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Posted: Saturday 15 November, 2014 at 12:50 PM

The ‘Stress’ SKN Police bear

By: Carl Greaux

    Stress, which is formerly considered a personal problem, is now viewed as a corporate problem because of the effect it has on employees. In the St. Kitts-Nevis Police Force there is no professional counselor but a Superintendent of Police who is also the Force Chaplin to assist officers who have difficulty handling stress.  

     

    Stress causes physical illnesses, resulting in higher medical costs, lower productivity, absenteeism and premature death, all of which may be costly for the force or businesses as well as for the affected individuals, their families and friends. 

     Although people may encounter some stress in their jobs, there is evidence that stress is high among air traffic controllers, lawyers, doctors and police officers. Some argue that law enforcement is the most difficult among all jobs emotionally and psychologically because of the possibility of physical danger.

    One major difference between policing and most other professions is that police are trained to injure or kill, if the situation requires, they are expected to used force. Indeed, they may be sanctioned for not doing so. Officers, who kill, however, may be isolated by their colleague. The routine procedure is to suspend the officer pending an investigation of the shooting. Even when the investigation shows that the officer was justified in the killing, he or she may continue to experience stress.

    Another stressor in policing is the fear by officers and their families that the officer may be injured or killed in the line of duty. Although most officers are never victimized by the violence of others, the possibility of such violence is greater for them than for people in most, if not all, other professions. The fact that the possibility of such violence is slight, is of little comfort, especially given such act of violence as that in the Frigate Bay area in 2006, which took the life of Sergeant Benjamin.

    Clearly, the stress of policing reaches beyond the individual officer and at times scars the individuals and families involved.  Because of the effects of stress on police and their families as well as their colleagues, I recommend that the St. Kitts-Nevis Police Force or Agency should have stress-reduction programmes. 

    I believe that the Agency should implement comprehensive programmes that will include inpatient treatment facilities and services for the men and women who suffer from job related stress, so that the officers who are suffering from eating and sleep disorders, alcohol and drug addiction, posttraumatic stress, obsessive compulsive and anxiety disorders and other stress related illnesses can be treated. 

    I also recommend strongly that the Agency appoints a psychologist or some other professional trained in stress reduction so he or she can be available to officers in their work environment to assist the Force Chaplin. 
     
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