February 1981 - San Francisco Police Officers Association
February 1981 - San Francisco Police Officers Association
February 1981 - San Francisco Police Officers Association
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SAN FRANCISCO POLICEMAN - Page 10 Febn-STRESS IN LAW ENFORCEMENTby Edward C. DonovanReprinted from Law Enforcement QuarterlyThe tragic consequences of stress in police work, andthe legal suits being filed against administrators forliability in stress-related cases, have caused this subjectto become one of the hottest areas in law enforcementtoday. Greater demands are placed on police officerstoday than in the past. Protests, riots, demonstrations,whether they be for gay liberation, women'sliberation, coal miners striking, long gas lines at thefiling, stations, school busing situations, or even policestrikes are some of the many new demands placed uponour officers. We never know what tomorrow holds. Partof the problem is that the officer can only handle somany cries for help at one time. To have society expectinstant resolution of these issues would require a herculeaneffort on the part of any organization.The police system has become the dumping groundsof society. The officer in uniform becomes the focus ofmisplaced hatred, the punching bag of society - thevery society which the officer is sworn to serve and protect.Every man or woman bcoming an officer feels theywill help to serve and make our society a better place inwhich to live; howver, this altruism, this concern forsociety, just backfire in the officer's face. We in thepolice profession do not feel that we have caused thecitizen's problems, but we certainly are constantly payingheavily for the ills of society. The officer is placed onthe firing line every day and asked to maintain law andOrder at any price, even at the expense of his own life ormental well-being.In order for an officer to meet any demand, he is expectedto be in the best physical and mental conditionat all times. He must be able to react to any given situationfrom a state of prolonged inactivity to sudden burstsof danger and tension. The physical demands placedupon him would tax the cardio-vascular system of anyperson. A ioutine day or night patrol might be one ofsheer boredom and isolation, or a series of monotonousradio calls, such as family disturbances to deliveringwarrants.In the daily course of a tour of duty an officer encountersstress in lifting an injured person, wrestling adrunk in a tavern, listening to boring complaints fromsome irate citizen, or complaints from our own supervisorsabout some radio call which took you too long torespond. To go from a call to another, constantly tryingto readjust your inner feelings, creates hidden wear andtear on both the psychological and the physiologicalsystems of the officer; yet the officer has to be alert atall times and ready for the unknown.Too often in police work you reamin in a state of exhuastionfor long periods of time, unaware that you areeven affected by it. Both physical and mental exhuastioncause lapses in coordination, errors in judgment,and reflexes and muscles do not respond and lose tone.Thus, with time, the officer becomes less effective tohimself, his department and to the society he serves.Expectations of SocietyThe public's expectation of a cop requires that he beall things to all people - a police officer, doctor,lawyer, judge, juror, psychiatrist, social worker, ambulancedriver, plumber, veterinarian, locksmith, andevery other occupation in the public domain. It is animpossible demand. The amount of training given todayat the local, state and federal police-trainingacademies cannot adequately equip the officer to handletoday's diverse public needs, let alone with theroutine calls of police work. As public servants, we areacutely aware that we cannot meet these demands butsomehow feel we should he ible to.ABOUT THE AUTHOREdward C. Donovan, a counselor, lecturer, consultantand instructor specializing in the field of stress inlaw enforcement, is a 23-year veteran officer with theBoston <strong>Police</strong> Department. In this interview, Mr.Donovan discusses the varied and complex circumstancesthat can precipitate suicide among policeofficers. He also talks about the methods and programswhich have been instituted to help prevent suchtragedies from occurring. Donovan stresses the importanceof the "family" both at home and on the joband the need to educate family members, peers, andsuperior officers about the warning signs that oftenprecede a suicide.Mr. Donovan is also director of the Boston <strong>Police</strong>Street Program, founder and president of the InternationalLaw Enforcement Stress <strong>Association</strong>, and the'founder and editor of '<strong>Police</strong> Stressi' magazine.The contemporary police officer is not the "supercop"that television and Hollywood has portrayed himto be. This image of the "superman", however, isreflected in what society today demands of the cop. Inhis day to day patrol the officer encounters persons whounload their burdens on him. He becomes the problemsolver for everyone and consequently, he may start tobelieve that. he has no problems himself. This fact aloneis a destructive stressor in policing. To admit he has aproblem is demeaning to him, against the grain of themacho-man image. In fact he will try to hide his feelingsout of fear of showing to his fellow officers oranyone else that he has weaknesses. As a role model,the problem solver, he must not have problems, Who,then, can be turn to for help without ridicule or far ofbeing exposed and losing his job?A police officer by the very nature of his work, histraining and later his experience becomes a verysuspicious person. If he was not suspicious he wouldnot make a "good cop". How would he suspectcriminals? Cynicism is part of the job which can get astrangle-hold on your psyche almost to a point of noreturn. The reality of this situation is that it can be carriedto extremes in our everyday life. We start to besuspect of every person we come in contact with, evenour own families. Needless to say, stress in law enforcementfamilies is a story in itself.The officer also becomes cynical after long periods ofdealing with the seamy elements of society. Listening toeveryone's problems, seeing the prostitutes, therunaways, and the sexual offenders from all stations oflife, corruption both from within and outside the <strong>Police</strong>Department, drug addicts, skid row bums, death inall shapes and forms, husbands and wives cheating oneach other, can make anyone start to believe the wholeworld might be this way. This tends to lead to isolation,so that one seeks other officers to socialize with offduty.Distancing ourselves from society increases thesense of distrust and fear. Objects begin to take on newmeanings. Chairs, telephones, baseball bats, nail clippersall lose their commonplace identity and aretransformed into deadly weapons possibly to be usedagainst us. A quite hair-raising experience. Whateverthe environment, however, we are duty-bound to protectit, even if this means trusting no one.Death and its repercussionsWe deal with death in a different way than do mostPHONE 824.6672AFTER 6P.M. & SUN. 824-6671ELIiIIDBN Tnwinq & Stflraqe1851 NEWCOMB'AVENUEJAY ARMSTRONG OFF 4700 BLOCK ON THIRD ST.HARLEY ROWE SAN FRANCISCO. CALIF. 94124Seasons Greetings to theS.F. <strong>Police</strong> & Their FamiliesCOMMERCIAL & INDUSTRIAL HARDWARE SUPPLIESCRAB, SALMON, TUNA SUPPLIES & ACCESSORIESPLYMOUTH. COLUM8IAN a TUBBS ROPENETTING. CLOTHING & BOOTSFrank's Fisherman's Supply.366 JEFFERSON STREETSAN FRANCISCO, CA 94133JOHN S. BROWN 775-1165PRESIDENT 775-2369GLASS FOR ALL PURPOSES - CUT & INSTALLEDAUTOMOBILES STORE FRONTSSTATE LICENSEDA. JEAN GLASS CO.DRIVE IN SERVICE -OPEN SATURDAYBILL LEAVITT 3733 GEARY BLVD.PHONE-387-3310 SAN FRANCISCO, CA 9411815% DISCOUNT TO OFFICERS WITH LD.oolWholesaleRetail759 Third St.(at King)3801 - 24th St.(at Churôh)open 24 hrs.1794 Haight St.(at Shrader)For Wholesale info call543-140711523THE BATH ANDBOUDOIR SHOPOn Beach St.3hirardelli Square474-7282<strong>San</strong> <strong>Francisco</strong> 94109SSTAR CHARMTIE TACBYRANK&STAR NUMBERNOEL ASSOCIATESPromotional Advertising Counselors123 TOWNSEND ST. SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94107(415) 957-1770Sol WeinerPete Maloney- NEW %QFPA% N T-ACLARA MARKETLiquor - Open 7 DaysHours 9:00 AM - 900 PM799 Haight<strong>San</strong> <strong>Francisco</strong>861-6304ELM HOTEL364 EDDYSAN FRANCISCO673-5636VIGIL'S CLUB2730 - 21st Street<strong>San</strong> <strong>Francisco</strong>282-9926Jose & Jesus Vigil wish theS.F. <strong>Police</strong> a Happy & Healthy <strong>1981</strong>