6' OFFICER STRESS

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6. OFFICER STRESS
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Unit Goal 6.1 The student will be able to
develop an increased awareness of stress and
stress-related issues for correctional officers.
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6.1.1 The student will be able to describe
contributing factors of stress for correctional
officers.
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A. Introduction
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1. How bad is correctional officer stress?
(Addressing Correctional Officer Stress Programs
and Strategies. The Counseling Team.)
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a. It has been revealed that stress among
correctional officers has become widespread and,
in many cases, severe. The following factors may
contribute to stress.
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(1) Supervising individuals who do not want to be
confined, and who, as a result, are trying to
manipulate staff to make their conditions of
confinement as tolerable as possible
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(2) The jail organization itself (understaffing,
overtime, rotating shift work, supervisor
demands, etc.) can create stress for many officers
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(3) Work-related sources of stress include the
treat of inmate violence, actual inmate violence,
inmate demands and manipulation, and problems
with co-workers
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(4) External stresses include poor public
image, low pay, poor health, and issues in the
officers personal lives.
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(5) Inmate overcrowding. (TCJS statistics)
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(a) As of 2003, the overall population in Texas
county jails is more than 80,000 inmates
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(b) As of March 2003, the majority of Texas jails
are operating at about 78. Only four jails are
operating over 100 capacity
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(6) Inmate assaults. Many offenders serving
increasingly longer sentences do not fear
punishment or respect the authority of
correctional officers. Inmates are not afraid to
assault staff, and they dont care if they get
put in segregation.
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(7) There are more gangs and more dangerous gangs
in prison.
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b. Stress can cause impaired health, burnout,
early retirement, and impaired family life.
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6.1.2 The student will be able to define stress.
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A. Concepts and definitions of stress.
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1. Hans Selye considered the pioneer in stress
research.
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Selye, H, PhD. (1978). Stress of Life. McGraw
Publishing, Inc.
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a. Concept of stress a process the body
undergoes when exposed to an outside stimulus, in
which the bodys reaction is fight or flight.
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b. Definition of stress a nonspecific or
generalized response to a variety of
environmental stressors.
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c. Stressors internal and/or external
conditions that can produce stress.
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6.1.3 The student will be able to identify
sources of officer stress.
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A. Sources of correctional officer stress
(Addressing Correctional Officer Stress
Programs and Strategies)
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1. Organizational sources of stress
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a. Understaffing - In many prisons and jails,
there are too few officers available to staff
authorized posts as a result of unattractive
salaries, high turnover, and excessive use of
sick time and disability leave. Understaffing
can create a variety of stress problems
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(1) Lack of time to complete required tasks, such
as head counts, searches, and paperwork, at all
or in a conscientious manner
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(2) Occasionally working at breakneck speed to
complete the required work, as well as addressing
unplanned inmate needs and requests
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(3) Apprehension when there are too few officers
available (as backup in case of inmate violence)
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(4) Inability to get time off for special
occasions or family crises
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b. Overtime - Staff shortages create the need for
extensive overtime among the remaining staff.
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According to an intake administrator for a state
department of corrections, At least 100 officers
have told me they dont answer their telephones
because it might be the institution calling for
overtime. Some officers get a second, unlisted
telephone number, which they keep secret from the
department.
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One facility allows officers to refuse overtime
assignments only once a year a second refusal
results in a warning a third, in a 1-day
suspension and a fourth, termination (if
possible).
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Some officers welcome overtime because of the
extra money they can earn. As one officer said,
Overtime is great - I worked three OTs a week
for 18 months. However, she quickly added, But
I got burned out, and my supervisors didnt even
acknowledge my contribution.
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c. Rotating shift work - Correctional officers
consistently report that rotating shifts wreak
havoc with family life and reduce officers
ability to perform their work conscientiously
because of fatigue and irritability. You can
tell when shift work is getting to officers, a
lieutenant said. Their work gets sloppy, their
searches become careless, their units are filthy,
and they stop following the rules.
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d. Supervisor demands - Several correctional
officers reported that supervisors are a source
of stress because, as one officer said, They are
always on you to do the job right, but you cant
do it right (because of staff shortages).
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There is supposed to be one officer per tier
here, but now theyve collapsed the posts, and
there is one officer for every two tiers. There
just isnt enough time for me to get inmates
awake, showered, and fed keep my log books up to
date do my checks and make sure the catwalks
have all been cleaned and disinfected.
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2. Role-related stress sources
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a. Research studies have consistently highlighted
two other sources of organizational stress that
correctional officers and administrators
themselves do not usually identify as stressful
role conflict and role ambiguity.
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b. Role conflict - Researchers define role
conflict as the struggle officers engage in to
reconcile custodial responsibilities (maintaining
security, such as preventing escapes and inmate
fights) with their treatment functions (helping
inmates rehabilitate themselves).
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c. Role ambiguity - Role ambiguity is the
uncertainty created by supervisors who expect
officers to go by the book and follow all rules
to the letter when supervisors and line officers
alike know that officers must be flexible and use
judgment in their interactions with inmates.
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One study illustrates this finding While
officers work in a paramilitary organization
marked by explicit lines of authority and a host
of formal regulations, their task of managing
inmates demands flexibility, the judicious
application of discretionary justice, and the
ability to secure inmate compliance through
informal exchanges which deviate from written
rules. Ambiguous and conflicting expectations
are a likely result and a potential source of
stress.
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3. Work-related sources of stress
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a. Threat of inmate violence - Correctional
officers interviewed for this report identified
the threat of inmate violence against staff as a
source of stress more frequently than any other
single feature of their occupation.
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b. Inmate violence - Actual violence (including
assaults, hostage taking, riots, inmates killing
each other, and inmate suicides) can be a major
source of stress for many officers not only
during the episodes, but afterwards Staff
anxiety is intensified (after critical incidents)
by the aftermath of recriminations, scapegoating,
blaming, and job insecurity.
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Except for police officers, corrections officers
have the highest number of workplace nonfatal
violent incidents per 1,000 employees of any
profession more than taxi drivers, convenience
store staff, mental health workers, or teachers.
From 1992 to 1996, there were nearly 218
incidents per 1,000 correctional officers, for a
total of 58,300 incidents.
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c. Inmate demands and manipulation. Many
officers find the constant demands and attempts
at manipulation by some inmates to be stressful.
For example, requests for cigarettes or extra
food with an implicit quid pro quo of promising
not to create trouble or to keep other inmates in
line. Furthermore, When officers are
manipulated (successfully) by inmates, they may
experience extreme stress.
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d. Problems with coworkers. One survey found
that 22 percent of staff viewed other staff as
creating more stress than any other single factor
except for having to deal with hostile, demanding
inmates. The following conditions can
precipitate stress among coworkers
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(1) Burned-out coworkers repeatedly venting their
frustrations to their colleagues
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(2) Officers competing for limited, choice
assignments
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(3) Apprehension that coworkers will refuse to
back them up in a confrontation with inmates, are
too inexperienced (e.g., due to high turnover) to
know how to help out, or do not have the physical
or emotional strength to be effective
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(4) Inappropriate officer behavior such as
allowing inmates to bring in contraband, getting
too friendly, using unnecessary force, or taking
questionable disciplinary action
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e. Sexist attitudes by colleagues (any
supervisors) and sexual harassment create stress
for many female officers. Many male officers
question whether female officers have the
physical strength and determination to help in a
confrontation with inmates. However, sexist
attitudes and behavior may have declined as more
women have become correctional officers and, as a
result, as male officers have gained the
opportunity to see firsthand that women can be as
effective as men in dealing with inmate violence.
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4. Stress from outside the system
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a. Two significant sources of stress for some
officers originate outside the prison or jail
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(1) Poor public image - According to one
researcher, A negative image of corrections is
regularly portrayed in the media(with officers
depicted) as stupid, animalistic, and senseless
abusers of socially wronged individuals. As one
officer said, The public hasnt a clue as to
what correctional officers do. Someone asked me
just the other day if I beat inmates all the
time. One officer said she routinely tells
other people, I work for the state, refusing to
specify her precise job. The end result is that
some officers come to feel isolated and estranged
from friends, family, and the public.
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(2) Poor pay - Many officers cite low pay as a
source of stress. The beginning salary in one
state is 12,000. In another state, officers
start out earning 18,000, and the most they can
earn after 18 months is 26,400. Starting pay in
one privately operated facility is 14,000 to
16,000 a year.
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6.1.4 The student will be able to identify
traumatic stress.
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A. Critical Incident Stress (CIS) (The Managers
Guide to Stress, Burnout Trauma in Law
Enforcement) - extraordinary occupational events
that can cause exceptionally strong emotional
reactions. These reactions may be so severe as
to interfere with the persons ability to
function. Examples contact with dead or severely
injured children, threats of violence against
person, natural disasters.
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B. Acute Stress Disorder (ASD) (DSM-IV) - person
has been exposed to a traumatic event in which
both of the following were present 1) the person
experienced, witnessed, or was confronted with an
event or events that involved actual or
threatened death or serious injury, or a threat
to the physical integrity of self or others, and
2) the persons response involved intense fear,
helplessness, or horror.
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1. Symptoms may include (but are not limited to)
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a. Sense of numbing, detachment, or absence of
emotional responsiveness
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b. Reduction in awareness of surroundings
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c. Persistent re-experience of the event
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d. Avoidance of stimuli that recall the trauma
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2. Either while experiencing or after
experiencing the distressing event, the
individual has symptoms that lasts for a minimum
of 2 days and a maximum of 4 weeks and occurs
within 4 weeks of the traumatic event.
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C. Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) (DSM-IV)
- The person has been exposed to a traumatic
event in which both of the following were present

• 1) the person experienced, witnessed, or was
  confronted with an event or events that involved
  actual or threatened death or serious injury, or
  a threat to the physical integrity of self or
  others, and
• 2) the persons response involved intense fear,
  helplessness, or horror. The traumatic event is
  persistently re-experienced. Onset of this may
  be delayed up to 6 months or longer. Symptoms
  may include (but not limited to)

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1. Recurrent and intrusive distressing
recollections of the event
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2. Recurrent distressing dreams of the event
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3. Acting or feeling as if the traumatic event
were recurring
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4. Persistent avoidance of stimuli associated
with the trauma
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6.1.5 The student will be able to explain the
outcome of stress.
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A. Excessive stress can result in at least 4
serious problems for officers
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1. Stress may result in physical illnesses,
ranging from heart disease to eating disorders.
It may also precipitate substance abuse among
susceptible individuals.
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2. Stress can lead to burnout among officers.
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3. Stress has been implicated in excessive
disability retirements. Even when physical
ailments are the reason for the disability, the
illnesses may have been brought on by stress.
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4. Correctional officers experiencing excessive
stress may damage their family relationships by
displacing their frustration onto spouses and
children, ordering family members around just as
they issue commands to inmates (e.g., locking a
child of his room to search it), and becoming
distant by withholding information about their
work that they feel family members will not
understand. Shift work/overtime can create
stress by preventing officers from attending
important family functions.
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B. The effects of stress on correctional officers
can degrade their ability to perform their
responsibilities in the prison or jail in ways
that compromise institutional safety, cost money,
and create stress for other staff members.
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6.1.6 The student will be able to identify the
effects of stress on officers and their families.
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A. Stress typically affects the behavior of
officers along a continuum that can include
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1. Underlying stress not yet manifested in
outward effects
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2. Mid-level stress, manifested in such ways as
excessive drinking or an unacceptably high number
of discourtesy complaints
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3. Debilitating stress, resulting in inadequate
job performance, severe health problems, or
suicide (Developing a Law Enforcement Stress
Program).
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B. Effects of stress on officers. (The Managers
Guide to Stress, Burnout Trauma in Law
Enforcement)
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1. Physical health problems cardiovascular
disease, gastrointestinal problems
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2. Mental health problems depression, anxiety,
substance abuse and addiction
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3. Interpersonal problems poor communication,
social withdrawal, increased aggression
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C. Stress also affects the officers family.
Many sources of stress for officers end up
affecting the people closest to them, and even
conditions or events that do not bother the
officer themselves or which they may even enjoy
such as shift work can cause serious problems
for their families (Developing a Law Enforcement
Stress Program).
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D. Sources of stress for the family (Developing a
Law Enforcement Stress Program)
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Examples
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1. Shift work
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2. Officer cynicism
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3. Fear of injury or death
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4. High expectations placed on officers children
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5. Avoidance or harassment of officers children
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6. Presence of a gun in the home
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7. Excessive or too little discussion about the
job
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6.1.7 The student will be able to identify
stress management techniques.
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A. The instructor should explore with the
students how their view (perception) of an event
can make that event more stressful or less
stressful. Give an example.
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B. Discuss how the following may influence stress
levels
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1. Ability to laugh at oneself
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2. Attitude towards ones job
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3. Self concept
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4. Attitude towards those we encounter on the job
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6.1.8 The student will be able to identify
stress reduction techniques.
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A. Stress reduction techniques are typically
divided into
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(Managing Stress Performing under Pressure)
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1. Physical relaxation techniques
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a. Deep breathing
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b. Deep muscle relaxation
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c. Passive relaxation
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2. Exercise
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a. Flexibility
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b. Muscle tone/strength
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c. Cardiovascular fitness
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3. Mental relaxation techniques
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a. Meditation
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b. Biofeedback
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c. Recreational activities (e.g., hobbies)
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4. Emotional
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a. Reducing conflict and managing anger
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b. Changing personality traits
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c. Building supportive interpersonal systems
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d. Seeking professional counseling
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Additional Resources
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Fisher, P.M. (2001). The Road Back to Wellness
Stress, Burnout Trauma in Law Enforcement.
Victoria, British Columbia, Canada Spectrum.
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Fisher, P.M. (2001). The Road Back to Wellness
Stress, Burnout Trauma in Corrections.
Victoria, British Columbia, Canada Spectrum.
129
Lazarus, R.S. Folkman, S. (1984). Stress,
Appraisal, and Coping. New York Springer.
130
Lehrer, P.M. Woolfolk, R.L. (2nd Ed.). (1983).
Principles and Practice of Stress Management.
New York Guilford.
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Mason, L.J. (1980). Guide to Stress Reduction.
Culver City, CA Peace Press.
132
Patel, C. (1991). The Complete Guide to Stress
Management. New York Plenum Press.
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Rice, P.L. (1992). Stress and Health (2nd ed.).
Pacific Grove, CA Brooks/Cole.