FEAR IN POLICE WORK

Fear in Police Work

Fear is a complex emotion, one which can be either a healthy response to real danger or an irrational reaction to circumstances merely perceived as threatening. Although "...it continues...to perform its survival function, in all too many instances it becomes a reason in itself for behaviors that are life defeating. It moves the individual to self-defense when no self-defense is called for; making him withdraw from situations where his own best interests, and those of others, can only be served by his confident approach; making him repulse as enemies those who might otherwise enter into fellowship with him." Fear's transcendent characteristics include a set of physiological adjustments---the "flight or fight" phenomena, externalized expressions of anxiety, and efforts to manage subjectively perceived threats. Although these universal elements color judgments in all work settings, occupational expectations sometimes limit the options available toindividuals in handling fearful situations. In such settings the experience of fear is magnified severely.Even though police work is not the most unsafe career an individual can pursue, it provides only limited choices in managing perceived threats.

Officers do not enjoy the luxury of escaping from certain situations. They are supposed to be problem solvers and mediators promoting conflict resolution. They are also commissioned to handle dangerous situations which produce anxiety and fear. Their role, lionized by the popular mythologies of television and literature, includes unrealistic dimensions: they are supposed to be both sensitive individuals capable of delicate, sophisticated, tactful interventions and martial arts wizards trained to respond to crises with superior physical prowess. In either case, the social and occupational constraints of police work reduce the "flight or fight" response into a direct, forward and unequivocal, but not necessarily physical, confrontation with perceived threats.

The occupational realities of policing dictate a "fight"pattern to individual officers.Police work is unique not only because the management of subjectively defined danger occurs within limited alternative boundaries, but also because fear is ubiquitous. Officers are ever conscious of the fact that violent exchanges are always a very real possibility. (Even the most talented computer programs cannot predict life-threatening situations with any degree of accuracy.) The ubiquity of fear in policing has become a standard reference in popular culture---the officers of television's Hill Street Blues are admonished every week to "do it to them before they do it to us." The inherent weight of police responsibility intensifies the element of fear.

Should a civilian make an error of judgment, while in many instances this can lead to serious career problems, in most it simply involves redoing some aspect of his work. Unfortunately, for the police professional, a judgmental error may well involve the loss of life, that of another or his own. The problem is compounded by the fact that he often does not have the option of deliberating over the proper course to take. The time element is all too often too critical in the performance of his duties to allow that.

Police officers frequently exercise their responsibilities within a vacuum.Their alienation from the communities they serve has become a sociological cliche, one which is worth discussing in relation to the problem of fear. Although officers enter into constant contact with citizens, they do so without developing any degree of intimacy. (The dramatic increase in service calls reflects the quantity of police interactions with their communities.) Sequestered in patrol cars, responding to cryptically coded radio calls, officers know little about the social norms or the occupants of any given community. Reciprocally, citizens become passive in relation to policing. They do not act as buffers between the police and potentially hostile environments. As a consequence, officers not only perceive the environment to be volatile, they also begin to ascribe dangerous attributes to the inhabitants of the communities they serve.

The mental framework officers construct is similar to that which American soldiers exhibited in Vietnam:operating on an unfamiliar terrain with little knowledge of its occupants, officers must assume that every man, woman and young person is a potential threat. This mentality exacerbates the dimension of fear in police work, raising anxiety to an excruciating level.Beleaguered by an aggressive, dangerous world, police officers adopt protective occupational patterns. "The person who is possessed by fear expects to be hurt. Expecting to be hurt, he works up a way of life that is primarily a way of playing it safe."Since "playing it safe" by retreating is not an alternative for officers, they develop occupational attributes in an attempt to control and tame the external environment.

Suspiciousness, aloofness, excessive cautiousness and authoritarianism---even in the safest police/citizen exchanges---are all expressions of fear and anxiety. These tend to alienate police further from their communities. In this sense, fear is a dialectical phenomenon: it is endemic in police work, but it is also a variable which defines the way in which policing is conducted.Officers exhibit fear collectively as well as individually. Police unions sometimes institutionalize the anxieties of professional law enforcement.

When the Boston Police Commissioner, Edmund MacNamara, ordered officers to wear nametags on their shirts and coats in order to improve and personalize community relations, the Patrolmen's Association balked. It "...objected that the tags would expose the men to easier identification and their families to possible harassment." The commissioner suspended the order after officers began picketing and the International Ladies Garment Workers' Union refused to sew the tags on to uniforms. The Patrolmen's Association in Boston also reacted negatively to the redeployment of officers from two person cars to single officer foot beats. The safety of the officers was the major concern.Simply because officers are involved in numerous daily interactions with citizens, their sense of safety is a critical issue. An overly fearful officer can actively contribute to tension when responding to calls and entering into dialogues with citizens. Fear itself can lead to negative interactions ranging from verbal exchanges to physical altercations (including the use of deadly force) both of which are detremental to the citizen and the officer alike.

Fear is instrumental in keeping us on our toes and at keeping us alive on the job. It is a foolish man who says he fears nothing, being in a dangerous and unknown situation can raise your adrenaline and fear levels, which is GREAT at keeping you alive. It is times like this that our senses are heightened and we become alert to our surroundings. The extra few seconds for decision making can become a critical point in saving you or your partner or suspects life.Fear can also work against you, making you a less effective tool for LE on the streets.

If at any point you feel fear of situations is getting out of control I urge you to see a CISM councillor or other professional, as continuing on with the job in this situation may unfortunately lead to death. You, your partner, your suspects, or an unwitting bystander caught in the cross fire.

Work Safe Brothers and Sisters!!

"Sometimes there is Justice,and sometimes there is " JUST US!!"The Thin Blue Line!

S/Sgt. Tom Hanna #36739

"D" Division

FTO

T/O URT

I first had this published in the RCMP Gazette Nov. 2005

COP QUOTE:
Don't worry if the handcuffs are a bit tight, they're new, they'll loosen with wear!!
COP QUOTE #2:
"I'm glad you know the Chief of Police Sir, at least you'll have somebody to bail you out of jail! "