), and marijuana (aOR 2.5, 95% CI 1.6-4). Drug policy reform is often necessary, but not sufficient to achieve public health goals because of gaps in translating formal laws to policing practice. To close such gaps, PEP initiatives

The Uses and Impacts of Mobile Computing Technology in Hot Spots Policing.

Science.gov (United States)

Koper, Christopher S; Lum, Cynthia; Hibdon, Julie

2015-12-01

Recent technological advances have much potential for improving police performance, but there has been little research testing whether they have made police more effective in reducing crime. To study the uses and crime control impacts of mobile computing technology in the context of geographically focused "hot spots" patrols. An experiment was conducted using 18 crime hot spots in a suburban jurisdiction. Nine of these locations were randomly selected to receive additional patrols over 11 weeks. Researchers studied officers' use of mobile information technology (IT) during the patrols using activity logs and interviews. Nonrandomized subgroup and multivariate analyses were employed to determine if and how the effects of the patrols varied based on these patterns. Officers used mobile computing technology primarily for surveillance and enforcement (e.g., checking automobile license plates and running checks on people during traffic stops and field interviews), and they noted both advantages and disadvantages to its use. Officers did not often use technology for strategic problem-solving and crime prevention. Given sufficient (but modest) dosages, the extra patrols reduced crime at the hot spots, but this effect was smaller in places where officers made greater use of technology. Basic applications of mobile computing may have little if any direct, measurable impact on officers' ability to reduce crime in the field. Greater training and emphasis on strategic uses of IT for problem-solving and crime prevention, and greater attention to its behavioral effects on officers, might enhance its application for crime reduction. © The Author(s) 2016.

The Influence of Exposure to Natural Disasters on Depression and PTSD Symptoms among Firefighters.

Science.gov (United States)

Pennington, Michelle L; Carpenter, Thomas P; Synett, Samantha J; Torres, Victoria A; Teague, Jennifer; Morissette, Sandra B; Knight, Jeffrey; Kamholz, Barbara W; Keane, Terence M; Zimering, Rose T; Gulliver, Suzy B

2018-02-01

Introduction Firefighters represent an important population for understanding the consequences of exposure to potentially traumatic stressors. Hypothesis/Problem The researchers were interested in the effects of pre-employment disaster exposure on firefighter recruits' depression and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms during the first three years of fire service and hypothesized that: (1) disaster-exposed firefighters would have greater depression and PTSD symptoms than non-exposed overall; and (2) depression and PTSD symptoms would worsen over years in fire service in exposed firefighters, but not in their unexposed counterparts. In a baseline interview, 35 male firefighter recruits from seven US cities reported lifetime exposure to natural disaster. These disaster-exposed male firefighter recruits were matched on age, city, and education with non-exposed recruits. A generalized linear mixed model revealed a significant exposure×time interaction (e coef =1.04; Pdisaster exposure only. This pattern persisted after controlling for social support from colleagues (e coefficient=1.05; Pdisaster exposure only, even after controlling for social support. Posttraumatic stress disorder symptoms did not vary between exposure groups. Pennington ML , Carpenter TP , Synett SJ , Torres VA , Teague J , Morissette SB , Knight J , Kamholz BW , Keane TM , Zimering RT , Gulliver SB . The influence of exposure to natural disasters on depression and PTSD symptoms among firefighters. Prehosp Disaster Med. 2018;33(1):102-108.

Estimation of Forest Fire-fighting Budgets Using Climate Indexes

OpenAIRE

Zhen Xu; G. Cornelis van Kooten

2012-01-01

Given the complexity and relative short length of current predicting system for fire behavior, it is inappropriate to be referred for planning fire-fighting budgets of BC government due to the severe uncertainty of fire behavior across fire seasons. Therefore, a simple weather derived index for predicting fire frequency and burned area is developed in this paper to investigate the potential feasibility to predict fire behavior and fire-fighting expenses for the upcoming fire season using clim...

If You Want to Convict a Domestic Violence Batterer, List Multiple Charges in the Police Report

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Eric L. Nelson

2014-01-01

Full Text Available Problem: Even though reforms in the past 40 years mandated police response to domestic violence (DV crime, and in many states also mandated arrest, never-the-less baseline rates of DV prosecution remain low. Background: The nature of prosecution is reviewed, noting that nearly all criminal cases are resolved through plea bargaining in state and federal cases. Thus, the nature of plea bargaining is examined from a perspective of negotiable currency. Past research demonstrates that if multiple crimes are described and listed in the first responding police officer’s written report, there is a substantially greater odds that the suspect will be prosecuted and found guilty. Those extra charges can be dropped by prosecutors in exchange for a plea of guilt. Purpose: This empirical study examines a discretionary best practices crime investigation method that can be operationalized by first responding police officers, in situ, to determine whether its use leads to a significant increase in rates of prosecution and criminal conviction for DV crime. The methodology is the choice to thoroughly investigate each DV crime to uncover concurrent and also past-but-still-chargeable crimes. This optional work is time-consuming because children, neighbors, the 911 caller, and others must be contacted and interviewed. Method: Randomly selected police reports (n = 366 were found to contain 22 combinations of crime codes listed as violations, for DV and other concurrent crimes. The reports were evaluated on a number of prosecutorial outcomes. Frequency statistics were calculated, and logistic regression was used to confirm key relationships. Results: Only one third of all submitted reports listed more than one crime. For those investigations that did lead to prosecution, 97% resolved through plea bargaining. Most single charge misdemeanor DV police reports were found to be “dead upon arrival” at the prosecutor’s office, with only 29% resulting in any type of

Psychological stress during exercise: lymphocyte subset redistribution in firefighters.

Science.gov (United States)

Huang, Chun-Jung; Webb, Heather E; Garten, Ryan S; Kamimori, Gary H; Acevedo, Edmund O

2010-10-05

The purpose of this study examined the changes in heart rate (HR), catecholamines (NE, EPI) and percentages of blood lymphocyte subsets (CD3+ T cells, CD3+CD4+ helper T cells, CD3+CD8+ cytotoxic T cells, CD3- CD56+ NK cells, CD4/CD8 ratio, CD19+ B cells, and total lymphocytes [NK cells+T cells+B cells]) in firefighters exposed to a computerized firefighting strategies and tactics decision-making challenge while participating in moderate intensity exercise. Furthermore, this study also examined the possible relationships between catecholamines (NE and EPI) and blood lymphocyte subsets following combined mental and physical challenge. Ten professional male firefighters participated in two counterbalanced exercise conditions on a cycle ergometer: (1) 37min of cycle ergometry at 60% VO(2max) (exercise alone condition; EAC) and (2) 37min of cycle ergometry at 60% VO(2max) along with 20min of a computerized firefighting strategies and tactics decision-making challenge (firefighting strategies condition; FSC). FSC elicited significantly greater HR, NE, and EPI when compared to EAC. Both EAC and FSC elicited increases in CD3- CD56+ NK cells. The percentages of CD3+ T cells, CD3+CD4+ helper T cells, CD4/CD8 ratio, CD19+ B cells, and total lymphocytes were lower immediately following both conditions. Following dual challenge NE AUC was negatively correlated with percentage of CD19+ B cells immediately post challenge, and HR was negatively associated with the percent change in the CD4/CD8 ratio from pre to post challenge. These elevations in NE and heart rate simultaneously in response to the dual challenge suggest greater sympathetic activation that in turn would possibly explain the alteration in the distribution of lymphocyte subsets. Published by Elsevier Inc.

Self-reported cardiac risks and interest in risk modification among volunteer firefighters: a survey-based study.

Science.gov (United States)

Scanlon, Patrick; Ablah, Elizabeth

2008-12-01

Coronary heart disease causes approximately 45% of firefighter deaths annually. Although firefighters have clinically significant cardiac risks, a paucity of research and data exists. To evaluate firefighters' cardiac risk factors as well as their motivation to resolve these risk factors. During a 3-month period, volunteer firefighters representing the 79 fire departments serving Nassau and Suffolk counties in Long Island, NY, were asked to complete a nonvalidated, 19-item questionnaire regarding their health habits, medical history, and demographics. A total of 730 surveys were returned among a potential study population of 20,590 volunteer firefighters. More than three-quarters of respondents met the criteria for being overweight or obese, and nearly 40% reported having high blood pressure, high cholesterol, or both. Most respondents expressed at least some interest in attending a fire department-sponsored health lecture and participating in a fitness program. Firefighters expressed desire to learn more about risk factor modifications and have fire departments take a more active role in helping firefighters improve their health. The effectiveness of resources and intervention programs should be assessed.

When police act as pimps: glimpses into child prostitution in India.

Science.gov (United States)

Debabrata, R

1998-01-01

A random sample of 28 out of 86 brothels along the G. B. Road in India revealed that almost 60% of the prostitutes were children. The law does not punish prostitutes who are older than 18 and do not solicit business publicly, but it does punish running a brothel, living on the earnings of prostitutes, procuring or inducing people to become prostitutes, and soliciting in public places. The law, which is mostly used to harass prostitutes, invokes penalties of imprisonment for procuring or trafficking and for forcible detention for the purpose of prostitution while creating a special police force to stop trafficking, special courts to deal with cases, and protective homes for "rescued" girls. The law fails to punish clients or make provisions for the rehabilitation of rescued women. Offenses rarely end in convictions. In fact, police officers extort money from traffickers, prostitutes, and madams and abet the system of prostitution through a scheme of false registration of the girls that creates the fiction that they are not minors and creates a debt paid by the madams that places the girls in virtual bondage. There is a set rate for police bribes, depending upon the size of the brothel. Police also are clients themselves and/or extort money from clients. When arrests are made (to make police records look good), police deliberately target adult prostitutes instead of the minors because it is harder to get the minors released back into prostitution. The police are reluctant to release records about prostitution and are complicit when madams present false affirmations that they are relatives of minor girls to get them released from juvenile remand homes. The girls are recruited from impoverished families in the countryside who are paid for giving their daughters in false marriages.

Occupational Exposure to Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbon of Wildland Firefighters at Prescribed and Wildland Fires.

Science.gov (United States)

Navarro, Kathleen M; Cisneros, Ricardo; Noth, Elizabeth M; Balmes, John R; Hammond, S Katharine

2017-06-06

Wildland firefighters suppressing wildland fires or conducting prescribed fires work long shifts during which they are exposed to high levels of wood smoke with no respiratory protection. Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) are hazardous air pollutants formed during incomplete combustion. Exposure to PAHs was measured for 21 wildland firefighters suppressing two wildland fires and 4 wildland firefighters conducting prescribed burns in California. Personal air samples were actively collected using XAD4-coated quartz fiber filters and XAD2 sorbent tubes. Samples were analyzed for 17 individual PAHs through extraction with dichloromethane and gas chromatograph-mass spectrometer analysis. Naphthalene, retene, and phenanthrene were consistently the highest measured PAHs. PAH concentrations were higher at wildland fires compared to prescribed fires and were highest for firefighters during job tasks that involve the most direct contact with smoke near an actively burning wildland fire. Although concentrations did not exceed current occupational exposure limits, wildland firefighters are exposed to PAHs not only on the fire line at wildland fires, but also while working prescribed burns and while off-duty. Characterization of occupational exposures from wildland firefighting is important to understand better any potential long-term health effects.

The effect of terrain slope on firefighter safety zone effectiveness

Science.gov (United States)

Bret Butler; J. Forthofer; K. Shannon; D. Jimenez; D. Frankman

2010-01-01

The current safety zone guidelines used in the US were developed based on the assumption that the fire and safety zone were located on flat terrain. The minimum safe distance for a firefighter to be from a flame was calculated as that corresponding to a radiant incident energy flux level of 7.0kW-m-2. Current firefighter safety guidelines are based on the assumption...

Lung function changes in wildland firefighters working at prescribed burns.

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Adetona, Olorunfemi; Hall, Daniel, B.; Naeher, L,P.

2011-10-01

Although decline in lung function across workshift has been observed in wildland firefighters, measurements have been restricted to days when they worked at fires. Consequently, such results could have been confounded by normal circadian variation associated with lung function. We investigated the across-shift changes in lung function of wildland firefighters, and the effect of cumulative exposure on lung function during the burn season.

Physiological responses to simulated stair climbing in professional firefighters wearing rubber and leather boots.

Science.gov (United States)

Huang, Chun-Jung; Garten, Ryan S; Wade, Chip; Webb, Heather E; Acevedo, Edmund O

2009-09-01

No studies have considered whether a firefighter's boots are a factor influencing physiological responses. The purpose of this study was to examine physiological responses to a fire simulation activity (stair climb) in professional firefighters wearing rubber boots (RB) and leather boots (LB). Twelve professional firefighters participated in two counterbalanced simulated firefighter stair climb (SFSC) sessions, one wearing RB and the other wearing LB. Heart rate, oxygen uptake (VO(2)), expiratory ventilation (V(E)), blood lactate (BLa), salivary cortisol (SCORT), and leg strength were assessed prior to and following a SFSC. LB elicited significantly greater SCORT values and knee flexion time to peak torque. Furthermore, RB revealed significantly greater ankle dorsiflexion peak torque after SFSC. BLa was positively related to knee flexion peak torque after SFSC in the RB. Firefighters when wearing the RB may be more effective at resisting fatigue and increase more force production.

Protesting police

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Mutsaers, Paul; van Nuenen, Tom; Karpiak, Kevin; Garriott, William

2018-01-01

We offer an anthropological response to criminologists’ call for a penal theory of police, with a specific focus on the public condonation of police punishment. We support such a penal theory but criticize the criminologist’s explanation of the relative quiescence of “the public” in the face of

The indonesia’s Police Reform Police in the Reform Era New Institutionalism Perspective

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ACHMAD NURMAND

2016-05-01

Full Text Available Since the reformation and democratization movement in 1998, Indonesians have faced a chronic corruption problem. At the beginning of reformation era in 1998 to fight against corruption, the Indonesian government reforms the organization structure of the Indonesia Police to be an independent body separated from the Military organization. The police reforms begun in 1999 and got legal foundation with Act No. 2/2002. However, since fourteen years, the level of police reform has not yet succeed because of low community satisfaction on police service and the intense conflicts always occur whenever ACA investigates the case of corruptions conducted by police leaders. Three conflicts between police institution and ACA have taken placed. By using institutionalism approach, this research focus on the reform in police themselves are major actors on how reforms are organized and managed. This study is interpretative in nature gained only through social constructions such as language, consciousness, shared meanings, documents, tools, and other artefacts’. This finding revealed that this unsuccessful institutionalization process took place in a context of the main task of police for communicty service. Second, the study has demonstrated that three concepts from institutional theory as aforementioned provided vocabularies and insights to explain the phenomenon under study.

Murderers' and sexual offenders' experiences of police interviews and their inclination to admit or deny crimes.

Science.gov (United States)

Holmberg, Ulf; Christianson, Sven-Ake

2002-01-01

This research concerns murderers' and sexual offenders' experiences of Swedish police interviews and their attitudes towards allegations of these serious crimes. The explorative study is based on a questionnaire answered by 83 men convicted of murder or sexual offences. Results show that when police officers interview murderers and sexual offenders, the individuals perceive attitudes that are characterized by either dominance or humanity. Logistic regression shows that police interviews marked by dominance are mainly associated with a higher proportion of denials, whereas an approach marked by humanity is associated with admissions. When suspects feel that they are respected and acknowledged, they probably gain more confidence and mental space, allowing them to admit criminal behaviour. Copyright 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Preventing Firefighter Exposure Hazards

Science.gov (United States)

2017-09-01

exposed to whenever they remove their self- contained breathing equipment at the scene of a fire. If the high percentage of synthetic materials used...from their self- contained portable breathing apparatus.56 In February 1991, three firefighters died at the Meridian high -rise fire in Philadelphia... AVAILABILITY STATEMENT Approved for public release. Distribution is unlimited. 12b. DISTRIBUTION CODE 13. ABSTRACT (maximum 200words) This thesis

Risk perception of different emergencies in a sample of European firefighters.

Science.gov (United States)

Prati, Gabriele; Pietrantoni, Luca; Saccinto, Elisa; Kehl, Doris; Knuth, Daniela; Schmidt, Silke

2013-01-01

Firefighters frequently incur injuries while providing emergency services. Risk perception has been found to be associated with injury and safety behavior. This study examined risk perception of different emergency situations among firefighters. Along with risk perceptions, we investigated the role of practical experience, perceived training, tenure, and acute stress related to different emergency situations. Participants were a sample of 1324 firefighters from Germany and Italy. A questionnaire was administered to participants on risk perceptions, practical experience, perceived training, tenure, and acute stress. The results showed that different levels of risk perception are related to different practical experience, acute stress reactions, and training. Higher risk perception was associated with higher perceived training, practical experience, and acute stress reactions. A significant difference was found between the German and the Italian sample in risk perceptions. More specifically the Italian sample perceived disasters (e.g., earthquakes) as more risky. Moreover, there were some differences in perceived training and practical experience about the different emergency situations, in the two samples. The results underline the importance of considering organizational factors in the prediction of risk perception among firefighters.

ORIENTEERING SITUATION TESTS IN THE FUNCTION OF PREDICTING SUCCESS OF POLICE OFFICERS IN TOPOGRAPHY FIELD TRAINING

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Boban Milojković

2006-06-01

Full Text Available The sample of 45 students (15 students of the I year of Police Academy – the members of orienteering section – Group 1, 15 students of the I year of Police Academy – Group 2 and 15 students of Advanced School of Interior Affairs – Group 3 has been chosen to test the degree of success in topography field training through several stages, and orienteering situation tests were used in one of these stages. The research was carried out following the completed theoretical and practical training in topography by the same teacher but according to various models. During the research, three batteries of tests were used, the tests of capability of fast and accurate reading of topographic maps in the form of perforated sections (T-1, T-2 and T-3. With regard to measuring success in solving orienteering situation tests of three tested groups based on which the educational efficiency of police members in topography field training should have been evaluated, the obtained results have shown that at a general level there were statistically important differences of total variance of the observed set of variables of tested groups at the level p = 0.000 (Willks Lambda, 0.056, F = 225.598. The results have shown that there were statistically important differences between the success in test solving with reference to groups at the level p = 0.002 and p = 0.000, respectively. Thedifferences between groups in the function of an individual test were as follows: T-1, there was a cross difference between all three groups; T-2, there was no difference between the first and second groups, but the third group differed in relation to the first and second ones; T-3, there was a cross difference between all three groups. The results of tested population by means of the stated instruments describe the level of competency of police members in topography respectively in order to individualize training, but primarily prove statistically considerable difference of the level

Prevalence rate of post-traumatic stress disorders (PTSD and other psychological disorders among Saudi firefighters

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Mohammed Alghamd

2013-08-01

Full Text Available Background: Firefighters have a high probability of being exposed to a variety of traumatic events. Potentially traumatic events can occur during a single rescue such as: providing aid to seriously injured or helpless victims. Moreover, firefighters who are injured in the line of duty may have to retire as a consequence of their injury. The psychological cost of this exposure may increase the risk of long-term problems, such as post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD symptoms, depression, and anxiety. Objective: The purpose of this study was to investigate the prevalence of PTSD symptoms, depression, anxiety, and assess related variables such as coping strategies and social support among Saudi firefighters. Method: Two hundred firefighters completed the Fire-fighter Trauma History Screen (FTHS to measure the number of traumatic events, Screen for Post-traumatic Stress Symptoms (SPTSS scale to assess the prevalence of PTSD symptoms, Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scales (HADS to assess depression and anxiety, Brief Cope (BC scale to measure coping strategies used, and Social Support scale was used to evaluate the firefighter's support received. Results: The results showed that 84% (169/200 of firefighters were exposed to at least one traumatic event. The result presented that 57% (96/169 of exposure firefighters fully met the DSM-IV criteria for PTSD with high levels of depression and anxiety; 39% (66/169 partially met the PTSD criteria. However, only 4% participants have not met the PTSD criteria. The results also revealed that adaptive coping strategies and higher perceived social support was associated with lower levels of PTSD. Conclusion: The high prevalence rate of PTSD related to the type and severity of the traumatic events and years of experience in the job. Accordingly, many firefighters were severely affected by their experiences, and we should be developing methods to help them.

Determining barriers to creating an enabling environment in Cambodia: results from a baseline study with key populations and police.

Science.gov (United States)

Schneiders, Mira L; Weissman, Amy

2016-01-01

Cambodian law enforcement's limited acceptance of harm reduction has hindered HIV program effectiveness. With funding from the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, FHI 360 supported the Ministry of Interior to implement the Police Community Partnership Initiative (PCPI) in Cambodia's capital Phnom Penh. To guide this, FHI 360 conducted a baseline study examining police and key populations' attitudes and practices towards one another, including fear and occurrence of arrest. Between December 2012 and January 2013, a cross-sectional survey of 199 police post officers, 199 people who use drugs (PWUD) including people who inject drugs (PWID), 199 men who have sex with men (MSM), 200 transgender women (TGW) and 200 female entertainment workers (FEW) was conducted in five Phnom Penh districts. Eligible participants were ≥18 years, members of a key population from selected hotspots or police officers, deputy chiefs or chiefs. Key populations' median age was 25 years (IQR: 22-30); 40% had completed only primary school. Police were male (99.5%), with median age 43 years (IQR: 30 to 47), and 45 and 25% high school and university completion rates, respectively. Key populations feared arrest for carrying needles and syringes (67%), condoms (23%) and 19% felt afraid to access health services. Close to 75% of police reported body searching and 58% arresting key populations in the past six months for using drugs (64%), selling or distributing drugs (36%) or being violent (13%). Self-reported arrests (23% PWUD, 6% MSM, 6% TGW, 12% FEW; ppolice believed arrest was an appropriate solution to reduce HIV and drug use and reported selling sex (88%) and carrying needles and syringes (55%) as valid reasons for arrest. Key populations' fear of accessing harm reduction and health services and police's negative attitudes and practices towards key populations present major barriers to HIV prevention efforts in Cambodia. To create an enabling environment and ensure police are

Estimates of LLEA officer availability

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Berkbigler, K.P.

1978-05-01

One element in the Physical Protection of Nuclear Material in Transit Program is a determination of the number of local law enforcement agency (LLEA) officers available to respond to an attack upon a special nuclear material (SNM) carrying convoy. A computer model, COPS, has been developed at Sandia Laboratories to address this problem. Its purposes are to help identify to the SNM shipper areas along a route which may have relatively low police coverage and to aid in the comparison of alternate routes to the same location. Data bases used in COPS include population data from the Bureau of Census and police data published by the FBI. Police are assumed to be distributed in proportion to the population, with adjustable weighting factors. Example results illustrating the model's capabilities are presented for two routes between Los Angeles, CA, and Denver, CO, and for two routes between Columbia, SC, and Syracuse, NY. The estimated police distribution at points along the route is presented. Police availability as a function of time is modeled based on the time-dependent characteristics of a trip. An example demonstrating the effects of jurisdictional restrictions on the size of the response force is given. Alternate routes between two locations are compared by means of cumulative plots

Assessment of serum PCDD, RCDF and PCB levels in firefighters exposed to combustion products during the 1992 ''Irkutskcable'' factory fire in the city of Shelekhov, Russia

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Chernyak, Y.; Merinova, A. [Inst. of Occupational Health and Human Ecology of the Siberian Branch of Academy of Medical Sciences, Angarsk (Russian Federation); Grassman, J. [Brooklyn Coll.-CUNY, Health and Nutrition Sciences, Brooklyn, NY (United States); Brodsky, E.; Shelepchikov, A.; Mir-Kadyrova, E.; Feshin, D.; Zhilnikov, V. [Severtsov Inst. of Ecology and Evolution of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow (Russian Federation)

2004-09-15

In December 1992, a fire broke out in a warehouse of the ''Irkutskcable'' factory in the city of Shelekhov, Russia. Over the next three days, the fire destroyed four additional factory warehouses. The building in which the factory was located was sufficiently large, twelve-meters high, to permit the entry of firefighters and their trucks during the fire. The total area affected by the fire was 16280 m{sup 2}. The rest of the approximately 60000 m{sup 2} building was not damaged. Temperatures exceeding 600 C deformed the roof causing it to collapse with the resultant ignition of the technical and raw materials kept in the shops and storerooms. Combustion products were drawn into the air systems of the shops and immediate environment. The height of the air emissions during the first hours of the fire reached 100 m. The ignition of 250 tons of cable oil made it impossible for the firefighters to use their closed circuit respirators because of the danger of explosion. Only the firefighters of one division were provided with compressed air equipment, and they worked in the most difficult areas. According to existing records, 522 firefighters and 12 individuals from the factory fire department participated in the fire liquidation. Moreover, 230 teaching officers and students from Irkutsk Firefighters School were involved. The fire destroyed about 1000 tons of various raw materials, mainly polyvinylchloride and polyethylene. The firefighters had varying degrees of involvement with the liquidation of the fire, during which they were exposed to a complex mixture of toxic compounds that contained dioxins. An estimated, 22 to 57 g of dioxins (in I-TEQ{sub DF}) were formed during the fire. Previously, we described the health disorders of this cohort of firefighters in detail. Dioxin toxicity due to the short but intense respiratory exposure could be responsible for the observed health effects. Following is a report of new data examining dioxin levels in 15

EFFICIENCY OF FIRE-FIGHTING PROTECTION OBJECTS IN PROVISION OF FIRE SAFETY AT INDUSTRIAL ENTERPRISES

OpenAIRE

A. V. Zhovna

2008-01-01

The paper gives an analysis of economic results pertaining to organization of a system for fire-fighting protection of industrial enterprises in theRepublicofBelarus. Statistical data on operational conditions of technical means of fire-fighting protection, particularly, automatic systems for detection and extinguishing of fires, systems of internal fire-fighting water-supply.  Requirements and provisions  of normative and technical documents are thoroughly studied. Observance of these docume...

Association Between Leisure Time Physical Activity, Cardiopulmonary Fitness, Cardiovascular Risk Factors, and Cardiovascular Workload at Work in Firefighters.

Science.gov (United States)

Yu, Clare C W; Au, Chun T; Lee, Frank Y F; So, Raymond C H; Wong, John P S; Mak, Gary Y K; Chien, Eric P; McManus, Alison M

2015-09-01

Overweight, obesity, and cardiovascular disease risk factors are prevalent among firefighters in some developed countries. It is unclear whether physical activity and cardiopulmonary fitness reduce cardiovascular disease risk and the cardiovascular workload at work in firefighters. The present study investigated the relationship between leisure-time physical activity, cardiopulmonary fitness, cardiovascular disease risk factors, and cardiovascular workload at work in firefighters in Hong Kong. Male firefighters (n = 387) were randomly selected from serving firefighters in Hong Kong (n = 5,370) for the assessment of cardiovascular disease risk factors (obesity, hypertension, diabetes mellitus, dyslipidemia, smoking, known cardiovascular diseases). One-third (Target Group) were randomly selected for the assessment of off-duty leisure-time physical activity using the short version of the International Physical Activity Questionnaire. Maximal oxygen uptake was assessed, as well as cardiovascular workload using heart rate monitoring for each firefighter for four "normal" 24-hour working shifts and during real-situation simulated scenarios. Overall, 33.9% of the firefighters had at least two cardiovascular disease risk factors. In the Target Group, firefighters who had higher leisure-time physical activity had a lower resting heart rate and a lower average working heart rate, and spent a smaller proportion of time working at a moderate-intensity cardiovascular workload. Firefighters who had moderate aerobic fitness and high leisure-time physical activity had a lower peak working heart rate during the mountain rescue scenario compared with firefighters who had low leisure-time physical activities. Leisure-time physical activity conferred significant benefits during job tasks of moderate cardiovascular workload in firefighters in Hong Kong.

Social cognition disorders in military police officers affected by posttraumatic stress disorder after the attack of An-Nasiriyah in Iraq 2006.

Science.gov (United States)

Mazza, Monica; Giusti, Laura; Albanese, Anna; Mariano, Melania; Pino, Maria Chiara; Roncone, Rita

2012-07-30

Emotional numbness in individuals affected by posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) may be a result of the depletion of emotional capacities. The ability to process emotions in a social context is a part of social cognition, which is still an under-explored topic in PTSD. The present study investigated deficits in social cognition, such as emotion recognition and theory of mind, and their relationship to emotional numbing in 35 military police officers who were in Iraq in April 2006 during a terrorist attack in An-Nasiriyah. Our results indicated that individuals suffering from PTSD showed deficits in social cognition when compared with healthy subjects. These disorders seemed to involve emotional numbing rather than clinical symptoms such as anxiety and depression. Future research directions are suggested to improve the measurement of emotional functioning in PTSD. Copyright © 2011. Published by Elsevier Ireland Ltd.

EFFICIENCY OF FIRE-FIGHTING PROTECTION OBJECTS IN PROVISION OF FIRE SAFETY AT INDUSTRIAL ENTERPRISES

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

A. V. Zhovna

2008-01-01

Full Text Available The paper gives an analysis of economic results pertaining to organization of a system for fire-fighting protection of industrial enterprises in theRepublicofBelarus. Statistical data on operational conditions of technical means of fire-fighting protection, particularly, automatic systems for detection and extinguishing of fires, systems of internal fire-fighting water-supply.  Requirements and provisions  of normative and technical documents are thoroughly studied. Observance of these documents is to ensure the required level of  fire safety. On the basis of the obtained results concerning  economic analysis of efficiency optimization directions are defined for selection of technical means of fire-fighting protection at objects of industrial purpose.

Analysis of the method quality function deployment "qfd" in preventive services police

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Lauro Soares de Freitas

2015-02-01

Full Text Available Despite of the significant contribution of QFD for the construction of the theoretical framework for managing the development of new products and services, there is an embryonic implementation in the public sector. The purpose of this article is to analyze the application of the method in the context of public safety, and the study was delimited to the School Patrol in the Military Police of Minas Gerais. Action research was the research strategy chosen and qualitative and quantitative methods were used to collect and analyze data. The QFD method proved to be effective for: systematize a large set of internal and external corporate information, facilitating the subsequent planning of policing; promote a dynamic oriented and structured in encounters between police and the community; identify the needs of public school and prioritize activities policing which better fulfill these desires; and to understand the ability of service of a School Patrol Unit. Moreover, the police service has a unique set of characteristics that partially hindered planning service by QFD. This service does not have a specific market niche, being a service of law and not by purchase. Also relies on legal aspects and regulates behaviors, generating rejection. Although this particular nature, two factors favored the application of the method: the institutionalization of the philosophy of community policing in the organization and to familiarizing officers with management concepts and quality. The final conclusion is that the QFD method was presented as a promising tool for improving the quality of Brazilian public services.

Associations of long-term shift work with waking salivary cortisol concentration and patterns among police officers.

Science.gov (United States)

Fekedulegn, Desta; Burchfiel, Cecil M; Violanti, John M; Hartley, Tara A; Charles, Luenda E; Andrew, Michael E; Miller, Diane B

2012-01-01

The objective of this study was to evaluate whether long-term shift work is associated with both the total hormonal secretion after awakening and the pattern of the cortisol levels during the first hour following awakening, among 65 randomly selected police officers who represent a high stress occupation. Dominant shift (Day, Afternoon, or Midnight) was ascertained using daily payroll records of each participant's work activities during the 6-8 yrs prior to saliva sampling. Four salivary samples were collected at 15 min intervals upon first awakening. After accounting for potential confounders, salivary cortisol concentrations averaged across all four time points and total area under the curve differed significantly across shift with midnight shift workers showing suppressed awakening cortisol response relative to the afternoon and day shift. The percent of hours worked on midnight shift was inversely correlated with total awakening cortisol output. In contrast, the pattern of cortisol secretion during the first hour following waking appeared not to be affected as no significant interaction effect was found between time since awakening and shift work. The results show that long-term midnight shift work is associated with decreased absolute mean level and total volume of cortisol released over the waking period.

Work-related stress as a cardiovascular risk factor in police officers: a systematic review of evidence.

Science.gov (United States)

Magnavita, N; Capitanelli, I; Garbarino, S; Pira, E

2018-05-01

Several studies suggest that work-related stress in police officers may be associated with an increased risk of cardiovascular diseases. A systematic review of studies is, however, still lacking. According to PRISMA statement, a systematic search of PubMed, ISI Web of Science, Cinahl and PsychInfo electronic databases was undertaken. Studies published in English between 1/1/2000 and 31/12/2016 were included. A studies quality assessment was performed using the Newcastle Ottawa scale (NOS). The preliminary search retrieved 752 records. After selection, 16 studies (total population 17,698) were retrieved. The average quality of studies was low. Exposure to stress in cross-sectional studies was inconstantly associated with hypertension, obesity, dyslipidaemia, and impaired glucose metabolism. In addition, there was a prevalence of positive studies showing an association between stress and cardiovascular disease morbidity. Studies of higher quality, such as longitudinal studies on large sample size, were more supportive of a significant positive association between stress and cardiovascular risk factors. Results were, however, often conflicting and inconsistent with regard to definitions and measurement of stress, features of individual study design, study conduct, and conclusions drawn. A sound precautionary principle would be to adopt worksite health promotion programs designed to implement stress management strategies in this category of workers.

Associations of Long-term Shift Work with Waking Salivary Cortisol Concentration and Patterns among Police Officers

Science.gov (United States)

FEKEDULEGN, Desta; BURCHFIEL, Cecil M.; VIOLANTI, John M.; HARTLEY, Tara A.; CHARLES, Luenda E.; ANDREW, Michael E.; MILLER, Diane B.

2015-01-01

The objective of this study was to evaluate whether long-term shift work is associated with both the total hormonal secretion after awakening and the pattern of the cortisol levels during the first hour following awakening, among 65 randomly selected police officers who represent a high stress occupation. Dominant shift (Day, Afternoon, or Midnight) was ascertained using daily payroll records of each participant’s work activities during the 6–8 yrs prior to saliva sampling. Four salivary samples were collected at 15 min intervals upon first awakening. After accounting for potential confounders, salivary cortisol concentrations averaged across all four time points and total area under the curve differed significantly across shift with midnight shift workers showing suppressed awakening cortisol response relative to the afternoon and day shift. The percent of hours worked on midnight shift was inversely correlated with total awakening cortisol output. In contrast, the pattern of cortisol secretion during the first hour following waking appeared not to be affected as no significant interaction effect was found between time since awakening and shift work. The results show that long-term midnight shift work is associated with decreased absolute mean level and total volume of cortisol released over the waking period. PMID:23047078

33 CFR 155.4035 - Required pre-incident information and arrangements for the salvage and marine firefighting...

Science.gov (United States)

2010-07-01

... and arrangements for the salvage and marine firefighting resource providers listed in response plans... marine firefighting resource providers listed in response plans. (a) You must provide the information listed in §§ 155.1035(c) and 155.1040(c) to your salvage and marine firefighting resource providers. (b...

Firefighter burn injuries: predictable patterns influenced by turnout gear.

Science.gov (United States)

Kahn, Steven A; Patel, Jignesh H; Lentz, Christopher W; Bell, Derek E

2012-01-01

Approximately 100 firefighters suffer fatal injuries annually and tens of thousands receive nonfatal injuries. Many of these injuries require medical attention and restricted activity but may be preventable. This study was designed to elucidate etiology, circumstances, and patterns of firefighter burn injury so that further prevention strategies can be designed. In particular, modification of protective equipment, or turnout gear, is one potential strategy to prevent burn injury. An Institutional Review Board-approved retrospective review was conducted with records of firefighters treated for burn injury from 2005 to 2009. Data collected included age, gender, TBSA, burn depth, anatomic location, total hospital days per patient, etiology, and circumstances of injury. Circumstances of injury were stratified into the following categories: removal/dislodging of equipment, failure of equipment to protect, training errors, and when excessive external temperatures caused patient sweat to boil under the gear. Over the 4-year period, 20 firefighters were treated for burn injury. Mean age was 38.9 ± 8.9 years and 19 of 20 patients were male. Mean burn size was 1.1 ± 2.7% TBSA. Eighteen patients suffered second-degree burns, while two patients suffered first-degree burns. Mean length of hospitalization was 2.45 days. Scald burns were responsible for injury to 13 firefighters (65%). Flame burns caused injury to four patients (20%). Only three patients received contact burns (15%). The face was the site most commonly burned, representing 29% of injuries. The hand/wrist and ears were the next largest groups, with 23 and 16% of the injuries, respectively. Other areas burned included the neck (10%), arm (6.5%), leg (6.5%), knees (3%), shoulders (3%), and head (3%). Finally, the circumstance of injury was evaluated for each patient. Misuse and noncontiguous areas of protective equipment accounted for 14 of the 20 injuries (70%). These burns were caused when hot steam

Occupational stress and strain in relation to personal protective equipment of Japanese firefighters assessed by a questionnaire.

Science.gov (United States)

Son, Su-Young; Lee, Joo-Young; Tochihara, Yutaka

2013-01-01

The purpose of the present study was to elucidate differences in actual work environments, mobility and satisfaction between firefighters wearing aluminized and non-aluminized personal protective equipment (PPE), and to suggest a proper standard test method for Japanese firefighters' PPE. A survey from two cities in Japan (City A: aluminized PPE; City B: non aluminized PPE) was undertaken. A total of 525 firefighters from City A and 757 from City B participated. Firefighters spent 22.5 min (City A) and 27.3 min (City B) on average firefighting with the full set of PPE in one incident, but the heat strain experienced among firefighters from City A was twice that of firefighters from City B (57.5% and 28.4%). Firefighters spent 65.9 min on one incident and 24.2 min for suppression of fire with the full set of PPE on average. The toughest task that caused physical strain in City A was 'stair climbing' and in City B was 'drawing up a hose filled with water'. The most restricted body region due to PPE was the knee for both groups. Evaluations revealed that the aluminized fire jacket had worse ventilation and mobility than the non-aluminized, while the non-aluminized one received with more unfavorable evaluations for water resistance and maintainability.

A Systemic Analysis of the Challenges of Policing Senegal: The Role of the Police in Democracy

Science.gov (United States)

2016-09-01

Journal of Modern African Studies 41, no. 2 (2003), 310. 51 forty years of Senegalese independence was met with peaceful and democratic leadership ...preventing their development into a public safety institution. 14. SUBJECT TERMS policing, democratic policing, African police, post...conflict policing, police, democratic development 15. NUMBER OF PAGES 107 16. PRICE CODE 17. SECURITY CLASSIFICATION OF REPORT Unclassified 18

The Development and Design of a Prototype Ultra High Pressure P-19 Firefighting Vehicle

National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

Menchini, Christopher P; Dierdorf, Douglas; Kalberer, Jennifer L; McDonald, Michael J; Cozart, Kristofor S; Casarez, Adriana; Carr, Jr, Virgil J

2007-01-01

...) and combined agent firefighting using compressed air foam (CAF) and dry chemical. The latest demonstrator uniquely incorporating both UHP and combined agent firefighting capability is a retrofitted P-19...

THE APPLE DOES NOT FALL FAR FROM THE TREE: CAN SOCIETY CORRUPT POLICE OFFICIALS?

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

J. T. Mofokeng

2016-07-01

Full Text Available It is argued that police officers commonly present what they consider to be anacceptable face to researchers regarding the cause and extent of police corruptionwithin their respective law enforcement agencies. This ‘self-censorship’ can be achallenge to obtaining a reliable view of police officers’ occupational, informaland personal perceptions. Empirical research on police corruptive practices inSouth Africa highlights the problem which seems to be persistent in the SouthAfrican Police Service (SAPS. Though a number of factors combine to makereliable estimates of the number of officials engaging in misconduct difficult toobtain, the sheer number of individuals working in the SAPS suggest the scope ofthe problem. In order to get beyond some of these familiar tropes given the stigmaattached to corruption, in-depth semi-structured interviews were conducted withkey informants from the public in the three provinces of South Africa namely;Gauteng, KwaZulu-Natal and Western Cape to solicit their views regarding theconcept ‘corrupting society’ as to determine, if society does corrupt the police.The findings indicated that while some pockets of excellence have been attainedtowards improving police-public relations, the other ‘side of the coin’ poses risksto the SAPS as corrupt friendship bonds with friends and associates within thecommunities the police serve, causes profound organisational problems to reducepolice corruption. In the face of recent media scrutiny regarding how at thenational level, some of the former National Commissioners were implicated bythe media to have received kickbacks due to their close associations with someinfluential families, implies a concern of far greater complexity than the ordinaryexchanges of accusation and defence regarding a ‘corrupting society’ and ‘corrupted police officials’ are likely to reveal. The author provided possiblerecommendations emanating from the findings.

The Potential Use of Legitimate Force for the Preservation of Order: Defining the Inherent Role of Public Police Through Policing Functions that cannot be Carried out by Private Police

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jasmina Arnež

2016-12-01

Full Text Available In the UK, private policing institutions have been rapidly increasing since the 1980s, so the lines between public- and private police have been blurred. This paper explores whether there is a policing function that is inherent in public police and if so, why it occupies this position. It integrates Rousseau’s social contract theory, Bittner’s definition of police functions, Brodeur’s reasoning on force and Loader and Walker’s concept of ‘policing as public good’ to argue that the potential use of legitimate force for the preservation of order is the function intrinsic to public police. It shows why it cannot and should not be carried out by private police and outlines how it depends on police legitimacy. It concludes with an abstract rethinking of public-state-police relations to determine that this function remains in the realm of public policing.

Nightlife partnership policing: (Dis)trust building between bouncers and the police in the war on gangs

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Søgaard, Thomas Friis; Houborg, Esben; Tutenges, Sébastien

2016-01-01

partnership policing has employed a police perspective and a top-down approach, thus emphasizing organizational ties between policing bodies, this article uses a bottom-up, interactional approach, with a focus on bouncers’ everyday experiences and understandings of partnerships with the police. Our findings...

The Impact of Sleep Restriction and Simulated Physical Firefighting Work on Acute Inflammatory Stress Responses.

Science.gov (United States)

Wolkow, Alexander; Ferguson, Sally A; Vincent, Grace E; Larsen, Brianna; Aisbett, Brad; Main, Luana C

2015-01-01

This study investigated the effect restricted sleep has on wildland firefighters' acute cytokine levels during 3 days and 2 nights of simulated physical wildfire suppression work. Firefighters completed multiple days of physical firefighting work separated by either an 8-h (Control condition; n = 18) or 4-h (Sleep restriction condition; n = 17) sleep opportunity each night. Blood samples were collected 4 times a day (i.e., 06:15, 11:30, 18:15, 21:30) from which plasma cytokine levels (IL-6, IL-8, IL-1β, TNF-α, IL-4, IL-10) were measured. The primary findings for cytokine levels revealed a fixed effect for condition that showed higher IL-8 levels among firefighters who received an 8-h sleep each night. An interaction effect demonstrated differing increases in IL-6 over successive days of work for the SR and CON conditions. Fixed effects for time indicated that IL-6 and IL-4 levels increased, while IL-1β, TNF-α and IL-8 levels decreased. There were no significant effects for IL-10 observed. Findings demonstrate increased IL-8 levels among firefighters who received an 8-h sleep when compared to those who had a restricted 4-h sleep. Firefighters' IL-6 levels increased in both conditions which may indicate that a 4-h sleep restriction duration and/or period (i.e., 2 nights) was not a significant enough stressor to affect this cytokine. Considering the immunomodulatory properties of IL-6 and IL-4 that inhibit pro-inflammatory cytokines, the rise in IL-6 and IL-4, independent of increases in IL-1β and TNF-α, could indicate a non-damaging response to the stress of simulated physical firefighting work. However, given the link between chronically elevated cytokine levels and several diseases, further research is needed to determine if firefighters' IL-8 and IL-6 levels are elevated following repeated firefighting deployments across a fire season and over multiple fire seasons.

Designing Multidimensional Policing Strategy And Organization: Towards A Synthesis Of Professional And Community Police Models

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Suve Priit

2015-06-01

Full Text Available In this article we analyse professional police and community policing in view of professionalism, strategy and structures. We aim to find ways for synthesizing these models that are usually seen as incompatible. Unlike many earlier studies of police organizations or strategies, we view strategies in the organization at the corporate, functional and operational levels, and argue that by combining them with functional and divisional principles of structuring, it is possible to place professional strategy at the core of policing, while using the community policing strategy mainly as a component part of the strategy in the framework of divisional organization. This way it is possible to avoid the risk of alienating police from the community and to ensure the successful implementation of corporate strategy through providing professional police units that perform the narrow functions, with quick and adequate information from the community.

Body mass index and body composition among rescue firefighters personnel in Selangor, Malaysia

Science.gov (United States)

Rahimi, Nor Atiqah; Sedek, Razalee; Teh, Arnida Hani

2016-11-01

Obesity is a major public health problem in general population and there is no exception for firefighters. This disorder is definitely a burden for firefighters as they needed to be physically fit in order to work in dangerous situation and extinguishing fires. The purposes of this study were to determine physical characteristics and body composition among Malaysian Firefighters (MF) and to explore their association. This cross-sectional study involved 330 rescue firefighters aged between 20-50 years old from nine different districts in Selangor conducted between August and November 2015. Anthropometric measurements included height, weight and waist circumference (WC). Body composition was measured using bioelectrical impedance. The mean height, weight, body mass index (BMI), WC and body fat percentage were 169.4±5.3 cm, 74.5±12.2 kg, 25.9±3.82 kg/m2, 90.7±48.3 cm and 25.8±6.2 % respectively. The results also showed that 0.6% of them were underweight, 41.5% were normal, 44.8% were overweight and 13% were obese. The percentage of 34.8% firefighters with WC values of more than 90 cm means that they were at greater risk to have cardiovascular and diabetes disease. Body composition analysis showed that 75.5% of the subjects have high body fat level, 19.7% subjects were in healthy range but only 4.8% were considered as lean subjects. BMI was highly correlated with weight (r=0.917, p<0.01), WC (r=0.858, p<0.01) and body fat percentage (r=0.757, <0.01). Body fat percentage also showed to have a high correlation with BMI (r=0.757, p<0.01) and WC (r=0.693, p<0.01). Furthermore, overweight and obesity were found to be more prevalent among firefighters personnel of older age, married, less educated and have longer duration of services. It can be concluded that more than half of the firefighter personnel were either overweight or obese and 35% of them were at greater risk of having non-communicable diseases. This study provides useful information and serves as a source of

Impact of Different Personal Protective Clothing on Wildland Firefighters' Physiological Strain.

Science.gov (United States)

Carballo-Leyenda, Belén; Villa, José G; López-Satué, Jorge; Rodríguez-Marroyo, Jose A

2017-01-01

Wildfire firefighting is an extremely demanding occupation performed under hot environment. The use of personal protective clothing (PPC) is needed to protect subjects from the thermal exposure. However, the additional use of PPC may increase the wildland firefighters' physiological strain, and consequently limit their performance. The aim of this study was to analyze the effect of four different PPC on the physiological strain of wildland firefighters under moderate conditions (30°C and 30% RH). Eight active and healthy wildland firefighters performed a submaximal walking test wearing a traditional short sports gear and 4 different PPC. The materials combination (viscose, Nomex, Kevlar, P-140 and fire resistant cotton) used during the PPC manufacturing process was different. During all tests, to simulate a real scenario subjects wore a backpack pump (20 kg). Heart rate, respiratory gas exchange, gastrointestinal temperature, blood lactate concentration, perceived exertion and temperature and humidity underneath the PPC were recorded throughout tests. Additionally, parameters of heat balance were estimated. Wearing a PPC did not cause a significant increase in the subjects' physiological response. The gastrointestinal temperature increment, the relative humidity of the microclimate underneath the PPC, the sweat residue in PPC, the sweat efficiency, the dry heat exchange and the total clothing insulation were significantly affected according to the PPC fabric composition. These results suggest that the PPC composition affect the moisture management. This might be taken into account to increase the wildland firefighters' protection in real situations, when they have to work close to the flames.

Impact of Different Personal Protective Clothing on Wildland Firefighters' Physiological Strain

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Belén Carballo-Leyenda

2017-08-01

Full Text Available Wildfire firefighting is an extremely demanding occupation performed under hot environment. The use of personal protective clothing (PPC is needed to protect subjects from the thermal exposure. However, the additional use of PPC may increase the wildland firefighters' physiological strain, and consequently limit their performance. The aim of this study was to analyze the effect of four different PPC on the physiological strain of wildland firefighters under moderate conditions (30°C and 30% RH. Eight active and healthy wildland firefighters performed a submaximal walking test wearing a traditional short sports gear and 4 different PPC. The materials combination (viscose, Nomex, Kevlar, P-140 and fire resistant cotton used during the PPC manufacturing process was different. During all tests, to simulate a real scenario subjects wore a backpack pump (20 kg. Heart rate, respiratory gas exchange, gastrointestinal temperature, blood lactate concentration, perceived exertion and temperature and humidity underneath the PPC were recorded throughout tests. Additionally, parameters of heat balance were estimated. Wearing a PPC did not cause a significant increase in the subjects' physiological response. The gastrointestinal temperature increment, the relative humidity of the microclimate underneath the PPC, the sweat residue in PPC, the sweat efficiency, the dry heat exchange and the total clothing insulation were significantly affected according to the PPC fabric composition. These results suggest that the PPC composition affect the moisture management. This might be taken into account to increase the wildland firefighters' protection in real situations, when they have to work close to the flames.

Adding sleep restriction to the equation: impact on wildland firefighters' work performance and physiology in hot conditions.

Science.gov (United States)

Vincent, Grace E; Ferguson, Sally; Larsen, Brianna; Ridgers, Nicola D; Snow, Rod; Aisbett, Brad

2018-04-06

To examine the effects of sleep restriction on firefighters' physical task performance, physical activity, and physiological and perceived exertion during simulated hot wildfire conditions. 31 firefighters were randomly allocated to either the hot (n = 18, HOT; 33 °C, 8-h sleep opportunity) or hot and sleep restricted (n = 13, HOT + SR; 33 °C, 4-h sleep opportunity) condition. Intermittent, self-paced work circuits of six firefighting tasks were performed for 3 days. Firefighters self-reported ratings of perceived exertion. Heart rate, core temperature, and physical activity were measured continuously. Fluids were consumed ad libitum, and all food and fluids consumed were recorded. Urine volume and urine specific gravity (USG) were analysed and sleep was assessed using polysomnography (PSG). There were no differences between the HOT and HOT + SR groups in firefighters' physical task performance, heart rate, core temperature, USG, or fluid intake. Ratings of perceived exertion were higher (p HOT + SR group for two of the six firefighting tasks. The HOT group spent approximately 7 min more undertaking moderate physical activity throughout the 2-h work circuits compared to the HOT + SR group. Two nights of sleep restriction did not influence firefighters' physical task performance or physiological responses during 3 days of simulated wildfire suppression. Further research is needed to explore firefighters' pacing strategies during real wildfire suppression.

Work Functioning Among Firefighters: A Comparison Between Self-Reported Limitations and Functional Task Performance.

Science.gov (United States)

MacDermid, Joy C; Tang, Kenneth; Sinden, Kathryn E; D'Amico, Robert

2018-05-25

Purpose Performance-based and disease indicators have been widely studied in firefighters; self-reported work role limitations have not. The aim of this study was to describe the distributions and correlations of a generic self-reported Work Limitations Questionnaire (WLQ-26) and firefighting-specific task performance-based tests. Methods Active firefighters from the City of Hamilton Fire Services (n = 293) were recruited. Participants completed the WLQ-26 to quantify on-the-job difficulties over five work domains: work scheduling (4 items), output demands (7 items), physical demands (8 items), mental demands (4 items), and social demands (3 items). A subset of participants (n = 149) were also assessed on hose drag and stair climb with a high-rise pack performance-based tests. Descriptive statistics and correlations were used to compare item/subscale performance; and to describe the inter-relationships between tests. Results The mean WLQ-26 item scores (/5) ranged from 4.1 to 4.4 (median = 5 for all items); most firefighters (54.5-80.5%) selected "difficult none of the time" response option on all items. A substantial ceiling effect was observed across all five WLQ-26 subscales as 44.0-55.6% were in the highest category. Subscale means ranged from 61.8 (social demands) to 78.7 (output demands and physical demands). Internal consistency exceeded 0.90 on all subscales. For the hose drag task, the mean time-to-completion was 48.0 s (SD = 14.5; range 20.4-95.0). For the stair climb task, the mean time-to-completion was 76.7 s (SD = 37.2; range 21.0-218.0). There were no significant correlations between self-report work limitations and performance of firefighting tasks. Conclusions The WLQ-26 measured five domains, but had ceiling effects in firefighters. Performance-based testing showed wider score range, lacked ceiling effects and did not correlate to the WLQ-26. A firefighter-specific, self-report role functioning scale may be needed to identify

Crisis averted: How consumers experienced a police and clinical early response (PACER) unit responding to a mental health crisis.

Science.gov (United States)

Evangelista, Eloisa; Lee, Stuart; Gallagher, Angela; Peterson, Violeta; James, Jo; Warren, Narelle; Henderson, Kathryn; Keppich-Arnold, Sandra; Cornelius, Luke; Deveny, Elizabeth

2016-08-01

When mental health crisis situations in the community are poorly handled, it can result in physical and emotional injuries. The purpose of this study was to ascertain the experiences and opinions of consumers about the way police and mental health services worked together, specifically via the Alfred Police and Clinical Early Response (A-PACER) model, to assist people experiencing a mental health crisis. Semi-structured in-depth interviews were conducted with 12 mental health consumers who had direct contact with the A-PACER team between June 2013 and March 2015. The study highlighted that people who encountered the A-PACER team generally valued and saw the benefit of a joint police-mental health clinician team response to a mental health crisis situation in the community. In understanding what worked well in how the A-PACER team operated, consumers perspectives can be summarized into five themes: communication and de-escalation, persistence of the A-PACER team, providing a quick response and working well under pressure, handover of information, and A-PACER helped consumers achieve a preferred outcome. All consumers acknowledged the complementary roles of the police officer and mental health clinician, and described the A-PACER team's supportive approach as critical in gaining their trust, engagement and in de-escalating the crises. Further education and training for police officers on how to respond to people with a mental illness, increased provision of follow-up support to promote rehabilitation and prevent future crises, and measures to reduce public scrutiny for the consumer when police responded, were proposed opportunities for improvement. © 2016 Australian College of Mental Health Nurses Inc.

Police punishment and the infrapolitics of (online) anti-police protest

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Mutsaers, Paul; van Nuenen, Tom

2016-01-01

Diarmaid Harkin recently called for a theory of police punishment and its public acceptance. He stated that police violence is ‘provided with a warranty of approval and encouragement from larger, aggregate, deeply held emotions and sensibilities’. We lend our support to his demand for a penal theory

Safety Gear Decontamination Practices Among Florida Firefighters: Analysis of a Text-Based Survey Methodology.

Science.gov (United States)

Moore, Kevin J; Koru-Sengul, Tulay; Alvarez, Armando; Schaefer-Solle, Natasha; Harrison, Tyler R; Kobetz, Erin N; Caban-Martinez, Alberto J

2018-02-01

Despite the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) 1851 Personal Protective Equipment Care and Maintenance guidelines, little is known about the routine cleaning of firefighter bunker gear. In collaboration with a large Florida firefighter union, a mobile phone text survey was administered, which included eight questions in an item logic format. In total, 250 firefighters participated in the survey of which 65% reported cleaning their bunker gear in the past 12 months. Approximately 32% ( n = 52) indicated that they had above average confidence in gear cleaning procedures. Arriving at a fire incident response was a significant predictor of gear cleaning in the 12 months preceding survey administration. Using mobile phone-based texting for periodic queries on adherence to NFPA cleaning guidelines and safety message distribution may assist firefighters to increase decontamination procedure frequency.

Helping the police with their inquiries

Science.gov (United States)

Kitson, Anthony J.

1995-09-01

The UK Home Office has held a long term interest in facial recognition. Work has concentrated upon providing the UK police with facilities to improve the use that can be made of the memory of victims and witnesses rather than automatically matching images. During the 1970s a psychological coding scheme and a search method were developed by Aberdeen University and Home Office. This has been incorporated into systems for searching prisoner photographs both experimentally and operationally. The coding scheme has also been incorporated in a facial likeness composition system. The Home Office is currenly implementing a national criminal record system (Phoenix) and work has been conducted to define and demonstrate standards for image enabled terminals for this application. Users have been consulted to establish suitable picture quality for the purpose, and a study of compression methods is in hand. Recently there has been increased use made by UK courts of expert testimony based upon the measurement of facial images. We are currently working with a group of practitioners to examine and improve the quality of such evidence and to develop a national standard.

Evaluation of Ultra High Pressure (UHP) Firefighting in a Room-and-Contents Fire

Science.gov (United States)

2017-03-15

legal liability or responsibility for the accuracy, completeness, or usefulness of any information, apparatus, product, or process disclosed, or...venomous insects. Abort Criteria and Procedures If a fire has already been lit and an abort is necessary, the firefighter(s) will attempt to put

Dietary Preferences and Nutritional Information Needs Among Career Firefighters in the United States.

Science.gov (United States)

Yang, Justin; Farioli, Andrea; Korre, Maria; Kales, Stefanos N

2015-07-01

Considerable cardiovascular disease and cancer risk among firefighters are attributable to excess adiposity. Robust evidence confirms strong relationships between dietary patterns and the risk of chronic disease. Dietary modification is more likely to be effective when the strategy is appealing and addresses knowledge gaps. To assess career firefighters' diet practices and information needs, compare the relative appeal of proposed diet plans, and examine how these vary in association with body composition. Cross-sectional, online survey distributed to members of the International Association of Fire Fighters. Most firefighters do not currently follow any specific dietary plan (71%) and feel that they receive insufficient nutrition information (68%), but most are interested in learning more about healthy eating (75%). When presented with written descriptions of diets without names or labels and asked to rank them in order of preference, firefighters most often rated the Mediterranean diet as their favorite and gave it a more favorable distribution of relative rankings (PPaleo, Atkins, Therapeutic Lifestyle Changes, and Esselsteyn Engine 2 (low-fat, strictly plant-based) diets. Obese respondents reported more limited nutritional knowledge (Pdiet; however, 75% want to learn more about healthy eating. Among popular dietary choices, firefighters were most receptive to a Mediterranean diet and least receptive to a strictly plant-based diet.

Outbreak of cryptosporidiosis associated with a firefighting response - Indiana and Michigan, June 2011.

Science.gov (United States)

2012-03-09

On June 20, 2011, the Indiana Department of Homeland Security notified the Indiana State Department of Health (ISDH) of an Indiana fire station that reported gastrointestinal illness among a substantial percentage of their workers, causing missed workdays and one hospitalization as a result of cryptosporidiosis. All ill firefighters had responded to a barn fire in Michigan, 15 miles from the Michigan-Indiana border on June 6; responding firefighters from Michigan also had become ill. ISDH immediately contacted the Michigan Department of Community Health (MDCH) concerning this outbreak. The investigation was led by MDCH in partnership with ISDH and the Michigan local health department (LHD). Among 34 firefighters who responded to the fire, 33 were interviewed, and 20 (61%) reported gastrointestinal illness ≤12 days after the fire. Cryptosporidium parvum was identified in human stool specimens, calf fecal samples, and a swimming pond. Based on these findings, the following public health recommendations were issued: 1) discontinue swimming in the pond, 2) practice thorough hygiene to reduce fecal contamination and fecal-oral exposures, and 3) decontaminate firefighting equipment properly. No additional primary or secondary cases associated with this exposure have been reported. The findings highlight a novel work-related disease exposure for firefighters and the need for public education regarding cryptosporidiosis prevention.

Changes in the diurnal rhythms of cortisol, melatonin, and testosterone after 2, 4, and 7 consecutive night shifts in male police officers

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Jensen, Marie Aarrebo; Hansen, Åse Marie; Kristiansen, Jesper