This dissertation investigated a very specialised, highly sensitive and complex research area in policing known as undercover policing or covert policing operations. This is the first examination to be conducted in the Australasian policing context and the only known research to explore, empirically, undercover operatives' experiences of returning to mainstream police duties after completing their covert duties.----- There were two main research objectives in this dissertation. The first was to develop research methodology specific for use with undercover police officers. The second main objective was to conduct an empirical investigation to identify the psychological processes associated with the reintegration or re-assimilation of undercover police officers into mainstream policing environments. Social identity theory was applied to deconstruct undercover police officers' reintegration experiences.----- Given the closed and protected nature of covert policing, careful consideration to methodological and ethical issues required high priority in the development of research practices. Addressing these considerations in research practices protected the anonymity and security of those involved in the research. Tailoring research methods to suit the officers' circumstances and satisfy police managements' security concerns improved the practical application of research methods and research relations with police members and, therefore, the quality of the findings.----- In developing a research methodology for specific use with undercover police officers, a multi-method approach was adopted. Data triangulation with the use of a variety of data sources and methodological triangulation with the use of multiple methods and multiple indicators were employed. This technique proved constructive in creating a more holistic perspective of undercover policing and officers' experiences of re-assimilation.----- In theoretical terms, the major issue under investigation is of negotiating dual memberships or multiple identities. Three studies are reported. The first study is a field study, in which the researcher spent more than 18 months in the covert policing context, as a participant observer. Through field research, the researcher was able to learn about the Australasian covert policing context; obtain in-house police documents; define research issues and hypotheses; understand methodological considerations; identify a psychological theoretical framework; and examine &quotthe fit " between theory and the social dynamics of covert policing. Other benefits of becoming immersed in the working life of undercover police officers and the police organisation included understanding the ways of proceeding and the social and organisational structure that exists among covert personnel.----- The second study interviewed 20 former covert police personnel, from two police jurisdictions, who had been reintegrated for more than three years. The majority of officers found returning to mainstream police duties a difficult experience and two separate profiles of reintegration experiences emerged from the data. This study identified the presence of more than one police identity among former operatives. It found that some officers internalise aspects of the undercover policing norms and use these police norms to define aspects of the self both as a police officer and as an individual. That is, role-playing the undercover police persona became an extension of the officer as an individual and contributed positively to their personal self-worth. It was noted that the majority of officers expressed cognitive confusion over how to behave in the mainstream policing environment after covert duties had ceased.----- The other profile to emerge from the data was of officers who characterised their undercover policing experiences as being more integrated into their overall police persona. Officers interviewed in this study employed different identity decision-making strategies to restructure their police identities. In sum, this study found that the extent, to which the undercover and mainstream memberships were integrated cognitively, influenced officers' experiences of reintegration.----- The third study is a cross-sectional design using survey methods. Thirty-eight trainees, 31 currently operational and 38 former undercover operatives from four police jurisdictions took part in this study. A group of mainstream police officers matched according to former operatives' age, gender and years of policing experience was also included. This study found that police identities change over the phases of undercover police work and that changes in former operatives' mainstream police identity were a function of covert police work. Cross-sectional comparisons revealed that former operatives' undercover police identity had declined since covert policing, however, officers' mainstream police identity had not significantly increased. Failure to increase identification with mainstream police after undercover police work has ceased has a number of implications in terms of predicting re-assimilation. Operatives most likely to experience difficulties were those who resisted the mainstream police identification and reported difficult relations with their mainstream peers. Trends analysis revealed that despite the physical change, 'cognitive' re-assimilation actually commences in the second year of the operatives' reintegration. These exploratory analyses revealed that following return to the mainstream policing environment, identity stressors were mostly likely to be experienced in the first year of reintegration.----- To determine psychological adjustment since undercover police work, the person-environment fit was also investigated in the study. Operatives' current perceptions of working in the mainstream context were reported using a number of behavioural and organisational indicators. Overall, this study found that former operatives remain committed to their policing profession, however, those who experienced identity stress during the re-assimilation process were less satisfied with their current work duties and failed to find their work interesting, tended to perceive undercover duties as having been detrimental to their career, and expressed greater intentions to leave the service within 12 months of the survey. Overall former operatives' satisfaction and commitment levels were not significantly different from mainstream officers. Mainstream police, however, reported being under greater pressure and felt more overworked in the mainstream context than former operatives. In summary, these organisational indicators revealed that the difficulties of re-assimilation and intentions to leave the service are more related to the stress of modifying officers' police identity during this period than the workload characteristics of mainstream policing.----- Overall these studies demonstrated that the process of negotiating police identities is an important psychological dynamic present in undercover operatives' reintegration experiences. The identity stress experienced during this period was shown to have a number of organisational-behavioural consequences, such as problematic intergroup relations and greater intentions to leave the police service after undercover police work. Based on findings from this research a number of practical recommendations are made and suggestions for the direction of future research are outlined. Contributions to theory are also discussed.

Critical incidents (CI) have increased over the last several decades, with police officers experiencing more trauma and a rise in psychological problems. Stress inoculation training (SIT) could possibly lower symptoms of posttraumatic stress experienced by the police officers who have responded to CIs. To date, little research exists specific to using SIT to lower symptomatic effects of CIs in police officers. The purpose of this quantitative ex post facto study was to examine and compare symptoms of posttraumatic stress, depression, and anxiety for police officers who have or have not received SIT prior to a CI. The theoretical foundation was Selye's general adaptation system, a 3-stage response to a stressor: alarm reaction, resistance, and exhaustion. Survey data from a convenience sample of 85 police officers were collected using a demographic survey and the Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Checklist--Civilian version. A Cronbach's Alpha test and a multivariate analysis of variance were used to determine whether SIT has affected anxiety and depression. According to study findings, police officers who received SIT showed no statistical significance for anxiety and depression compared to police officers who did not receive SIT. This study promotes positive social change by contributing knowledge and awareness to the law enforcement field who may find these results important to consider when planning training courses for their personnel.

For decades, stress has been scientifically studied and found to have effects on the law enforcement community. Furthermore, scholars have thoroughly studied the correlation between stress and the law enforcement occupation which has been proven to affect their well-being. Although there is currently ample literature on stress and police officers, to date there has been little research on factors associated with stress and SWAT police officers. Using Lazarus and Folkman's cognitive theory of stress and coping as the foundation, the purpose of this phenomenological study was to explore how SWAT police officers cope with stress while on duty and off duty and the factors that cause them stress. Participants included 5 retired police officers who were members of a SWAT team. Moustakas' framework design of phenomenological study assisted in identifying common themes that emerged from participant interviews. Study findings indicate that the primary stressor to SWAT officers was responding to high-risk missions or operations and that law enforcement agencies generally fail to provide the resources needed to cope with stress. In addition, the main coping resources used by tactical officers were self-initiated activities such as exercise, spending time with family, and hobbies (e.g., hunting, fishing, camping, hiking, and sports entertainment). The results of this study encourage positive social change by advancing recommendations to law enforcement leadership to develop coping resources for tactical officers that are specific to their unique needs. The study also increases awareness and knowledge of the coping resources that SWAT officers need and advocating for new programs and trainings aimed at reducing stress for them, which may prevent officer burnout and improve public safety response.

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No description available.

[pt] Estudar o bem-estar mental de policiais é relevante pois ele impacta diretamente a produtividade e os números de afastamentos, ideações de suicídio e aposentadorias precoces (Edwards & Kotera, 2020). O bem-estar mental é afetado tanto pelo medo, que é uma emoção capaz de paralisar ou diminuir a capacidade de reação diante de uma situação arriscada, quanto pelo estresse, que causa danos como ansiedade, depressão, irritabilidade, aumento da pressão arterial, dores musculares e dependência química. Argumentamos que o medo de errar, mensurado pelo Questionário Multidimensional do Medo de Falhar (QMMF), e o estresse ocupacional, mensurado pela Job Stress Scale (JSS), são coerentes com a realidade policial e buscamos verificar como ambos se relacionam por meio de um estudo de caso conduzido na Polícia Militar do Estado do Rio de Janeiro. Foi encontrada uma correlação indireta entre o medo de errar e o estresse ocupacional, principalmente no que diz respeito ao apoio social no ambiente laboral. Dessa forma, o trabalho contribui para a aproximação dos estudos sobre o medo de errar, majoritariamente em áreas como psicologia do esporte e empreendedorismo, com os estudos organizacionais. A contribuição se estende ao fornecer insumos para que a área de recursos humanos atue para diminuir os afastamentos e evitar que o sofrimento dos agentes se transforme em patologias mais graves (Minayo et al., 2008). Por fim, sugerimos a realização de estudos adicionais de modo a contornar as limitações metodológicas impostas a essa pesquisa. / [en] It is relevant to study the mental well-being of police officers because it directly impacts the productivity and the number of sick leaves, suicidal thoughts, and early retirements (Edwards and Kotera, 2020). Mental well-being is affected both by fear, which is an emotion capable of paralyzing or reducing the ability to react to dangerous situations, and by stress, which causes harms such as anxiety, depression, irritability, increased blood pressure, pain muscle, and chemical dependence. We argued that the fear of failure, measured by the Questionário Multidimensional do Medo de Falhar (QMMF), and occupational stress, measured by the Job Stress Scale (JSS), are consistent with the reality of police officers, and we verified how they are both related through a case study conducted among Brazilian Military Police Officers. We found an indirect correlation between fear of failure and occupational stress, especially concerning social support in the workplace. Thus, our work contributes to bring together research about fear of failure, mainly in areas such as sport psychology and entrepreneurship, with organizational studies. This contribution also provides inputs for the human resources department to work to reduce absences and prevent the police officers mental suffering become more serious pathologies (Minayo et al., 2008). Finally, we suggest additional studies to circumvent the methodological limitations imposed on this research.

yes / In the UK at present Taser electrical stun weapons can only be used by trained firearms officers in situations where the use of firearms is also authorised. But the Association of Chief Police Officers (ACPO) is asking for these `non-lethal¿ weapons to be made more widely available to other police officers. If this is agreed there will be significant implications for the use of force by police in the UK. In July 2005 the Home Office Minister, Hazel Blears, had stated that the Taser was a dangerous weapon and not appropriate for wider use. The rationale behind the deployment of `non-lethal¿ or `less-lethal¿ weapons, such as the Taser, is to provide police officers with an alternative to lethal force for dangerous and lifethreatening situations they face. Wider availability of such weapons should, it is argued, further limit the need to resort to lethal firearms and thereby reduce incidence of serious injury and death. Over the past few months senior police officers have issued public statements that the Taser weapon should be made available to all officers on the beat. They argue that because police are facing dangerous individuals on an everyday basis, the Taser is required to protect their officers and deal with violent offenders without having to call in a firearms unit in certain situations. A crucial point about this proposal is that it would represent a scaling up in the `visible¿ arming of police officers in the UK. It is claimed by opponents that such an extended use of Taser would actually result in an increase in the level of force used by police in the UK, a concern also echoed by the Independent Police Complaints Committee (IPCC) in the minute of their 27 April 2005 `Casework and Investigations Committee¿ meeting.

La violence contre les policiers a des répercussions importantes à la fois chez les policiers et pour les administrateurs de la police. En 2005, le taux canadien de voies de fait contre la police a atteint son plus haut sommet en plusieurs décennies, faisant état d’une situation préoccupante. Plusieurs provinces canadiennes connaissent d’ailleurs une hausse marquée de la violence contre leurs policiers depuis plusieurs années. Cette étude vise donc à examiner et à comprendre l’évolution du phénomène de violence contre les policiers au Canada par l’identification de facteurs qui pourraient expliquer les variations du taux de voies de fait contre les policiers. La méthode d’analyse privilégiée dans le cadre de cette étude est une analyse transversale de séries chronologiques regroupées (pooled time series) qui traite des données portant sur les dix provinces canadiennes pour une période allant de 1986 à 2006. Les résultats indiquent que plusieurs facteurs ont un impact sur la violence dont sont victimes les policiers : la proportion de la population âgée entre 15 et 24 ans, la proportion d’hommes de 15 ans et plus, la proportion de la population vivant dans une région urbaine, la proportion de gens divorcés, les taux résiduels de crimes de violence et de crimes rattachés aux drogues, et le nombre d’évasions et de personnes en liberté sans excuse. La présence croissante de policières, qui fait encore l’objet de débats, semble quant à elle réduire le nombre de voies de fait contre la police, quoique l’impact de ce facteur soit de faible portée. Au Québec, la une hausse importante du taux de voies de fait contre les policiers pourrait s’expliquer par la hausse de plusieurs facteurs identifiés comme jouant un rôle dans le phénomène, bien qu’il ne faille pas écarter qu’un changement dans la reportabilité puisse entrer en ligne de compte. / Violence against police officers has important implications both for police officers and police administration. In 2005, the Canadian rate of assault against police officers rose to its highest in decades, showing a worrying situation. Moreover, several Canadian provinces are experiencing a marked increase in violence against their police officers for several years. This study aims to examine and understand the trend of violence against the police officers in Canada by identifying factors affecting the rate of assaults against police officers. In order to do so, a pooled time series analysis, which processes data on the ten Canadian provinces for the period from 1986 to 2006, was performed. Findings indicate that several factors have an impact on the violence against the police: the proportion of young people aged 15-24, the proportion of males aged 15 and more, the proportion of population living in urban areas, the proportion of divorced people, the residual rates of violent crimes and drug crimes, and the number of people who escaped custody and prisoners unlawfully at large. The growing presence of women police officers, which is still debated, appears to reduce the number of assaults against police officers, although the impact of this factor is of limited scope. In Quebec, the continual increase in the rate of assaults against the police officers can possibly be explained by the increase of several factors identified as playing a role in the phenomenon, although a change in crime reporting can also be taken into account.

La violence contre les policiers a des répercussions importantes à la fois chez les policiers et pour les administrateurs de la police. En 2005, le taux canadien de voies de fait contre la police a atteint son plus haut sommet en plusieurs décennies, faisant état d’une situation préoccupante. Plusieurs provinces canadiennes connaissent d’ailleurs une hausse marquée de la violence contre leurs policiers depuis plusieurs années. Cette étude vise donc à examiner et à comprendre l’évolution du phénomène de violence contre les policiers au Canada par l’identification de facteurs qui pourraient expliquer les variations du taux de voies de fait contre les policiers. La méthode d’analyse privilégiée dans le cadre de cette étude est une analyse transversale de séries chronologiques regroupées (pooled time series) qui traite des données portant sur les dix provinces canadiennes pour une période allant de 1986 à 2006. Les résultats indiquent que plusieurs facteurs ont un impact sur la violence dont sont victimes les policiers : la proportion de la population âgée entre 15 et 24 ans, la proportion d’hommes de 15 ans et plus, la proportion de la population vivant dans une région urbaine, la proportion de gens divorcés, les taux résiduels de crimes de violence et de crimes rattachés aux drogues, et le nombre d’évasions et de personnes en liberté sans excuse. La présence croissante de policières, qui fait encore l’objet de débats, semble quant à elle réduire le nombre de voies de fait contre la police, quoique l’impact de ce facteur soit de faible portée. Au Québec, la une hausse importante du taux de voies de fait contre les policiers pourrait s’expliquer par la hausse de plusieurs facteurs identifiés comme jouant un rôle dans le phénomène, bien qu’il ne faille pas écarter qu’un changement dans la reportabilité puisse entrer en ligne de compte. / Violence against police officers has important implications both for police officers and police administration. In 2005, the Canadian rate of assault against police officers rose to its highest in decades, showing a worrying situation. Moreover, several Canadian provinces are experiencing a marked increase in violence against their police officers for several years. This study aims to examine and understand the trend of violence against the police officers in Canada by identifying factors affecting the rate of assaults against police officers. In order to do so, a pooled time series analysis, which processes data on the ten Canadian provinces for the period from 1986 to 2006, was performed. Findings indicate that several factors have an impact on the violence against the police: the proportion of young people aged 15-24, the proportion of males aged 15 and more, the proportion of population living in urban areas, the proportion of divorced people, the residual rates of violent crimes and drug crimes, and the number of people who escaped custody and prisoners unlawfully at large. The growing presence of women police officers, which is still debated, appears to reduce the number of assaults against police officers, although the impact of this factor is of limited scope. In Quebec, the continual increase in the rate of assaults against the police officers can possibly be explained by the increase of several factors identified as playing a role in the phenomenon, although a change in crime reporting can also be taken into account.

"L'image que l'on donne/ N'est pas toujours la bonne" Les Cowboys Fringants, “Les Hirondelles” Malgré les changements dans le traitement des femmes au fil des décennies, les vraies policières continuent de souffrir des injustices de la part de leurs supérieurs masculins, ainsi que de la communauté qu'ils ont juré de protéger. Tant que la fiction reflète la réalité, on peut s'attendre que le genre de la polar du type policier démontrera non seulement les injustices entre les sexes, mais aussi les façons différentes que les victimes féminin y répondre. Comme des vrais policières, les détectives féminins fictifs sont trop souvent des victimes, même quand elles sont les protagonistes, même si leurs auteurs sont des femmes. Preuve de la discrimination contre les femmes policières réelles et fictives seront explorées dans cette thèse en regardant l'histoire des romans policiers, à travers des études de cas réels impliquant des policiers féminins réelles, ainsi que l'analyse de certains personnages clés dans les textes de discussion par Chrystine Brouillet, Vicki Delany et Louise Penny. En conséquence, il sera démontré que les images projetées par les agents de polices féminins réels et fictifs, quelles ne sont pas toujours bonnes, sont de plus en plus varié à la suite du mouvement féministe et en raison de la résistance littéral et imaginaire aux stéréotypes sexistes. Même si elles sont maintenant les protagonistes, les femmes détectives fictionaux faire face aux un réduction du l'agence et sont soumisent aux attentes différentes de genre que leurs homologues masculins. Aspects de l'inégalité des sexes présents dans les sociétés occidentales d'aujourd'hui se glissent dans la fiction et agir dans une manière pas toujours possible dans la monde réalité. Parfois, les situations sexistes sont résolu dans fiction, malgré le fait qu'ils existent toujours dans les vies quotidien de certaines femmes policiers. Les stéréotypes autour qu'est-ce que ça veut dire d'être policier causent des injustices du genre et existent souvent simultanément avec des images de femmes qui nient ces mêmes stéréotypes. La représentation de la femme policière est donc multiples, les stéréotypes reproduit, mélangé, ou effacé complètement. Masculinity is still regarded as the embodiment of strength and heroism and the female body, weakness and victimization. Philippa Gates, Detecting Women, 282 Despite changes in the treatment of women over the decades, policewomen continue to suffer gender injustices at the hands of their male superiors, as well as from the community they are sworn to protect. The injustices they face are publicized by such media as the CBC, though often in an exaggerated fashion. As fiction often reflects reality, one can expect that the genre of the police procedural will demonstrate not only such gender injustices but also various ways victims respond to them. Like real policewomen, fictional female detectives are too often victims even when they are the protagonists, and even when their author is a woman. Evidence of the victimization of real and fictional policewomen will be explored in this thesis by looking at the history of detective fiction, and through real case studies involving real female police officers, as well as the analysis of certain key characters in focus texts by Chrystine Brouillet, Vicki Delany, and Louise Penny. As a result, it will be shown that the images projected by actual and fictional female police officers, while not always positive ones, are becoming more varied as a result of the feminist movement and as a result of literal and imaginary resistance to sexist stereotypes. Despite having moved into a protagonist position, fictional female detectives all too often have reduced agency and different gendered expectations than their male counterparts. Aspects of gender inequity present in Western societies today creep into fiction and are played out in ways not always possible in reality. Sometimes, sexist problems present in the fictional texts are resolved despite the fact that they still exist in certain policewomen's everyday lives. Stereotypes of what a police officer should be function in ways that reflect and reproduce gender injustices and often exist simultaneously with images of women that resist and oppose these same stereotypes. The representation of policewoman is thus multiple, reproducing stereotypes, blurring them, or erasing them altogether.