Stress

In relation to David Copperfield's post today 'On Combat'. Here's an excerpt from a paper on stress in the Police, this time from Canada. It would be longer but you can't copy and paste from it ho hum...

Physical Evidence of Police Officer Stress

"The results...demonstrate that police officers experience both physical and psycho-social stress on the job, anticipating stress as they go about their work, while suffering anticipatory stress at the start of each shift. The results demonstrated that the highest levels of stress occur just prior to and during critical incidents, and that officers do not fully recover from that stress before leaving their shift. Overall, the results illustrate the need to consider stress reactivity and repressors in the assessment of police officer stress wile clearly demonstrating the need for debriefing after critical incidents and increased training in stress management and coping strategies" (Anderson, Litzenberger & Plecas, Policing: An International Journal of Police Strategies & Management, 2002:399).

If anyone wants a copy of the whole thing please email me because it's only accessible through my uni passwords and I'll get into all copyright troubles etc if I post it or attach it anywhere.

Results

Hi, I've posted some results on the Police Communication site, I can't stratify them into ranks, but as 77% of respondents were PCs I think we can safely say these are the general views of PCs (those who read blogs at least!).

These general views being that yes - you get too many emails, most of which are irrelevant, and therefore very, very annoying...you didn't need me to tell you that did you!

Would you step in?

There's a poll on the daily mail today 'Would you step in if you saw somebody being attacked?'

I don't think it's a yes/no answer that can be selected that easily, it would depend on the circumstances. I really don't know if I could though, and not for fear of being prosecuted as many of the comments say on the related article, I don't think that's something you think about in the heat of the moment. Basically I would be afraid of what the attacker would do to me. I would feel better if we lived in a society where people would back each other up against the attacker and hold him until the Police arrive. But what if there's no-one else around? I suppose in those cases you must ring the Police first so they know where you are, or they might be looking for two dead bodies!

I think some people are using the related article to complain about the fact that the innocent are prosecuted and the criminals go free, as I say, I wouldn't think about that at the time. It's true though, and we need an excuse to voice this complaint - here's a perfect excuse, it's completely astoundingly, unbelievably disgusting what that bastard got away with (and I'm sure he's not the only one).

Just think about how much courage it took that woman to stand up in court against the man she wanted to spend the rest of her life with at one point. Think about how many people haven't got friends who will alert the Police. Think about all the Police time wasted for a fine that won't even make a dent. Just like the attackers in the first story, criminals are being allowed to think they can get away with things without being punished - and it seems often they can, no matter how hard the Officer on the street (when they get the chance) tries.

Grammar

Starting a sentence with 'but' in my last post reminded me of a great quote from linguist Naomi Baron - it took me a few seconds to get the whole thing ;)

"My composition teachers railed against using contractions, beginning a sentence with a conjunction, or ending one with a preposition in a written text, acts which were permissible in speech. (But obviously, these were suggestions I didn't always listen to.)"

I don't know if I'd have the guts to joke in an academic paper!

Acronyms

Just found out Chunky is an ABC SPOC, she knows no-one has time and they're all made up, she remembers the old beeping box, and the pens, barcodes and clipboard. She doesn't remember that I'm not in the Police and have no idea what half of the things she says to me mean!! Well I did get this one actually because of the comments on PC Southwest's post. But the Police are full of acronyms.

The NHS is just as bad. I've changed this slightly but I'm quite sure you could have got a letter to my department just by putting:

MHU
PGH
AUM

on the envelope!

In my induction (how many months after I started!!) they warned us against using too many acronyms. We were told the story of (a different Trust of course) where someone had written DOA and the date in the margin of a patient's notes meaning 'date of admission'. It was an unfortunate nurse who got the call from the relative asking how the patient was doing, to which she broke the news that he was 'dead on arrival'.

I'm gonna be rich!

I'm back on my 'world's gone mad' view (suffering from a mental illness sorry) where everything's PC and it's the words that are important not the meaning behind them (remind you of the promotion crammer?)

Looking at my conditioner bottle in the shower today it said ' use with [insert own brand name here] shampoo for best results'. If I write to them and say "well I've found I get best results using it with dum-de-dum brand shampoo and unless you can prove you have tested every possible combination of shampoos and found yours is the best I want a settlement of £1 million in my bank account a week next Tuesday or I'll sue you for misleading me for all the time I've been using the two together (two washes) when I could have been using cheaper and better dum-de-dum brand. This has cost me 37p I needn't have spent and two days of marginally less shiny hair and I am deeply affected by this."

Do you think I'd get anywhere?

Two Eye Openers

Everyone should read this, particularly if you're not a Police Officer. Of course, I knew Policing was nothing like the Bill, but North East Policeman's post is a fantastically written look into the real world of Policing, and that's only a tiny fraction of the sort of things they and not to mention the kids have to deal with.

There are 'unofficial' Police blogs full of these heart-wrenching experiences Officers have to deal with. ACPO and the like should spend less time trying to close down these blogs and more time actually reading them. Then they might start to get the slightest idea what these guys are going through and why they complain about all the bureaucratic red tape stopping them from doing real Policing.

It's interesting to note that both the posts I've linked to above say they don't mind doing the paperwork (in triplicate) if they've actually been able to make a difference; it's all the other stuff that gets in the way.

Top Ten Comments

Due to the success of the questionnaires - (thank you!) I've created a comment of the day section on the wiki - here are the top ten comments so far.

1. Because of email … Communication between officers and the SMT is more strained.

I've never seen any communication between officers and SMT

2. People sometimes get left out of important email communications.

Good

3. Because of email … Too much irrelevant information is sent, wasting my time

I once had a e-mail, stating that less e-mails are to be sent

4. Too many people here use email to cover their backs

No understand question.

5. Because of email … Too much irrelevant information is sent, wasting my time

Could'nt give a toss if Jane from comms support is having a 40th birthday bash at the Horse and Cart friday night, to name one of many.

6. I am careful how I word email messages for fear they will be forwarded.

And don't send one when you are angry at 0530 in the morning, gets you in lot of smelly stuff

7. I receive many email messages not related to my work.

After a month off last year i had received 450 e-mails. 12 had relevance to me

8. Every now and then, an email message will infuriate me

More often than that

9. Because of email … I feel closer to my boss.

He e-mails me from the next office!

10. Because of email …Many trivial issues come to the attention of higher management

...and often misconstrued, requiring further emails to clarify nonsensical points of no real importance.

CS Spray

Apparently now it's un-pc to say CS gas, due to a complaint from a Jewish citizen. We now have to say CS spray, fair enough but this seems like another example of the 'world gone mad'. In my view, people who say un-pc things are usually not doing it to offend, they're usually not even aware it could possibly offend e.g Nitty Gritty and Black Maria. Anyone wanting to offend isn't going to consider or care either way about the 'pc-ness' of what they say.

Then again, apparently it's not a gas so who are we to talk...the world's still gone mad though (am I allowed to say that??!!)

Ashfordly Police Station: Communications technology is bad for you!

This post has links to more about email and communication technology.

Ashfordly Police Station: Communications technology is bad for you!

Thank you!

My sincerest thanks to PC David Copperfield for posting about my research, the results are coming in fast already. And thanks to everyone for filling the questionnaires in.

Betty

R.I.P. Common sense.

If felt the need to reproduce the text of this rather than just linking to it. It isn't mine, I got it from totallyun-pc's blog, who reproduced it by permission of others. I haven't asked permission but it's just gotta be spread - I agree with the comment about putting it on notcie boards. What about stapling it to certain people's foreheads?

Today we mourn the passing of a beloved old friend, Common Sense, who has been with us for many years. No one knows for sure how old he was, as his birth records were long ago lost in bureaucratic red tape.

He will be remembered as having cultivated such valuable lessons as knowing when to come in out of the rain, why the early bird gets the worm, life isn't always fair, and maybe it was my fault.

Common Sense lived by simple, sound financial policies (don't spend more than you earn) and reliable parenting strategies (adults, not children, are in charge).

His health began to deteriorate rapidly when well intentioned but overbearing regulations were set in place. Reports of a six-year-old boy charged with sexual harassment for kissing a classmate; teens suspended from school for using mouthwash after lunch and a teacher fired for reprimanding an unruly student, only worsened his condition.

Common Sense lost ground when parents attacked teachers for doing the job they failed to do in disciplining their unruly children. It declined even further when schools were required to get parental consent to administer Panadol, sun lotion or a sticky plaster to a student but could not inform the parents when a student became pregnant and wanted to have an abortion.

Common Sense lost the will to live as the Ten Commandments became contraband; churches became businesses; and criminals received better treatment than their victims. Common Sense took a beating when you couldn't defend yourself from a burglar in your own home and the burglar can sue you for assault.

Common Sense finally gave up the will to live, after a woman failed to realise that a steaming cup of coffee was hot. She spilled a little in her lap, and was promptly awarded a huge settlement.

Common Sense was preceded in death by his parents, Truth and Trust, his wife, Discretion, his daughter, Responsibility; and his son, Reason.

He is survived by three stepbrothers; I Know My Rights, Someone Else Is To blame and I'm A Victim.

Not many attended his funeral because so few realised he was gone. If you still remember him, pass this on. If not join the majority and do nothing.

"the preceding blog is not mine, I didn't make it up, and Google shows it has been reproduced thousands if not millions of times, but in the sad sad memory to all our friends and colleagues, and anyone else who has become a victim of our times.... I say blog it in memoriam to us all."posted by totallyun-pc at Friday, February 16, 2007

Ps. I know this blog is turning into a collection of others' posts, I'm reading back over older posts at the moment and some of them can't be allowed to be lost in the ether.

Betty

Surplus school places

This is brilliant, though I thought the better idea would be to keep the school places as they are and put the prisoners in them, that'll be far more humiliating and keep the teachers in jobs. I don't evny them though - mind you it probably wouldn't be much worse than what they have to deal with now.

You're nicked!: I've found the answer

Organisation??

And I didn't use the word organisation anywhere...

Police Communication (Updated)

I've returned to my long neglected blog with a new slant. This blog is now mainly about police communication, mainly ;)

Chunky is a Police Sergeant, Betty is a student researching the Police (that's me), Chunky finally learnt what blogs are, having read PC David Copperfield's book, 'Wasting Police Time', but never gets to go on the computer anymore because I'm always on it...

I'd been made aware by Chunky and friends that email use was considered a problem amongst some officers, so for my MSc research I requested that a questionnaire be sent out for the mutual benefit of me as a researcher and the force in question, to help identify and try to remedy the problems and pressures being felt by officers.

Unfortunately my request was declined, partly through my own lack of prior discussion with the force. However, I feel that the comment; "[w]e have to be quite protective given the amount of emails that our staff receive" in the final email I recieved shows to a certain degree that my belief that I could help the force in question has not been considered, whilst simultaneously showing that there is indeed a problem.

I would like to thank all Police Officers who visited this blog's sister wiki Police Communication and completed the questionnaires. The results are now in and the raw percentages are available on the wiki, plus the best comments from Officers. To protect my future research I have decided not to post the full dissertation until a later date.