Police and Security, Vol. 33 No. 4, 2024.
Review article
The Impact of Stress and Psychosocial Protection of Police Officers
Ivan Trstenjak
; United Registrar of Systems Adriatica d.o.o., Bjelovar, Hrvatska
Kristina Dundović
; Veleučilište u Rijeci, Hrvatska
Abstract
Stress at work is a specific type of stress, the source of which is the work environment, and today, it has become a ubiquitous phenomenon faced by all professions, especially the occupation of police officers, which is considered one of the most stressful occupations. The reason for this is the specifics in performing tasks that make the profession of police officers specific and highly demanding compared to other professions. The organization of work, working conditions, assigned tasks, extraordinary events, as well as the duties, authorities, and moral code set high goals for police officers. For police officers, there are two main sources of stress – stress arising from the content of the job itself and stress arising from the organization of the work. Operational stress stems from the very nature of police work and is related to the use of force, exposure to violence, and human suffering in general. In contrast, organizational stress pertains to the overload of administrative tasks, poor communication with colleagues and superiors, lack of feedback, inadequate leadership, or lack of advancement opportunities. Professional circles recognize all the peculiarities of this job, so the term police stress has long been used in literature and practice. This is supported by the increasing research in this area, both in the world and in the Republic of Croatia, and the psychosocial protection of police officers carried out by the Ministry of the Interior of the Republic of Croatia. Based on examples from other countries, it is possible to improve the psychosocial protection of police officers in Croatia further. The above examples represent good practice that gives positive results and offers guidelines by which better quality psychosocial protection could be achieved in the police system of the Republic of Croatia, as well as reducing stress among police officers.
Keywords
safety at work, stress at work, the influence of stress, psychosocial protection, police officers
Hrčak ID:
322571
URI
Publication date:
1.11.2024.
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