Category: Plan Your Career

Suicide ideation due to job stress differs by gender

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Author: Stephen A. Bishopp
Author’s Email Address: Author’s Agency or Organization: Dallas Police Department/Caruth Police Institute
Author or Author Agency’s Web site: http://www.untdallas.edu/cpi

A wide body of research has demonstrated that police officers are profoundly affected by the jobs they do. Faced with stress, officers learn to adapt by incorporating coping techniques.  The current study utilizes general strain theory to explain occurrences of the most dangerous maladaptive coping technique: suicide ideation. Police officers from three large cities in Texas were surveyed. We found that stress is significantly related to officers’ suicide ideation; however, there are important risk factors to consider. Additionally, important differences in suicide ideation outcomes between men and women police officers were found. Continue reading

Know when to make a change

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Author: Miguel Reyna
Author’s Email Address: Author’s Agency or Organization: Travis County Sheriff’s Office
Author or Author Agency’s Web site: www.tcsheriff.org

As a single father of three kids, I was forced to face some facts as I was on patrol working midnights…  Is it time to make a change? Am I still able to do this job and keep myself and my partners safe out here?

As a law enforcement officer, one of the most challenging things to do is face the fact that you have limitations.  In the course of six years I had undergone a myriad of changes in both my personal and professional life. Continue reading

15 Day Challenge for Healing and Renewing One’s Spirit

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Author: Captain Dan Willis
Author’s Email Address: Author’s Agency or Organization: La Mesa Police
Author or Author Agency’s Web site: N/A

1. Self Awareness: Write why you became a police officer, the purpose in your work, and how the job has adversely affected you, your outlook on life, your primary relationships: What value should you get from work?
Challenge: Re-dedicate yourself to the purpose of protecting and giving life to others. Write what your family, spouse, friends, work colleagues, and the community need from you and focus on that rather than what you want from them. Continue reading

The Power of Supportive Supervision

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Author: Sonny J Provetto, MSW. LCSW
Author’s Email Address: CLICK HERE to email Sonny Provetto
Author’s Agency or Organization: Law Enforcement Consultant/Psychothrapy
Author’s Web Site: N/A

Police supervision is a challenging and nearly impossible task given the environment that patrol officers work in and the nature of the work itself.  Nonetheless, supervision is a critical element for agencies trying to shape and guide their employees in the delivery of modern police services (Engel, 2001). A resilient organization begins to take shape when administrators and supervisors start caring about their people.   Continue reading

Trinity of Training- Family, Body, Mind

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Author: Sgt Joseph Zalenski
Author’s Email Address: CLICK HERE to email Sgt. Zalenski
Author’s Agency or Organization: Cape Coral Police Department, Florida USA
Author’s Web Site: n/a

To survive this career, an officer must be exposed to concepts that are not covered in the police academy. An officer must prepare the family for the unique situations that may arise and their own body both mentally and physically. Several police training concepts have been embraced trainers in my agency and presented to officers and spouses. LTC Dave Grossman’s books On Killing and On Combat have exposure nationally. Continue reading

Make a Difference

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Author: Sgt. Steve Dixon (ret)
Author’s Email Address: Click Here to Email Steve
Author’s Agency or Organization: San Jose (CA) Police Dept.
Author’s Web Site: http://www.onebitofdifference.com

The first piece of advice I give to all new police officers is to hit the ground running. As soon as you get out of your field training program you should go to every call you can go to. Trust me; you still have a lot to learn. The more calls you take, the more you will learn. One of the biggest mistakes I see new officers make is they wait for the dispatcher to send them on calls. Don’t let that be you. Volunteer for as many calls as you can take. Continue reading