Police Officer Observation

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Pages: 6

Observation

*What causes police officers to have poor health?

Statement of the Problem

Many police officers suffer from some sort of health problem. These problems include high blood pressure, anxiety, depression, and mental health problems. Because of the nature of their work, police officers have a high risk of these problems (Van Der Velden, et al, 2010). Officers are usually working long hours at various shifts, they are exposed to sights and experiences that cause stress. Stress and other factors causes police officers to have poor health. Some of the new, younger officers have problems dealing with these issues. On the other hand, some veteran officers also have problems dealing with the same issues. New
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Workplace stressors are at any job we have. How we handle the job and the duties that go with it is a direct link to how stressful the job will be. Some people handle stress better than others; therefore, they will handle some jobs better than some. Work related stress is a significant determinant of physical and mental health, especially to cardiovascular health and depression (Lucas, Weidner & Janisse, 2012). That being said, policing is considered to be a highly stressful job. We know that stress is an internal state of mind that is altered by different physical demands on the body or situations that can be harmful that we do not have control of. Sometimes these situations are more than we can cope with (Roz & Ravel, …show more content…
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