Survey on police stress and conflict during the COVID-19 pandemic
List of Authors
  • Farah Adilla Ab Rahman , Jeniwaty Mohd Jody

Keyword
  • Conflict, COVID-19, police officers, stress

Abstract
  • The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) are a roadmap for a more prosperous and sustainable future. Goal 16 stipulates that everyone should have access to justice and that courts and the justice system should be a key component of national accountability systems. Institutional objectives include the police, prosecutors, courts, jail system, and justice and policing ministries. As a result, police officers play a crucial role in guaranteeing the safety of residents by protecting their lives. There is a commitment to live in safety and prosperity throughout the Goal 16 objectives. The COVID-19 outbreak affected many aspects of society, causing societal upheaval and changing customs, but first responders were particularly heavily afflicted. The purpose of police officers was to organize local shutdowns, foster social distance, and enforce stay-at-home requirements. Police personnel must encourage social separation and the use of face masks in order to reduce or break the COVID-19 epidemic's chain. As a result, documenting the magnitude of these effects is critical for justifying and efficiently targeting officers' responses, helping agencies and individuals to weather the storm. The stress and conflict issues that police officers face is addressed in this research. Furthermore, this study aims to assess the stress and conflict issues that police personnel experience. This study was conducted using a quantitative research design. The policemen from the Petaling Jaya District Police Headquarters are the respondents. A questionnaire is used to collect data, then analyzed using SPSS. This study's weakness is that more qualitative research is needed to go deeper into conflict and stress among police officers. According to the findings, most police officers have been stressed due to the COVID-19 pandemic and their increased workload. Furthermore, the study discovered that generational disparities in personality could lead to professional conflict among police personnel. According to the findings, police officers require a robust support system to ensure that their stress and conflict may be resolved or minimized during these challenging moments.

Reference
  • 1. Afzalur, R. M. (2010). Managing Conflict in Organizations. Transaction Publishers. p. 16. ISBN 978-1-4128-1456-0.

    2. Barasa, S.W. (2017). Influence of Work Environment on Performance in the Public Security Sector with a Focus on the Police in Nairobi Kenya. Political Economy - Development: Public Service Delivery eJournal.

    3. Biggam, F. H., Power, K. G., Macdonald, R. R., Carcary, W. B.,&Moodie, E. (1997). Selfperceived occupational stress distress in a Scottish police force. Work and Stress, 11, 118/133.

    4. Chaiwuttisak, P. (2019). Factors Affecting Efficiency of Police Stations in Metropolitan Police Division 3. In Proceedings of the 2019 2nd International Conference on Mathematics and Statistics (ICoMS'19). Association for Computing Machinery, New York, NY, USA, 19–23. DOI:https://doi.org/10.1145/3343485.3343488

    5. Cherry, K. (2019, October 10). How does the cross-sectional research method work? Retrieved from https://www.verywellmind.com/what-is-a-cross-sectional-study-2794978

    6. Clements, A. J., Sharples, A., & Kinman, G. (2021). Identifying well-being challenges and solutions in the police service: A World Café approach. The Police Journal, 94(2), 81–101. https://doi.org/10.1177/0032258X19898723

    7. Demerouti, E., Bakker, A. B., Nachreiner, F., & Schaufeli, W. B. (2001). The job demands-resources model of burnout. Journal of Applied Psychology, 86(3), 499–512.

    8. Dick, G. (2009). The influence of managerial factors on bullying in the police. Working Paper Series. Kent Business School, University of Kent. Retrieved from: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/260026111_The_Influence_of_Managerial_Factors_on_Bullying_in_the_Police

    9. Evans, B., Coman, G., & Stanley, R. (1992). The police personality: Type A behavior and trait anxiety. Journal of Criminal Justice, 20, 429-441.

    10. Frank, J., Lambert, E. G., & Qureshi, H. (2017). Examining Police Officer Work Stress Using the Job Demands–Resources Model. Journal of Contemporary Criminal Justice, 33(4), 348–367. https://doi.org/10.1177/1043986217724248

    11. Frenkel, M. O., Giessing, L., Egger-Lampl, S., Hutter, V., Oudejans, R., Kleygrewe, L., Jaspaert, E., & Plessner, H. (2021). The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on European police officers: Stress, demands, and coping resources. Journal of criminal justice, 72, 101756. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jcrimjus.2020.101756

    12. Hartley, T. A., Burchfiel, C. M., Fekedulegn, D., Andrew, M. E., & Violanti, J. M. (2011). Health disparities in police officers: Comparisons to the U.S. general population. Int J Emerg Mental Health, 13, 211–220.

    13. Isa, A. A. (2015). Conflicts in organizations: Causes and consequences. Journal of Educational Policy and Entrepreneurial Research (JEPER), 2(11), 54–59. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/311558401_Conflicts_in_Organizations_Causes_and_Consequences

    14. Griffin, J.D., Sun, I.Y. (2018). Do Work-Family Conflict and Resiliency Mediate Police Stress and Burnout: a Study of State Police Officers. Am J Crim Just 43, 354–370. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12103-017-9401-y

    15. Jackson, E.A. and Jabbie, M. (2019). Understanding Market Failure in the Developing Country Context (Online First). In, Walter L. Filho (eds), Decent Work and Economic Growth: Encyclopedia of Sustainable Development Goals, Springer Nature Publisher. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-71058-7_44-1.

    16. Jackson, E.A. and Jabbie, M. (2020). Importance of the Public Service in Achieving the UN SDGs. Retrieved from https://mpra.ub.uni-muenchen.de/101806/1/MPRA_paper_101806.pdf.

    17. Jowett, S. (2007). Social Psychology in Sport. Human Kinetics. p. 34. ISBN 978-0-7360-5780-6.

    18. Karasek, R. (1979). Job Demands, Job Decision Latitude, and Mental Strain: Implications for Job Redesign. Administrative Science Quarterly, 24(2), 285-308. doi:10.2307/2392498

    19. Krejcie, R.V., & Morgan, D.W., (1970). Determining Sample Size for Research Activities. Educational and Psychological Measurement.Retrieved from https://home.kku.ac.th/sompong/guest_speaker/KrejcieandMorgan_article.pdf

    20. Lambert E. G., Qureshi H., Frank J., Keena L. D., Hogan N. L. (2016b). The relationship of work-family conflict with job stress among Indian police officers: a research note. Police Pract. Res. 18 37–48. 10.1080/15614263.2016.1210010

    21. McCraty, R., & Atkinson, M. (2012). Resilience training program reduces physiological and psychological stress in police officers. Glob Adv Health Med, 1, 42–64.

    22. McTernan, W., Dollard, M., & LaMontagne, A. (2013). Depression in the workplace: An economic cost analysis of depression-related productivity loss attributable to job strain and bullying. Work & Stress, 27, 321 - 338.

    23. NIOSH (1999). Stress at Work. U.S. National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, DHHS (NIOSH) Publication Number 99-101.

    24. Paoline, E. A. (2003). Taking stock: Toward a richer understanding of police culture. Journal of Criminal Justice, 31, 199–214.

    25. Queirós, C., Passos, F., Bártolo, A., Marques, A. J., da Silva, C. F., & Pereira, A. (2020). Burnout and Stress Measurement in Police Officers: Literature Review and a Study With the Operational Police Stress Questionnaire. Frontiers in psychology, 11, 587. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2020.00587

    26. Quick, J. C., & Henderson, D. F. (2016). Occupational Stress: Preventing Suffering, Enhancing Wellbeing. International journal of environmental research and public health, 13(5), 459. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph13050459

    27. Rayner, C; Cooper, C. L. (2006). "Workplace Bullying". In Kelloway, E. Kevin; Barling, Julian; Hurrell, Joseph J. (eds.). Handbook of Workplace Violence. Sage. pp. 121–146. ISBN 978-0-7619-3062-4.

    28. Rout, U. R. & Rout, J. K. (2002). "Occupational Stress". Stress Management for Primary Health Care Professionals. Springer. pp. 25–39. doi:10.1007/0-306-47649-5_3. ISBN 978-0-306-47649-5.

    29. Santa Maria, A., Wolter, C., Gusy, B., Kleiber, D., & Renneberg, B. (2021). Reducing work-related burnout among police officers: The impact of job rewards and health-oriented leadership. The Police Journal, 94(3), 406–421. https://doi.org/10.1177/0032258X20946805

    30. Schafer, 1. (2010). The ineffective police leader: acts of commission and omission. Journal of Criminal Justice, 38 (2010) 737-746.

    31. Schonfeld, I.S., & Chang, C. H. (2017). Occupational health psychology: Work, stress, and health. New York: Springer Publishing Company.

    32. Sinclair, R. R., & Cheung, J. H. (2016). Money matters: Recommendations for financial stress research in occupational health psychology. Stress and Health, 32(3), 181–193. https://doi.org/10.1002/smi.2688

    33. Sulsky, L. & Smith, C. (2005). Work Stress. Belmont, CA: Thomson Wadsworth.

    34. Stogner, J., Miller, B.L. & McLean, K. Police Stress, Mental Health, and Resiliency during the COVID-19 Pandemic. Am J Crim Just (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12103-020-09548-y

    35. Stotland, E., & Pendleton, M. (1989). Workload, stress, and strain among police officers. Behavioral medicine (Washington, D.C.), 15(1), 5–17. https://doi.org/10.1080/08964289.1989.9935146

    36. Terrill, W., Paoline, E. A., & Manning, P. K. (2003). Police culture and coercion. Criminology, 41, 1003–1034.

    37. United Nation. (n.d). Retrieved from https:// www.un.org/ development/ desa/ disabilities/ envision2030.html

    38. Viegas, V., Henriques, J. (2021). Job Stress and Work-Family Conflict as Correlates of Job Satisfaction Among Police Officials. J Police Crim Psych 36, 227–235. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11896-020-09388-w

    39. Violanti, J.M. (1993). What does high stress police training teach recruits? An analysis of coping. Journal of Criminal Justice, 21, 411-417.

    40. WHO. (2020). Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) Situation Report. Retrieved from https://apps.who.int/iris/handle/10665/331686

    41. WHO. (2020). Occupational health: Stress at the workplace. Retrieved from https://www.who.int/news-room/q-a-detail/ccupational-health-stress-at-the-workplace