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The present study examined the possibility of Belief in a Just World (BJW) acting as a personal resource for police officers, simultaneously protecting their well-being through voice behaviour, vertical trust, and work-family conflict. The sample comprised 573 police officers who voluntarily consented to answer an anonymous online survey. Self-reported measures of personal BJW, voice behaviour, vertical trust, work-family conflict, and well-being were collected. The results of a parallel multiple mediator model (controlling for quantitative demands) showed that all three mediators were significant. Therefore, we found support for BJW acting as a personal resource by simultaneously protecting police officers’ well-being through boosting both voice behaviour and vertical trust, and reducing work-family conflict. Work-family conflict was found to have the largest effect size in the mediation mechanism between BJW and police officers’ well-being. The implications of these results for future research and intervention in police organisations are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Police officers are routinely exposed to a variety of critical incidents and as a result are a population vulnerable to various mental health issues. However, little is known about the impacts of exposure to citizens' trauma on officers' mental health and whether officers specializing in domestic violence prevention can better cope with the stress resulting from citizens' trauma. This study aims to address these research gaps by analyzing the data collected from a sample of 734 Taiwanese police officers through an online survey. Findings indicate that cumulative exposure to citizens' trauma was positively associated with secondary traumatic stress. Though officers specializing in domestic violence prevention experienced a higher level of secondary traumatic stress than their non-specialist counterparts, their specialization did help them better manage secondary traumatic stress. This study represents the first known attempt to examine the impacts of exposure to citizens' trauma on police officers' mental health in an Asian setting; it is also groundbreaking in that it tested whether specialization in domestic violence prevention can serve as a protective factor against exposure to citizens' trauma. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of this study is to uncover effects of selection and socialization on the perceived need for punishment within the police force. Punitiveness and authoritarianism of police officers can be relatively stable attitudes that can already appear when individuals choose the police profession in terms of a selection effect. Two effects of institutional socialization are examined. Firstly, the effect of the time already spent at the university within the police sample. Secondly, the effect due to increasing age and work experience. The analyses are based on data from police students with and without prior police work experience (n = 274) and a representative sample of the general population (n = 892). The results indicate that there are hardly any selection effects. The duration of the police studies has a reducing effect on punitiveness and authoritarianism. Police students with prior work experience as police officers are less punitive and authoritarian with increasing age. The cause of this age effect, which is not directly related to work experience, is discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Using a quasi-experimental design, the present work seeks to answer whether officer recollection is more precise if they are interviewed moments after a stressful incident (experimental group), compared to officers who are questioned three days after the event (control group). Police officers were exposed to a video simulation of a suspicious male that required either a shoot or don't shoot outcome. The scenario lasted less than 30 seconds. The timing of questioning does not have a significant effect on the accuracy of memory recall. Still, the experimental group have a higher percent of correct answers than officers in the control group. Further, accuracy of memory recall does significantly differ by threat type. Officers tend to remember a higher percent of threat details than non-threat details. Implications of these findings are discussed, particularly in relation to the contemporary use of body-worn cameras in policing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Policework involves a high level of risk, and police officers are frequently victimized while on duty. However, victimization rates differ considerably within the police corps and depend on a number of personal and situational variables. This research is based on a survey of police officers in the canton of St. Gallen, Switzerland (N = 478). It follows two research paths to investigate the link between punitive attitudes and victimization experiences: punitiveness as a factor in higher victimization rates, and victimization experiences causing an increase in punitive attitudes. The results showed no significant difference between male and female officers in terms of punitiveness, and that punitiveness significantly increased with age. Also, punitiveness was found to decrease as the hours spent on street patrol duty increased. Examining the link between victimization and punitiveness, this study also found a surprising effect that officers without victimization experiences in the three years prior to the survey showed significantly higher levels of punitiveness than their victimized colleagues. Futhermore, officers who experienced victimization were found to become less punitive as the time they spent on the street increased, while the opposite was true for their non-victimized counterparts. These a priori counterintuitive results could possibly be explained by a 'professionalization' or a 'familiarization' effect and serve as a basis for further research as well as for police practice and training. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study investigates the effectiveness of an integrative group program of four 4-h sessions, designed to enhance emotional intelligence, empathy, resilience and stress management skills among police officers. Fifty police officers participated in this study, allocated to either the intervention group (n = 23) or the control group (n = 27). The participants completed various self-report questionnaires both before and after the implementation of the program, as well as three months later. Results indicated significant improvement of emotional intelligence, empathy, resilience and stress management levels in the intervention group, compared to the control group. In addition, the positive changes remained significant three months after the termination of intervention. This study provides empirical evidence supporting the effectiveness of an intensive, broad targeting group program, which could be integrated into the Police Academies to bring benefits at an individual, social and organizational level. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Problematic alcohol consumption by police officers is well documented in the literature. It also shows that critical incident stress is correlated with this behavior. A separate body of research indicates that religious coping exerts a moderate protective effect on various types of problematic behavior, including problematic alcohol consumption. We merge these literatures in an effort to determine if religious coping reduces problematic alcohol consumption by police officers and whether it mitigates the positive relationship between critical incident stress and problematic drinking. Data from thePolice Stress and Domestic Violence in Police Families in Baltimore, Maryland, 1997–1999are analyzed to examine these propositions (n = 1004). Results indicate that police officers with higher levels of religious coping were in fact less likely to report problematic alcohol consumption. However, religious coping did not mitigate the positive relationship between critical incident stress and problematic alcohol consumption. The implications of our findings and suggestions for future research are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Law enforcement is often described as a challenging occupation, and working in law enforcement can result in work–family conflict. This exploratory study was undertaken to examine how the different dimensions of work–family conflict are related to job stress among Indian police officers. There are four major dimensions of work–family conflict: strain-based, behavior-based, time-based, and family-based. Data was collected from a survey of police officers in the Sonipat and Rohtak districts of the Indian state of Haryana. Bivariate results revealed that an increase in any one of the dimensions of work–family conflict was associated with increases in stress from work. Multivariate analysis, however, revealed only three of the four dimensions of work–family conflict had a significant association with job stress. Specifically, strain-based conflict, behavior-based conflict, and family-based conflict were significantly associated with higher levels of job stress. These findings provide support for the job strain model. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this study was to measure the amount of error incurred by police officers when trying to accurately draw a previously completed movement path, which occurred during their response to a high-stress encounter. Secondary purposes of the study examined whether gridlines on a diagram or a distractor situation would influence memory accuracy. Officers (n = 23) were taken through a high-stress stimulus phase, followed by a memory recall phase where they were required to accurately draw their path of travel. Average distance traveled was 5.15 ± 1.98 m. Average discrepancy for all participants was an area of 3.23 ± 4.13 m2and length of 1.43 ± 1.30 m. Significant length differences were found between actual and recalled paths of travel (p < .01). No other significant area or length differences were found. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This is a qualitative study using a phenomenological approach that examines police officers’ experiences with and perceptions of justice within their departments. The main research question under investigation in this study is: How do officers perceive organizational justice within their departments? Interviews with current and former police officers were conducted over a five-month period, and the officers’ responses were analyzed in order to identify themes related to the research question. Findings indicate that most police officers experienced or witnessed some form of unfairness within their department and these perceptions are related to the officers’ sense of value. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The four dimensions of community policing identified in 1997 by Cordner were used to explore the factor structure of the construct. A police department’s definition of community policing was interpreted using Cordner’s dimensions, and for each dimension items that represented underlying policing elements were generated. The content validity of the items associated with Cordner’s philosophical, strategic, tactical, and organizational dimensions was assessed using subject matter experts (SMEs). Confirmatory (CFA) and exploratory factor analyses (EFA) were conducted to assess the construct factorial validity of the factor structure. A confirmatory model of the four dimensions identified by Cordner was not supported. The EFA, however, identified a six-factor model that indicated an adequate fit to the data. The six factors were labeled as philosophical, strategic, tactical, organizational, psycho-social, and information. The findings confirmed Cordner’s original dimensions, and introduced psycho-social and information as two new ones. The study explored the policy implications for management programs of interpreting the dimensions in the context of a department’s own community policing practices. Limitations of the study and future directions were discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]