In this case byproduct refers to the effects to a police officer after performing his or her day to day work or after retiring from his duties of serving in the government and the entire public at large. The byproduct may be positive or negative of which the cons outweighs the pros. Without the assistance of law enforcers, out streets and cities would be filled with all types of crimes, and nobody would ever get punished for it. Police officers do keep and restore order although their risky job will not be accomplished without negative aspects caused by the nature of the duty. The bottom line of all the byproducts of officers is stress, leading to the other minor problems like suicide, excessive drinking and divorce among others.
The effects of being a police officer lead to stress in one way or another. Pursuing a law enforcement career entails dealing with chronic stress. In over-all, police officers have one of the highest rates of suicide cause by the intense duties done leading to psychological instability (Woody, 2005). An unstable mind can do anything that crosses the mind without thinking about the repercussions it will cause afterwards. In addition, professional conduct of an officer is governed by strict military-style and procedures. However, police must from time to time evaluate the difficult and complex situations that do not fit the established norms and practices.
Most of the suicide has increased among the law enforcement. The officers put themselves in harm’s way on a daily basis. At some point in time, the police can be extremely injured or killed in the line of duty and at an extreme case they end up killing themselves. These cases have existed witnessed in most of the states in United States of American (Friedman, 2013. The reasons vary with the officers, most of who leave behind a written document supporting his decisions. If officers request the superior about an issue(s) interfering with the work they do, then it is a higher time to be listen to. When issues are not solve in the beginning, it will pile up and finally becomes a big problem as time passed hence endangering the officers’ life. Therefore, police seniors need to come back into their senses and save the situation before it is too late for them or face the consequences.
The other byproduct is excessive drinking and divorce among the police officers (Wiese et al. 2004). The officers who work for long ours are more prone to drinking compared to the ones who work for regular 8 hours a day. Overdrinking of alcohol and long distance relationship has been articulated to cause a divorce. This is because the spouse feels separated, or un-cared for thus looking for other alternatives like divorce. Some families may end up cheating on the partners so as to have a sexual satisfaction.
Police bosses must have an organized training so that the police guided on how to handle the stress or rather stress management lessons thus avoiding the supposed effects. A follow-up must also be done for the officers who exhibit the signs of stress so that they can be assisted on how to overcome it. To curb or reduce the number of suicides among the officers, they should be given at least some rest. According to research, resting and relaxation has been found to help release stress (Joh, 2006). Even though the police work to earn a leaving, we must know and understand that the officers are a human being like anybody else. In addition, they have families that need to attend to not only financially, but also their presence. The officers need well-remunerated sufficient house allowance or be allocated state houses to enable them live with or close to their relatives so as to avoid long distance relation due to work.
In conclusion, it is clear that the police officers undergo vigorous job and needs appreciation and support so as to work without any problem. However, it is also important for the law enforcement professionals to be treated like any other careers so as to reduce the level of negative byproduct. This will aid them live and enjoy life after serving the public by restoring law and order.
Reference
Friedman, C. (2013, August 20). Ex-soldier sought suicide. Wilson Daily Times (NC).
Joh, E. (2006). Technology and the Fourth Amendment: Curbing Police Discretion. Conference Papers -- Law & Society, 1.
Wiese, J., McPherson, S., Odden, M. C., & Shlipak, M. G. (2004). Effect of Opuntia ficus indica on Symptoms of the Alcohol Hangover. Archives Of Internal Medicine, 164(12), 1334- 1340.
Woody, R. H. (2005). The Police Culture: Research Implications for Psychological Services. Professional Psychology: Research & Practice, 36(5), 525-529. doi:10.1037/0735- 7028.36.5.525
