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PubMed2001

Referring abused women: does police assistance decrease abuse?

To evaluate if abused women's use of the police reduced further violence experienced, 90 abused women were interviewed at a large urban police department and followed for 6 months. Frequency and severity of violence as well as danger of homicide were measured before and at 3 and 6 months after women sought police help. Women seeking police help had significantly reduced threats of abuse (F = 124.62, df = 2,81; p < .0005), actual abuse (F = 90.11, df = 2,81; p < .0005), and danger of being killed (F = 188.69, df = 2,81; p < .0005) by her intimate partner. Bonferroni post hoc tests showed that significantly fewer threats of abuse, physical abusive acts, and risk indicators for homicide had occurred from prefiling to 3 months (p <.0005) and prefiling to 6 months (p <.0005). The data indicate that referring abused women to the police is an appropriate intervention.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2001

Suicide in police--a critical review.

Police officers are commonly referred to as a high-risk group for suicide. So far no comprehensive review has been published about epidemiologic studies among police. This article systematically explores the worldwide literature on suicide in police. None of the recent nationwide studies show elevated suicide rates among police. Other studies show inconsistent results. Conclusively, it is not documented that there is an elevated suicide rate in police. A particular problem in previous research has been methodological shortcomings. There is need for further systematic research, and this review points out some strategies of research.

Bias↗
PubMed2000

Police enforcement as part of a comprehensive bicycle helmet program.

BACKGROUND: Bicycle-related head injuries cause >150 deaths and 45 000 nonfatal injuries among children in the United States annually. Although bicycle helmets are highly effective against head injury, only 24% of US children regularly wear one. Georgia mandated bicycle helmet use for children, effective July 1993. During that summer, 1 rural Georgia community passed an ordinance instructing police officers to impound the bicycle of any unhelmeted child. We evaluated the effect of active police enforcement of this ordinance, combined with a helmet giveaway and education program. METHODS: During April 1997, approximately 580 children in kindergarten through grade 7 received free helmets, fitting instructions, and safety education. Police then began impounding bicycles of unhelmeted children. We conducted an observational study, unobtrusively observing helmet use just before helmet distribution, several times during the next 5 months, and once 2 years later. RESULTS: Before the program began, none of 97 observed riders wore a helmet. During the next 5 months, helmet use among 358 observed children averaged 45% (range: 30%-71%), a significant increase in all race and gender groups. In contrast, adult use did not change significantly. Police impounded 167 bicycles during the study, an average of 1 per day. Two years after program initiation, 21 of 39 child riders (54%) were observed wearing a helmet. CONCLUSIONS: Without enforcement, the state and local laws did not prompt helmet use in this community, yet active police enforcement, coupled with helmet giveaways and education, was effective and lasting.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2007

[Psychological distress among civilian police: A gender-based analysis].

This study aimed to investigate potential psychological distress among members of the civilian police force, based on gender differences. It analyzes data from previous research on work, health conditions, and quality of life in the civilian police using both quantitative and qualitative methods. The study included and tested data from the questionnaire applied to a statistically representative sample of 2,746 civilian police (80.8% males and 19.2% females) from the city of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, according to gender variables and position in the police force (administrative, technical, and operational law enforcement). The study presents an overview of social and economic characteristics, job conditions, health problems, and quality of life, highlighting the areas of information where gender appears as an important factor. The Self-Reported Questionnaire (SRQ-20) was used to investigate psychological distress comparing males and females. The results did not show gender differences in psychological distress, but did identify significant differences in some items in the scale. Female police, especially in technical positions, showed a higher proportion than males. The conclusions corroborate some previous research.

Adult↗
PubMed2003

Underreporting of justifiable homicides committed by police officers in the United States, 1976-1998.

OBJECTIVES: This study assessed the consistency of estimates of the number of justifiable homicides committed by US police officers and identified sources of underreporting. METHODS: The number of justifiable homicides committed by police officers between 1976 and 1998 was estimated from supplementary homicide report (SHR) and National Vital Statistics System (NVSS) mortality data. RESULTS: Nationally, the SHR estimate was 29% larger than the NVSS estimate. However, in most states this pattern was reversed, with more deaths reported in the NVSS. CONCLUSIONS: Both systems underreport, but for different reasons. The NVSS misclassifies cases as homicides, rather than justifiable homicides committed by police officers, because certifiers fail to mention police involvement. The SHR misses cases because some jurisdictions fail to file reports or omit justifiable homicides committed by police officers.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2005

Alcohol and tobacco consumption among police officers.

Police occupy an important position within the community as both enforcers of the law and as role models for appropriate behavior. Despite this interesting juxtaposition, research has shown that they may consume alcohol and tobacco at rates higher than the general population. A significant causal factor is occupational stress, and the fact that police are regularly exposed to stressors beyond the range of normal human experiences. Given this ongoing and unavoidable relationship, the recognition and control of stress is paramount within law enforcement. Because police stressors are usually multi-faceted, health promotion interventions should focus on stress-reduction at both the institutional and individual level. Examples of health promotion strategies may include reducing overtime, carefully organizing shift rosters, streamlining administrative processes and allowing rest breaks for those on the night-shift. Interventions which focus on the individual are also important, because excess alcohol and tobacco consumption levels often relate to individual stress-coping mechanisms. Programs to help recognize and prevent excess alcohol and tobacco consumption may be worthwhile, as too, counseling, interpersonal support and critical incident debriefing. Promoting non-drinking and non-smoking stress-reduction activities where police can socialize and de-brief with their colleagues may be beneficial. Encouraging social events at sports clubs and gymnasiums has also been suggested. In order to achieve these goals however, governments will need to place a greater emphasis on the occupational health of police officers and the law enforcement agencies in which they work.

Alcohol Drinking↗
PubMed1999

[The police in psychiatric daily routine].

PURPOSE: The following is a description of those patients brought by the police to the emergency room of a general hospital of Berlin for a psychiatric exploration. METHOD: The medical records of those patients brought in to the emergency room during one year were analyzed retrospectively. RESULTS: Within one year, 317 (10.8%) out of 2903 patients were brought by the police to have an emergency psychiatric exploration. The ratio of men to women was 2:1, and the median age was 41. Most illnesses diagnosed were schizophrenia, disorders caused by psychotropic substances, alcoholism, alcohol intoxication, and adjustment disorders/stress disorders. One third of the 317 patients were under influence of alcohol. 21.8% of the 317 patients were suicidal. Over two thirds of the patients were admitted to the psychiatric ward. Only 31 patients were not admitted to the ward for lack of indication. The most frequent reason for intervention of police was suicidal behaviour (35%), "strange behaviour" (28.7%) or aggressive behaviour (23%). CONCLUSION: The results show that those patients brought in by the police are in acute crisis situations often involving suicidal tendencies and suffer from more severe psychiatric illnesses. The psychiatric emergency exploration initiated by the police was generally justifiable.

Adult↗
PubMed1999

Police custody detainees and forensic medicine: use of medical resources in the cell block.

Various Dutch reports show that medical usage among those detained in police cells is many times higher than among the average population. Many visits by forensic physicians (some 36%) are due to the fact that many police custody detainees are addicted. Also, many visits are carried out as a result of the fact that the police must frequently put into custody individuals who suffer intoxications and/or injuries (some 13%) or psychiatric problems (6%-17%). In addition, many visits are for the benefit of detainees who cannot cope with conditions during their detention (21%-30%). Only a minority of the visits are to help police custody detainees who are (chronically) ill. Because of all this, a forensic physician's work mainly consists of writing repeat prescriptions, prescribing methadone, referring detainees to other assistance services and giving advice to guards or police officers on duty. This makes forensic medicine a profession in a class of its own.

Forensic Medicine↗
PubMed2000

The Child Development-Community Policing Program: a partnership to address the impact of violence.

This article describes the development, evolution and current status of the New Haven Child Development-Community Policing (CDCP) Program, a partnership between child mental health professionals at the Yale Child Study Center and the New Haven Department of Police Service. The central mission of the program is to intervene early in an attempt to ameliorate the effects of children's exposure to violence. Recent programmatic expansion of the CDCP program into areas of juvenile offenders, specialized protocols for children affected by domestic violence, and school based groups are also explained. There are five core elements of the CDCP program: (1) Seminars in applied child development for police officers; (2) Fellowships for advanced police officers; (3) Fellowships for clinicians who are trained both in seminars and experientially in police practice and procedure; (4) A weekly program conference; and (5) A clinical consultation service in which clinicians are available 24 hours per day, 7 days a week are explicated.

Child↗
PubMed2000

Effects of stress induced by a simulated shooting on recall by police and citizen witnesses.

Two experiments address the accuracy of citizen and police witnesses in recalling stressful events. Participants saw 2 training scenarios. Experiment 1 evaluated the effects of active engagement and the presence of a simulated shooting on police officers' memory for details. Police officers recalled significantly fewer details from the scenario in which a shooting occurred. Active engagement did not influence recall. Experiment 2 compared the memory performance of police and citizen witnesses. Manipulation checks were added to assess the arousal produced by a shooting, and control procedures were added to evaluate the memorability of specific scenarios. Police and citizen witnesses did not differ reliably in accuracy. The perpetrator was remembered less well than the weapon when a simulated shooting occurred, and one scenario was significantly more difficult to remember than the other. The need to replicate eyewitness research with a variety of materials is discussed.

Adult↗
PubMedDate not supplied

[Unintentional gunshot during police intervention].

33 cases of unintentional handgun use by police officers during operation since 1983 in Northern Germany have been evaluated. These cases have been selected from our own investigations and from prosecutors' and police departments' files and records. It was intended to find out criteria for forensic expertise. The unintended use of a handgun was always influenced in a decisive and causal manner by the behaviour of the delinquents (resistance, assault, escape). The confrontation of the police officer with the violence of aggressive offenders was of immediate importance for triggering the shot in various kinds of police operation. Sensorically caused, reflex muscle contractions as a consequence of a great effort, a loss of balance or fright when simultaneously protecting oneself with weapon in hand can be made responsible for the unvoluntary shot. In 10 cases (30%) persons were injured, 2 times lethally. As a whole, the consequences were of random nature, they could be explained by the series of actions in each case. The type and technical state of the weapons in use have not influenced the unintentional use. A behaviour of the police officers offending against the legally required care was stated in two of the investigated cases. Considering our investigations and the many policemen killed in duty we state that securing oneself in time with a weapon at the ready in critical phases of operations cannot be successfully replaced by any other method of self defense.

Accidents↗
PubMed2002

A comparison of youth referred to psychiatric emergency services: police versus other sources.

Although the presentation of children and adolescents to psychiatric emergency services has been increasing, little is known about the characteristics of these persons, the circumstances surrounding their referral for treatment, or their disposition. This study compares patients referred by police with those referred by others, based on data from a study of 1,779 patients in the Bronx, New York. Logistic regression was used to develop propensity scores for selection of a matched sample of non-police referrals (n = 159) to compare with police referrals (n = 53). Caregivers in police-referred cases were rated as less capable of active treatment involvement, and domestic violence was more likely to occur in their homes. Police referrals had higher substance use in the past month than referrals from other sources, were rated as more symptomatic and dangerous to self and others, had exhibited more assaultive and destructive behavior, and were less likely to be referred to outpatient services.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2002

[Psychiatric patients at the police station in the southern South Holland region: assessment by the District Health Service forensic doctor].

OBJECTIVE: To describe the epidemiological characteristics of ambulant psychiatric patients who were either brought to the police station or who came by themselves, but who were not kept in a cell, as a basis for the development of a reception protocol. DESIGN: Descriptive. METHOD: The data from the medical records from 2000 kept by the forensic doctors employed by the district health services for the Southern South Holland region were inventoried. RESULTS: On request by the police, the forensic doctors examined 203 clients. The majority of these were middle-aged men who did have a place of residence. The reason for police involvement was bizarre or confused behaviour in public. Half of the patients had received or were receiving some form of psychiatric treatment from the mental health service. In approximately half of the cases the forensic doctor found a solution together with the police. In the other half of the cases the forensic doctor asked the crisis intervention team at the mental health service for an evaluation. Two thirds of these patients were hospitalised and one third was sent away. Because examination by both the forensic doctor and the mental health service psychiatrist and other procedures were lengthy (up to 6 hours), patients had to spend a long time in a holding cell at the police station that was not designed for stays of this length of time, and often lacked toilet facilities. CONCLUSION: The forensic doctor treated about half the clients without the need of assistance from the crisis intervention psychiatrist. The temporary accommodation for these confused clients was inadequate.

Adult↗
PubMed2003

A note on urine trans, trans muconic acid level among a sample of Thai police: implication for an occupational health issue.

Benzene exposure is of particular concern because recent research indicating that benzene exposure can result in chronic toxicity, therefore, monitoring for benzene exposure among at-risk workers is recommended. In exposure- and risk-evaluation, the monitoring of benzene by peripheral biomarker has several advantages over technical assessment of exposure. For this purpose, the urine trans, trans muconic acid (ttMA)e level is accepted as a useful monitoring tool for early diagnosis of dangerous exposure. Apart from the industrial workers, there are other occupations with high risk for benzene exposure. In this study, we study another at-risk occupation, the police. Thirty-nine urine samples were obtained from 39 Thai police working close to traffic in an urban area. All 39 samples were analyzed for ttMA level and compared to 10 other controls. The average urine ttMA level for the control and exposed group were < 0.05 mg/gCr and was 0.79 +/- 1.43 mg/gCr, respectively. Significant higher urine ttMA acid level among the police were observed (p <.05). Working in the air pollution in the urban area can be health hazard for the police. Exposure to the benzene from automobile exhaust can be an important occupational problem for these police.

Benzene↗
PubMed2004

Police responses to persons with mental illness: does the label matter?

With the movement of persons with mental illness out of hospitals and into the community, the frequency of contact between police officers and such persons, in crisis or otherwise, has increased significantly. How police respond in these situations has important consequences for the subject, police officers, and the community. Officers (n = 554) from police departments in a major metropolitan area participated in a vignette experiment that examined how information that a subject has a mental illness influences the way police officers respond in several types of situations. Results indicate that officers are less likely to take action based on information provided by victims and witnesses with mental illness. No differences were found in response to suspects with or without a mental illness. The effects of officer characteristics and perceptions of the subject on responses to the vignettes were also examined. Findings suggest several directions for training and future research.

Adult↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Cancer risk for Thai traffic police exposed to traffic benzene vapor.

Benzene exposure is of particular concern because recent research indicates that it can result in chronic toxicity, with an elevated risk of carcinogenesis. Exposure to benzene from automobile exhaust can be an important occupational problem for police. The present study was conducted to estimate risk of Thai traffic police developing cancer due to contact with traffic benzene vapor during daily work. According to the data obtained, the estimated predicted cancer incidence for traffic police is 0.05 case per 70-year period, simply translated as 1.8 cancer cases per 100,000 traffic police per year. This is clearly a cause of concern and annual check up and monitoring for benzene exposure among traffic police should be set up as part of a program for primary prevention of occupation -- related cancer.

Benzene↗
PubMed2005

The Buffalo Cardio-Metabolic Occupational Police Stress (BCOPS) pilot study: methods and participant characteristics.

PURPOSE: The Buffalo Cardio-Metabolic Occupational Police Stress (BCOPS) study is one of the first population-based studies to integrate psychological, physiological, and subclinical measures of stress, disease, and mental dysfunction. This pilot study was undertaken to establish a methodology and descriptive results for a larger police study. METHODS: A stratified sample of 100 officers was randomly selected from the Buffalo, NY Police Department. Salivary cortisol served as a stress biomarker. Flow mediated dilation (FMD) and carotid intima-media thickness (IMT) were performed with ultrasound. Dual Energy X-Ray Absorptiometry (DEXA) and anthropometric measures assessed body composition. Self-report measures of depression and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) were obtained. RESULTS: Recruitment attained for the study was 100%. Seventy-five percent showed a cortisol increase upon awakening, 90% a negative diurnal slope, and 77% an increased cortisol response after a high protein lunch challenge. Dexamethasone suppression was evident. FMD showed an increase in mean brachial artery diameter of 3.2% in men and 3.9% in women, and mean IMT was lower (male=0.67 mm; female=0.62 mm) compared to populations of similar age. For males, the mean body-mass index (BMI) was 29.8 kg/m2 and total body fat 23.4%. For females, the mean BMI was 26.7 kg/m2 and total body fat 31.5%. For all officers, 16% met criteria for depression; 36% reported elevated PTSD symptoms. CONCLUSIONS: Compared to populations of similar age, police officers had slightly lower FMD, lower carotid IMT, elevated BMI, and higher reported rates of depression and PTSD. Standardized physiological and psychological data collection and descriptive results confirmed that the methodology of the study is feasible in a working police population.

Adult↗
PubMed2003

Eye movements and hazard perception in police pursuit and emergency response driving.

How do police cope with the visual demands placed on them during pursuit driving? This study compared the hazard ratings, eye movements, and physiological responses of police drivers with novice and with age-matched control drivers while viewing video clips of driving taken from police vehicles. The clips included pursuits, emergency responses, and control drives. Although police drivers did not report more hazards than the other participants reported, they had an increased frequency of electrodermal responses while viewing dangerous clips and a greater visual sampling rate and spread of search. However, despite an overall police advantage in oculomotor and physiological measures, all drivers had a reduced spread of search in nighttime pursuits because of the focusing of overt attention.

Adult↗