<p>The purpose of the study was to investigate levels of occupational stress experienced by police officers and the strategies used to cope with stress. The study findings are based on a sample of 104 police officers from six police stations within the Cape Town area. The results indicated that participants have been in the police service for an average of 7.72 years, and have worked an average of 4.8 years at their present stations. The majority of participants are between 26-30 years old (31%), male (75%), married(51%), coloured (65%), constables (45%), Afrikaans speaking (47%), and have a matric qualification (70%). The Spielberger Police Stress Survey and the Brief COPE Inventory were used as data collection tools. The findings indicated that police officers were experiencing moderate levels of stress as an outcome of inherent and organisational occupational demands. Secondly, police officers were more likely to use problem-focussed coping strategies to manage occupational stress than maladaptive strategies. The limited use of avoidance coping strategies was surprising, given the elevated prevalence of both physical and psychological disorders within the police context. The results indicated no significant association between levels of distress and avoidance coping strategies. The potential adverse outcomes of severe stress within this group affect&nbsp / society in general more than stress from most other occupational groups. Addressing persistent stress within the organisation is imperative in ensuring a well-functioning police service, and ultimately, a secure and healthy society.</p>

<p>The purpose of the study was to investigate levels of occupational stress experienced by police officers and the strategies used to cope with stress. The study findings are based on a sample of 104 police officers from six police stations within the Cape Town area. The results indicated that participants have been in the police service for an average of 7.72 years, and have worked an average of 4.8 years at their present stations. The majority of participants are between 26-30 years old (31%), male (75%), married(51%), coloured (65%), constables (45%), Afrikaans speaking (47%), and have a matric qualification (70%). The Spielberger Police Stress Survey and the Brief COPE Inventory were used as data collection tools. The findings indicated that police officers were experiencing moderate levels of stress as an outcome of inherent and organisational occupational demands. Secondly, police officers were more likely to use problem-focussed coping strategies to manage occupational stress than maladaptive strategies. The limited use of avoidance coping strategies was surprising, given the elevated prevalence of both physical and psychological disorders within the police context. The results indicated no significant association between levels of distress and avoidance coping strategies. The potential adverse outcomes of severe stress within this group affect&nbsp / society in general more than stress from most other occupational groups. Addressing persistent stress within the organisation is imperative in ensuring a well-functioning police service, and ultimately, a secure and healthy society.</p>

Doctor of Philosophy / Department of Sociology, Anthropology, and Social Work / L. Susan Williams / Law enforcement is widely regarded as one of the most stressful and violent professions. Officer stress is associated with a number of negative behaviors and psychological outcomes including high rates of substance abuse, divorce, and violence. Concerns over officer violence include both work-related acts, like use of excessive force or unwarranted deadly force, and non-work related violence such as domestic abuse. Despite interest in the interplay between subcultural attitudes, organizational structure, and high stress events, most research on police violence fails to address a fundamental concern--that of gender. In fact, the majority of research addressing officer stress fails to mention gender or concentrates on gender as a simple control variable. In order to examine how gender, stress, and law enforcement structures predict violent behavior among police officers, this dissertation utilizes both existing data and direct officer interviews. Findings show that law enforcement remains largely a masculine enterprise, and that gender drives images, interaction, and organizational behavior, often at the expense of both men and women officers. Stress, burnout, and use of violence by officers are not simply a response to high stress events, but are embedded in the gender structure and process of policing.

Magister Artium (Psychology) - MA(Psych) / The purpose of the study was to investigate levels of occupational stress experienced by police officers and the strategies used to cope with stress. The study findings are based on a sample of 104 police officers from six police stations within the Cape Town area. The results indicated that participants have been in the police service for an average of 7.72 years, and have worked an average of 4.8 years at their present stations. The majority of participants are between 26-30 years old (31%), male (75%), married(51%), coloured (65%), constables (45%), Afrikaans speaking (47%), and have a matric qualification (70%). The Spielberger Police Stress Survey and the Brief COPE Inventory were used as data collection tools. The findings indicated that police officers were experiencing moderate levels of stress as an outcome of inherent and organisational occupational demands. Secondly, police officers were more likely to use problem-focussed coping strategies to manage occupational stress than maladaptive strategies. The limited use of avoidance coping strategies was surprising, given the elevated prevalence of both physical and psychological disorders within the police context. The results indicated no significant association between levels of distress and avoidance coping strategies. The potential adverse outcomes of severe stress within this group affect society in general more than stress from most other occupational groups. Addressing persistent stress within the organisation is imperative in ensuring a well-functioning police service, and ultimately, a secure and healthy society. / South Africa

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The South African Police Service is seen as inseparable cornerstone of the society. To render effective and efficient service to the communities depends largely on the human source. The satisfaction of police officers with the jobs, will affect the quality of service they render to the general public. In this respect, the question of how satisfied are they with their jobs gains importance. The general aim of this study is to investigate job satisfaction, stress and burnout of members of the South African Police Service in Mmabatho and Vryburg area in the North-West Province. To reach this objective, that is, investigating job satisfaction, stress and burnout of members of the South African Police Service in Mmabatho and Vryburg area in the North-West Province, questionnaires consisting of the following measuring instruments were used: the Minnesota Job Satisfaction Survey (MSQ), Police Stress Survey (PSS), the Maslach Burnout Inventory-General Survey (MEI-GS) and the Utretch Work Engagement Scale (UWES). Stratified random samples of the police members (N=227) were taken from Mmabatho and Vryburg area of the North-West Province. The results, indicates amongst other things that members of the police are dissatisfied with aspects that are extrinsic to their work, e.g. working . conditions and pay. Also experiencing stress emanating from mainly two sources, namely: job demands e.g. increased responsibilities and job resources e.g. lack/inadequate resources to perform their duties. As a result of stress experienced, they feel burned out but engaged to their work. / (M. Com.) North-West University, Mafikeng Campus, 2003

Working in the police service can be very demanding on a physical and emotional level. Many police offers often experience stress, trauma and anxiety which even sometimes leads to suicide. In order to deal with the stressors they face, officers have to use various coping methods. This present study aims to analyse the coping strategies used by police officers in the SAPS and whether these coping strategies change over a period of time. The main purpose is to investigate which coping responses are used most by police officers in the SAPS and to determine how the prominence of these coping responses change over a period of time. This study has a longitudinal approach and will add value to the body of research since no longitudinal study has previously been conducted on coping within the SAPS. Three samples, collected at three different points in time, were used in this study. The first sample (n = 1277) was collected while the officers were newly enrolled, the second sample (n = 463) was taken whilst they were undergoing practical training in the college and the last sample (n = 120) was collected when the police officers had spent two years in the field. The Ways of Coping (WoC) questionnaire was used as measuring instrument. The results of this study suggest that police officers predominantly use seeking social support, planful problem solving and positive reappraisal to deal with their daily stress. These responses are mainly seen as adaptive ways of dealing with stress. The coping responses used least includes escape avoidance, accepting responsibility and confrontive coping. There are clear indications that the way in which police officers use coping responses change over time spent in the SAPS. Over time, police officers accepted significantly less responsibility, and made less use of confrontive coping. Police officers also relied more on planful problem solving, positive reappraisal and escape avoidance. On a practical level it is suggested to conduct interventions in all units, divisions and on all levels to reinforce and refresh positive coping strategies in order to enhance the emotional well-being throughout the SAPS. / Dissertation (MCom)--University of Pretoria, 2016. / Human Resource Management / MCom / unrestricted

Research relating to police stress has typically focused on officers working in urban areas, neglecting their rural counterparts. This is especially true of conservation officers, who are tasked with enforcing laws in state parks and other recreational areas. To date, only a handful of studies have sought to better understand their experiences and perceptions. The current study seeks to further our understanding of conservation officer stress in three unique ways: (1) via applying McCreary and Thompson’s (2006) operational police stress scale (PSQ-Op) to the population, (2) determining whether officer characteristics (e.g., age, education, length of service) affect perceived stress, and (3) exploring the influence of various job duties on these perceptions. Survey data are gathered from officers located in several states, with results serving to improve our understanding of conservation officer stress.

Police officers deal with a variety of stresses from different sources. Organizational stresses have the most effect on police officers, often more than stressful critical incidents. Previous research has indicated that over time, the mundane organizational and operational stresses of the job can result in a variety of effects from psychological to physiological, and this stress can impact police performance and public safety. However, there remains an important gap in the current literature regarding the impact of stress on the decision-making style of police officers. Police officers often make split-second decisions that can affect their life, the public, and other police officers. Therefore, this quantitative study utilized the General Decision-Making Styles, Operational Police Stress Questionnaire, and Organizational Police Stress Questionnaire to measure the amount of stress police officers are experiencing and if organizational stress influenced their decision-making style. Data were collected from 150 police officers employed in Iowa, and standard multiple regression analysis was used to test the hypotheses. Findings indicated that there is a relationship between operational and organizational stresses and decision-making style. The results of this study support positive social change by identifying which stressors impact a police officer's decision-making style. Early identification of police officers who are struggling with organizational stress can help reduce burnout, turnover, citizen complaints, and use of force investigations, which might help strengthen the public's trust in their police officers and police departments.