EMOTIONAL SURVIVAL IN POLICE WORK
Summary of the Proposal:
The demands of police work and the traditional police culture of emotional stoicism result in police officers shutting down their internal emotional awareness. This internal shutdown makes officers more vulnerable to serious consequences such as suicide, high divorce rates, low marital satisfaction, social isolation, high risk thrill seeking, anger outbursts, chronic depression, and panic attacks. Traditional stress management courses address the external stressors such as rotating shifts, unpredictable dangers and the pressures of bureaucracy. They do not focus on the internal system stressor, the officers’ habitual stoicism. By educating veteran officers and supervisors about the process and consequences of emotional shutdown, it is hoped that officers can avoid the disabling casualties and establish mastery of their emotional lives. Using the successful existing model of Critical Incident Stress Management, it is proposed to offer veteran officers and supervisors training in “emotional survival techniques”, and implement a peer resource network to provide credibility and reinforcement for learning emotional agility.
The Profile of a Problem: Emotional Stoicism
Numerous writers have described men as less “relational”, “less emotional”, and “less expressive” than women (Real, 1997; Tannen, 1994). This phenomenon is believed to be primarily a result of socialization (Faludi, 1999). Initial police training and the cultural norm of emotional stoicism adds “life and death” pressure on police recruits to ignore and suppress their awareness of internal emotional reactions. As a lieutenant in the Los
Angeles Police Department says: “To function effectively in our job you must annihilate,

smother and suppress normal emotions like fear, anger, revulsion and even compassion…We are victims of our own success…” (Kirschman, p. 17).
Once socialized into the police culture, offices generalize this prohibition against being emotionally distracted at a police call into every aspect of their professional and personal lives. Through practice, reinforcement by peers and supervisors, and reminders of the
“stoical tradition”, new officers internalize the prohibition into a self-regulating habit.
Because the prohibition functions at an “internal systems” level, many officers no longer have a choice about their emotional life. They simply deny, repress and avoid any emotions that don’t fit the police cultural norms. Unfortunately, this rules out experiencing any of the “tender emotions” such as sadness, longing, gentle affection, compassion, fear, awe, playfulness, eagerness, or nervous anticipation. Only “manly” emotions are publicly displayed such as anger, triumph, confidence, dominance, sarcasm, aggressive teasing, boredom and stern judgment. As James Reese of the FBI Behavioral
Sciences Unit observed: “We in law enforcement have been very adept at turning our emotions off. It is the “on” switch that many of us can’t find” (Kirschman, p.2).
Access to the normal range of emotional experience is important for regular citizens in order to maintain their resiliency and agility in the face of predictable life crises and traumas. Such emotional agility is especially important for police officers who are engulfed in trauma and tragedy as a daily diet. As one experienced police psychologist observed, the average patrol officer sees more tragedy in the first three years of their career than the average citizen sees in a lifetime (Kirschman, p.21).
In order to make sense of tragedy, loss, injustice and brutality, it is necessary to discuss the events, express the conflicting emotional reactions, look at personal vulnerability and

responsibility, and arrive at a tentative “meaning”. Since police culture prohibits any such review of events, most officers are left with very superficial tools to use: anger toward the perpetrator (and toward the “victim” in chronic abuse cases); denial of personal emotional reactions (“Don’t lose it”); Use of “gallows humor” to deflect normally shocking experiences; hardening of cynicism and “us vs. them”; and a hyper vigilance to protect one’s loved ones against a dangerous world.
Without reasonable access to one’s emotional experience, the eventual result is likely to be emotional numbness with sporadic efforts to distract oneself with excitement, risk taking, or use of alcohol and/or drugs to “take the edge off”. The following description of officer Ed Donovan’s attempted suicide captures the pathos of an officer at the end of his rope: “ The drugs hadn’t helped. The booze didn’t do it. The booze and drugs together didn’t do it. The pain got worse and worse. The horrors he had seen on the job the past 10 years destroyed his faith in God. Once a staunch Catholic, he now no longer believed in anything. Suicide was the only way left to him.” (Kankewitt, p.6).
Areas of Interest
The following symptoms suggest that police officers suffer serious negative consequences that are correlated with and partially caused by emotional shutdowns:
1.
Police officers kill themselves at a higher rate than they are killed “in the line of duty”
(Fields, p. 1A).
2.
Police officers kill themselves at a higher rate than comparable professions (Allen, p.413).

3.
Spouses report negative changes in officers’ attitudes and behavior within the first year of police work (Bibbins, p. 424).
4.
Different studies report that divorce is higher among police officers than other professions; that there is an especially high divorce rate within the first 3 years of police service, which may reach 70-80% in some departments (Kirschman, p.vii).
5.
Research suggests that veteran officers experience a period of disillusionment, cynicism and burn-out which results in “stress retirements” and large workman’s compensation pay outs (Stratton, p. 529).
6.
Research suggests that denial of emotions in men leads to chronic anger and “hidden depression.” (Real, p. 33).
7.
Research suggests that when police hyper-vigilance is coupled with lack of emotional awareness, panic attacks may result (Gilmartin, p.446).
8.
Research suggests that police officers are more likely to engage in “indirect self destructive behaviors” (DWI, anger outbursts, high speed driving while upset) because of unresolved emotional conflicts (Ball, p.420).
Theories that Apply to the Problem
1.
Adult Development Theory: Socialization about emotional stoicism occurs early in police career (Early Adult; Entering Adult World). Opportunity to question stoicism more likely occurs in transition periods (Age Thirty, Midlife).
2.
Attribution Theory: Officers suffer from actor/observer bias and self serving bias.
They see the reasons for unhappiness as all being external to them and not because of their internal emotional stoicism.

3.
Equity Theory: Disillusioned, defeated officers believe they have been
“shortchanged” by a variety of external factors such as racism, department politics, and personal conflicts with powerful people. They react to the perceived unfairness by “altering inputs” (work less, drink more); cognitively distorting the situation (eg:
My wife is happy; I didn’t want the promotion); and by “leaving the field” (quitting the job or in the worst case, suicide).
4.
Expectancy Theory: In an unhealthy way, officers believe that they can handle police work if they just deny/suppress their emotional reactions (Expectancy). Ironically, these efforts to protect themselves set them up to be more vulnerable to anger outbursts, broken relations, etc.
5.
Motivation through Consequences: Officers learn to be emotionally stoical by
“observational learning”. After practice, officers repress emotions through ‘selfregulation”.
6.
Job Redesign Theory: High Growth Need (HGN) officers are more likely to quickly internalize the cultural norms about stoicism than Low Growth Need officers, because the HGN’s take more initiative to fit in and succeed within organizational norms.
Once they see the negative consequences of emotional stoicism, HGN officers are more likely than LGN officers to begin practicing how to monitor and manage their emotions.
7.
Group Systems: Police cultural norms dictate that officers repress emotional awareness. Socialization is the primary way that emotional stoicism is taught and reinforced.

8.
Group Development Theory: Groupthink and emotional seduction operate to reinforce adherence to emotional stoicism. Officers who openly challenge stoicism are psychologically amputated and labeled as “touchy-feely” misfits.
9.
Leadership as Social Exchange: Emotional stoicism promotes Theory X thinking, as the entire environment is viewed as dangerous. Young officers go through stages of compliance, identification, and finally internalization of norms of emotional stoicism.
The Action Plan: Training in Emotional Survival
1.
Research what training exists which addresses police emotional repression. Several police psychologists have done related training, such as Dr. Kevin Gilmartin of
Tucson, Arizona, Dr. Greg Riede of Houston, Texas, and Dr. James Reese of
Washington, D.C. Organizations such as the International Association of Chiefs of
Police and Texas’ law enforcement licensing board (TCLEOSE) may also have information on this topic.
2.
Use the history of “Critical Incident Stress Management” as a model for the training and challenge to existing cultural norms. Prior to critical incident debriefings, many officers who were involved in killing or seriously wounding others would quit their department. The officers were surprised and disoriented by the intense internal emotional uproar which often followed such an event, and they reasoned that they had lost the “self-control” necessary for effective police work. Once they realized that their reactions were normal, they were able to put their “out of control” experience in perspective and learn from it rather than leave the profession.

3.
Do “focus group” interviews of APD officers to identify positive elements about challenging traditional norms, and also negative triggers to avoid in the training.
4.
Design training modules around practical events to increase credibility, following the CISM model. Examples of the topics include: Suicide, IA Investigations, Being
Out of Control in a Fight; Losing a Family Member (death or divorce);
Disillusionment with the profession; and Hidden Depression. Provide both information and behavioral suggestions for each situation so that officers leave the training with an understanding of the “normal” emotional uproar that accompanies each event, and with practical suggestions about how to manage their reactions to the events. Use video interviews of APD officers who have been through such events to reinforce new approaches in managing such events.
5.
Offer the course in the APD In-Service training calendar as a voluntary course. Also offer a module in Supervisor Training.
6.
Create a written list of officers who have survived the incidents. This “officer network” provides credible resources for officers and also provides a legitimate base for implicitly challenging the traditional emotional stoicism. As the list grows, so will the popular acceptance of options. The similar CISM list is now offered to officers in several courses that are indirectly related to CISM (eg: time management).
7.
Develop a videotape collection of APD officers’ experiences using traditional stoicism and newer options for managing emotional fallout. Show portions of the collection in stress management classes, conferences, and at supervisor training, to publicize the practical results of consciously managing difficult police experiences.

Assessing the Results
1.
Conduct pilot training program to incorporate officers’ suggestions for improving the training.
2.
Do evaluations of the in-service classes to strengthen weak parts and reinforce successful parts of the training.
3.
Compare the number of suicides prior to the training and following the training.
4.
Compare the number of officers seeking help in the Psychological Services office for depression, anger management, panic attacks prior to the training and after the training. It is likely that the number of voluntary clients will increase for one-two years as officers recognize chronic conditions and want to improve their health.
5.
Compare the number of officers who are disciplined for” high risk acting out “ behaviors (ie: DWI, domestic violence, solicitation of prostitution) prior to and after the training.
6.
Monitor whether the basic concepts of emotional mastery are added to mainline police training courses, thereby becoming accepted within the culture.
7.
Monitor whether increasing numbers of officers volunteer to be placed on the
Resource List, as a measure of “buy in” and advocacy for the process of emotional mastery.