There are many negative effects of police work on police officers. Three of them are a lack of trust, loneliness and isolation. Understanding that police officers are secondary victims of stress is usually dismissed by those who are uniformed about these professions (Conroy, Hess vii). Officers are higher than average in the tendency to commit suicide because of these effects (Ellison, Genz 45). Often officers are uncomfortable or find it unnecessary to discuss what pain and suffering they are going through.

A lack of trust is one negative effect of police work on an officer. It is hard to separate on-duty and off-duty defense tactics. This distrust is, of course, an essential “survival mechanism” while on-duty (Conroy, Hess 99). It pretty much becomes an officer’s way of life because he is trained to look for the burden of proof. Having been lied to so often, he accepts little, if anything, on faith (Conroy, Hess 98). This becomes a problem in the officer’s relationships within his mates, family or friends. He analyzes everything they say and/or do in hopes to find some distrusting element. Many times, the officer mistakes their good faith efforts as faults.

A second negative effect of police work is the feeling of loneliness. Police officers often work alone, intervene in people’s lives alone and may make life-and-death decisions alone (Conroy, Hess 107). This burden makes the officer feel like he is the only one in his world. Many times, he/she feels like nobody understands what goes on in their life. Criticism from the public, lack of support and citizens’ fear of the police’s power to arrest are among some of the external causes of loneliness (Conroy, Hess 107).

The inability to talk about confidential information and witnessed events adds to the loneliness. Many officers do not bother to tell their spouses about bothersome calls for they do not want to disclose what they are going through. They do not want to be portrayed as weak in anyone’s eyes, certainly not those that are close to them. Therefore, the officer continues to harbor their daily events to themselves until they build into a steam engine of psychological problems.

Isolation, a third negative effect, is a skill that is often carried off-duty. An officer is detached from social settings because of the nature of his job. He may also feel uncomfortable in these settings for fear of saying something inappropriate (Conroy, Hess 126). Isolation from society not only leads to more psychological problems, but also problems with communication between family and friends. In many cases, professional duties creates a barrier that prevents the officer from interacting on a level of friendship with the people they serve (Conroy, Hess 124).

In conclusion, there are many effects of a police officer’s work. Lack of trust, loneliness and isolation are just three effects. Often these become part of the officer’s way of life because he can’t come out and discuss the problems causing these effects. Problem created by these effects include divorce or strained relationships. To many times, the officer does not get help like counseling or stress debriefing to keep the effects at a minimum.

WORKS CITED

Conroy, Dennis, and Karen Hess. Officers At Risk. California: CustomPublishing Company, 1992.

Ellison, Katherine, and John Genz. Stress And The Police Officer. Springfield Charles C. Thomas, 1983.

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