The demands placed upon police officers in American society in the early 1990s are far more complex and difficult than were those placed on the police a decade earlier. Further, the potential for additional and significant changes in these demands over the coming ten years appears to be strong. The complex demands placed on American police officers may be appreciated through a consideration of the following factors:
1. Police departments are expected by society to preserve order and to enforce the law. In accomplishing these objectives, police, at times, injure or, less often, kill offenders. When injury to or death of offenders occur, police officers are often condemned by many in society.
2. Police departments are expected by society to incarcerate offenders, and to preserve order in detention centers. In accomplishing these objectives, police, at times, are required to employ procedures which can, and at times do, result in injury or death to those individuals apprehended and/or incarcerated. When injury or death does occur in such circumstances, police officers are often condemned by many in society for the consequences of their actions, in general, and for their use of specific procedures, such as those involving neck restraints and other forms of deadly force, in particular (Chancy, 1990, p. 41).
3. Police departments are expected to respond to a growing number of domestic disputes, where the potential for
injury to polices officers is significant. Police responses to domestic incidents, however, often result in charges of police brutality being lodged against individual police officers (Gary, 1989, p. 8).
Each of the above types of situation creates significant stress for the police officers involved. A part of this stress is associated with public perceptions of police actions, and a part of this stress derives from the inner feelings of police officers toward their participation in such events (Sher...