100 4 Police and Law Enforcement—Family Fuse of alcohol, the typical officer's use is higher than that of the general population,
When one examines the nature of police work, it is not difficult to understand this
phenomenon.
Alcohol is often used by police officers as a sleep-inducing agent to help deal
with biological rhythm disruptions associated with shift work. It is also used to help
control deep-seated cynicism, another coping strategy employed by police officers
who have become disenchanted with the operation of the police department in
which they work.
T E. Baker and Baker (1996) described the warning signs associated with the
police officer who may commit suicide. According to these authors, supervisors
should look for clusters of symptoms such as a recent loss, sadness, frustration, dis-
appointment, grief, alienation, depression, loneliness, physical pain, mental anguish,
and mental illness. Other signs should also be examined, the most obvious being a
previous suicide attempt or other type of self-mutilation.Stigma in Asking for Help
As with many other occupations, law enforcement includes its own unwritten code
of conduct and subculture. A traditionally masculine occupation, many male police
officers feel the need to keep psychological distress signs to themselves for fear
of being viewed as "soft." Likewise, female police officers often do not wish to
display their negative psychological states for fear that they will be viewed as weak
in character. Many police officers also refuse to reveal their emotional concerns
or disruptions for fear that they will not obtain one of the very few^7 promotional
positions available within the department (Arrigo & Garsky, 1997; Shearer, 1993).
This often results in a police officer's understanding that asking for help may result
in such things as forced leave, demotion, or simply ridicule and lack of respect
by colleagues. As a result, emotions, feelings, and sometimes faulty or unhealthy
thinking patterns remain bottled up inside for indefinite amounts of time, causing
such states as depression.
Depression, is characterized as a mood disorder that may encompass a person's
entire range of functioning: increased or decreased appetite or sleep, bouts of crying,
feelings of worthlessness, guilt, difficulty concentrating, difficulty making decisions,
and thoughts of suicide and death. Clearly, this psychological state can detrimentally
affect the police officer's ability to competently and objectively perform his or her
duties. Realizing this, the police officer often chooses silence as a means of avoiding
these issues.
Understanding this, supervisors must take a more active role in identifying prob-
lems that officers may have. It is not enough to simply tell the officers that they
are available if anyone has a problem or issue and would like to discuss it. Super-
visors must actively question the officers and provide periodic check-ups that will
give them a better opportunity to assess if an officer is dealing with an issue or
experiencing a large amount of stress and is in need of counsel.