West Point Leadership Program

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Emotional Survival In Law Enforcement Susan E.
Conner, Ph.D. Dorothy Tucker, Ph.D. LAPD
Behavioral Science Services
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Course Overview

• Sources of Emotional Stress
• Police Cynicism
• Emotional Rollercoaster of Stress
• Impact of Chronic Hypervigilance
• Warning signs
• Survival skills
• Emotional Survival for Law Enforcement
• Kevin M. Gilmartin, Ph.D.

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Top 10 Stressful Jobs in the U.S.

• 1. Inner City H.S. Teacher
• 2. Police Officer
• 3. Miner
• 4. Air Traffic Controller
• 5. Medical Intern
• 6. Stockbroker
• 7. Journalist
• 8. Customer Service Worker
• 9. Secretary
• 10. Waiter
• 
  ( Centers for
  Disease Control CDC)

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Stressors Particular to Police Work

• Exposure to traumatic, critical events
• Shift changes
• Constant exposure to negativity human misery (and
  people making dumb decisions)
• Bureaucracy
• Constant scrutiny from community department
• Dangerous work contrasted with periods of boredom
• Overwhelming work demands
• Death or injury to co-workers
• Changes in personality and behavior caused by the
  job
• Microaggressions

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Law EnforcementAn Extreme Culture

• Hours of boredom - minutes of sheer terror
• Dealing with life and death issues everyday
• Exposed to the worst that people can do
• In any organization where extremes exist, it is
  necessary to have cultural characteristics which
  reinforce the collective and impersonal nature of
  the work.
• (Crank, 1998)

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Elements of Police Culture that Contribute to
Stress-Related Problems

• Trained to remain unemotional in emotionally
  charged situations
• Culturally trained to be silent about feelings
• Expected to handle trauma, without a reaction
• Self-reliance
• Us vs. Them
• Problem solvers
• (Crank, 1998)

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Cynicism in Police Officers

• What cops see in the world while on duty and
  eventually off duty as well.
• How cops must learn to see the world in order to
  survive.

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Cynicism

• How has the job changed you?
• How did you feel about the job when you first
  graduated from the academy?
• How do you feel now?

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Heres a test
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• Scout Leader

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Cynicism

• Every scout leader you have met (through work)
  may have been a pedophile.
• Thats why you need to seek out other experiences
  and get other data.

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Emotional Changes Caused by Cynicism

• Anger
• Moodiness
• Depression
• Feelings of hopelessness

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Psychological Changes Caused by Cynicism

• Critical
• Pessimism
• Low self-esteem
• Insensitivity to others
• Rigidity
• Disassociation

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Personal Stress

• Life Events Checklist
• (See Handout)

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Hypervigiliance

• just trying to stay alive

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Hypervigiliance

• A perpetual set of abnormal elevated alertness to
  the surroundings in order to maintain officer
  safety.
• A necessary manner of viewing the world from a
  threat-based perspective and seeing all events as
  potentially dangerous.

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Living Between the Lines
_________Normal Vigilance___________ ? ?
? __________________________________
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_____________________
Hypervigilance Working Above the Red Line

• ? ?
• Normal range _____________________________________
  ___

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On Duty Effects of Hypervigilance (the good
stuff)

• Feeling alive
• Feeling energetic
• Alert
• Involved
• Humorous

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The Off Duty Effects of Hypervigilance

• Tired
• Irritable
• Detached
• Apathetic
• Difficulty making decisions

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The Biological Rollercoaster

• What goes up must come down
• Alive and Alert at Work
• Zombie-like at home
• Going to work is fun
• Going home is not fun

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The Biological Rollercoaster

• The job has changed him
• Checked-out
• Always watching TV or on the computer
• Too tired for the kids
• Too tired to make decisions

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Distorted Thinking

• I am happy at work. I am not happy at home.
  There must be something wrong with my marriage.
• I have a great husband and kids. Why arent I
  happy? There must be something wrong with me.

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Avoidance Behavior

• Staying at work
• Chasing extra overtime
• Off duty jobs
• Stopping off after work for drinks
• Spending more time at the gym
• Going home but remaining detached

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Danger Zone

• Over-involved at work, Under-involved at home.
• If the job becomes your life and you dont
  control your job, then you dont control your
  life.

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Things you cant control

• Organizational changes
• Chiefs agenda
• Policies
• Uniforms
• Budget
• Work Assignment
• Commute
• Work Schedule
• City Politics

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Ways we try to control

• Complain about everything
• File grievances
• File lawsuits
• File stress disability claims
• Do as little as possible and wait for retirement
• Resign (angry and bitter)

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Warning Signs

• Social withdrawal off duty
• Decreased interaction with non-police friends
• Problems with minor decision making
• Multiple affairs
• Decreased interaction with your children
• Loss of interest in hobbies

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Emotional Survival Strategies

• Training and education, including application of
  emotional survival
• Training in communication and being re-connected
  to feelings.
• Couple and family communication skills, conflict
  management, problem solving, and parenting
  skills.
• Having a full life outside of the job
• Healthy/Balanced Lifestyle

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• Emotional Survival for Law Enforcement
• Kevin M. Gilmartin
• Susan E. Conner, Ph.D.
• LAPD Behavioral Science Services
• 213.485.2620
• susan.conner_at_lapd.lacity.org