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66 FBI L. Enforcement Bull. 20 (1997)
Reducing Stress: An Organization-Centered Approach

handle is hein.journals/fbileb66 and id is 252 raw text is: Reducing Stress An Organization-Centered Approach By PETER FINN M.A. eople in all walks of life experience, and miust find ways to cope with, some degree of stress. However, in the past 25 years, researchers and criminal justice officials have identi- fied stress factors unique to, or more pronounced among, law en- forcement officers. Today, law en- forcement is widely considered to be among the most stressful occupations, associated with high rates of divorce, alcoholism, suicide, and other emotional and health problems.' Despite the growing under- standing of stress efactors within the law enforcement profession and en- hanced treatment for stress-related problens, many officers feel that law enforcement is more stressful now than ever before. This senti- ment can be traced to several fac- tors, including the rise in violent crime during the 1980s and early 1.990s; perceived increases in nega- tive publicity, public scrutiny, and lawsuits; fiscal uncertainty; fear of airborne and bloodborne diseases, such as AIDS and tuberculosis; ris- ing racial tensions; and the transi- tion from reactive to problem-ori- ented policing. Sources of stress for individual law enforcement officers can be placed into five general categories: issues in the officer's personal life, the pressures of law enforce- ment work, the attitude of the gen- eral public toward pol ice work and officers, the operation of the crimi- nal justice system, and the law en- forceient <>roanization itself. Many people perceive the danger and tension of law enforcement work-as dramatized in books, mayies, and television shows-to be the most serious sources of stress for officers. In ftI, the most connon sources of police officer stress involve the policies and pro- cedures of l w enforcement agen- cies themselves,. This article examines the often-neglected effects that organ- izational stress has on agencies and officers. It then discusses why managers should change 20 / FBI Law Enforcement Bulletin

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