Virginia Westerberg 10143519 5/10

MEDIA PROJECT # 5

POLICE ATTACK

The New Zealand Herald, Thursday, September 23, 2010

This article portrays an issue that is not usually mentioned in the media: Police being the

victims of violence.

Police officers are continually exposed to troubling situations where people are making the

wrong decisions and they are meant to help enforce the law. This can be a double-edged sword,

because while they certainly feel pride at helping others, the different causes of police stress

mean they can sometimes feel despair that they are not truly making a difference, that their job

is not recognized by the public and that it may just not be worth it.

Budget cuts have led to police officers finding themselves patrolling the streets alone instead of

with another officer. This has considerably hampered not just their physical safety but has also

had an impact in their psychological stability (Violanti & Aaron, 1995).

Police officers are not only under constant physical threat, they are also pressed psychologically.

They have to maintain their duties protecting the public, as well as caring for their own families.

They have to be able to respond to community needs while governments and institutions do not

comply with their obligations. The toll emotionally and psychology can be high, and many

officers can feel as if they need to choose between protecting the public, and protecting

themselves and their own families’ welfare as well (Violanti & Aaron, 1995).

The background of this article is even more somber. One of the most common and unreported

ways police have to cope with stress is through substance abuse, namely alcohol and drugs,

which in turn lead to substandard job performance and a maladaptive cycle of dysfunctional

behaviour (Arrigo & Shipley, 2005).

This article may be a warning call for all members of society so that we realize that police

members are there to do a necessary job, with limited material and human resources, risking

their physical, psychological and emotional integrity and that this is not justified by any

exorbitant wages, but for a true will to fulfil their motto: to protect and to serve.

Virginia Westerberg 10143519 REFS 5/10

REFERENCES

Arrigo, B.A., & Shipley, S.L. (2005). Introduction to Forensic Psychology (2nd ed.). London:

Elsevier.

Violanti, J.M., & Aaron, F. (1995). Police stressors: Variations in perception among police

personnel. Journal of Criminal Justice, 23 (3).