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CJAD 451: Effects Of Stress In Law Enforcement

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CJAD 451: Effects Of Stress In Law Enforcement
Effects of Stress in Law Enforcement

Glenn R. Kapheim

CJAD 451; Management of Criminal Justice Agencies
Professor Charles Hall
July 10, 2013

Similar to military service, individuals are attracted to a law enforcement profession for various reasons. Some are interested in the authoritative position while others are attracted by the ability to uphold high standards of law enforcement. Whatever the reason for pursuing this line of profession, one thing remains constant for each law enforcement professional is the stress, and how the stress has a limited or lasting effect. The focus of this paper is on the effects of stress to law enforcement professionals and may be generic in some aspects in order to generalize effects as each individual’s reaction to a situation may be significantly different depending on many factors. Much research has been
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As a K-9 officer he not only has to protect his personal interests, he also has the worries of his service dog and the civilians he has promised to protect and serve. In addition to his personal concerns, Officer Huggins’ wife is also an officer in the Gwinnett County Police Department and combined have an exponential source of work related stress. C. Huggins (personal communication, August 2013). Interesting insight was provided through the interview with Officer Huggins, in that he not only described the work life sources of stress but also described the sources of stress from his off duty interactions with the general public and home life. This suggests that there are concerns to law enforcement personnel that are not associated with their work life but still hold the same weight, or even more, than the daily routine in

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