Ineffective Treatments
On May 30, 1991, John Balcerzak, a police officer of the Milwaukee Police Department, discovered Konerak Sinthasomphone, a 14-year-old, wandering the street naked and bleeding from his rectum. Jeffery Dahmer, an unknown serial killer at the time, told police that Sinthasomphone was his 19-year-old boyfriend, and that they had an argument while drinking. Dahmer acted embarrassed about the situation and insisted that the child return home with him. Officer Balcerzak willingly handed over the child and escorted them back to Dahmer’s apartment, while neglecting to take the child’s wounds into consideration. When they arrived back at the apartment, Dahmer showed the officers two polaroid photos that he had taken of Konerak in his underwear. Once officer Balcerzak saw proof that they were lovers, he told Dahmer to take good care of him. Later that night, Dahmer killed and dismembered Sinthasomphone, keeping his skull as a souvenir. Not only did Officer Balcerzak witness the suffering of a child, he let the criminal walk away. Police officers lives are constantly threatened, but to watch a victim visibly suffer and then watch the criminal get off must have been psychologically unbearable. Officer Balcerzak did not receive the necessary counseling for the guilt he must have felt from handing over a boy to his torturer and executioner. Employee Assistance Programs have been developed to defuse high levels of stress in law enforcement. But the truth is, police officers whose lives are under constant stress do not receive the necessary assistance to help them cope with their physiological complications.
The common problem lies in the lack of trust that police officers have in their Employee Assistance Programs. Police officers do not feel a personal connection with their therapists; they would rather talk to someone in their line of duty. The attitude seems to be related to past experience and concern about not being understood by a superior when stress-related behaviors develop. Gary Allmers, a detective in the Bergen County Prosecutors Office, said, “There is a lack of understanding in these programs to help officers cope with their problems. We do not want to sit down and talk to a therapist who cannot relate to our situation. We need to talk to someone, perhaps a retired officer, about the common stressors in law enforcement. There is good intention, but we need someone who has been in our shoes before. I feel alone most of the time, which scares me quite frankly.” Employee Assistant Programs should consist of retired officers who have dealt with similar problems in their line of duty. Police officers, the guardians of our safety, should never feel alone. We need to meet police officers half way and stop supplying them with mediocre support systems. If one cop is saying a therapist is not enough, imagine the officer’s who have yet to come forward about their symptoms.
The pressures of law enforcement have led to high blood pressure, insomnia, increased levels of destructive stress hormones, heart problems, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, and suicide. The exposure to this case in particular must have been stressful beyond belief. A study conducted by Badge of Life in 2016 found that there are about 17 suicides per 100,000 officers compared to a mere 7.5 per 100,000 suicides among college students whose lives are impacted by astronomical college tuitions and societal pressures to acquire a degree. Support and therapy could help mitigate the mental health damage caused by this type of trauma. Police officers deserve all the help we can give them to regain their original selves. Officers are constantly exposed to dangerous situations by virtue of their job, but the system to help police officers cope with their stress is woefully inadequate. It is inexcusable how many lives have been damaged and/or taken from the lack of support for people who sacrifice their lives on a day-to-day basis to keep us safe.
Employee Assistance Programs in law enforcement are also not mandatory. Police officers are given the option to seek help. But the truth is, the largest barrier to effective treatments and support systems is the culture that exists among police officers. There is an imposed willpower in law enforcement that requires officers to restrain from their emotions and feelings of pain or suffrage. Police officers commonly face internal stressors, such as administrative stress, that include long hours, lack of support, overtime, no room for advancement, and family complications. External stressors are correlated with outside factors such as the attitude of the general public, daily exposure to trauma, negativity, and uneasiness when dealing with challenging and dangerous situations. Yet, police officers are expected to make that emotional switch and focus on another case, regardless of what they may be experiencing at the time. In a predominantly male culture emphasizing toughness and a shrug-it-off, suck-it-up mentality, officers are forced to keep their feelings to themselves and resort to unhealthy methods of coping, which result in negative outcomes (such as alcohol abuse, risk-taking behaviors, etc.). Police officers, who do not come forward because of the stigma of appearing weak, are putting themselves at risk for serious physiological complications. These programs are seemingly noneffective if they are not mandated in police departments.
(Finish Conclusion)As a nation that prides themselves on a strong law enforcement system, America has ignored the calls for help from the people who have set out to protect our nation.
Works Cited
Aamodt, Michael G., and Nicole A. Stalnaker. “Police Officer Suicide: Frequency and officer profiles.” PoliceOne. 20 June 2006. Web. 11 Nov. 2016.
“https://adrenalfatiguesolution.com/police-stress-fatigue/” The Adrenal Fatigue Solution. 4 Dec. 2014. 11 Nov. 2016.
“https://psmag.com/aversion-to-therapy-why-won-t-men-get-help-7998d34f1d4e#.cxixu9hn6” PacificStandard. Betsy Freed, David Freed. 25 Jun 2012. 11 Nov. 2016.
Allmers, Gary. “Employee Assistance Programs.” Personal interview. 11 Nov. 2016.
Rowan Counterintuitive 
feedback provided
—DSH
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P1. This goes well until the end, Philly, where it loses focus. You can name other stresses of the job if you wish, but your focus appears to be (and should be) on the lack of treatment the officer received for the guilt we all hope he felt over handing over a boy to his torturer and executioner. You miss the chance to indict the lack of counseling and instead substitute mortal danger (apparently randomly) and the failure to prosecute criminals (not precisely the point of this anecdote).
P2. The pressures of law enforcement have [LED] to high blood pressure, insomnia, increased levels of destructive stress hormones, heart problems, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, and suicide. The exposure to this case in particular must have been stressful beyond belief.
This transition is awkward at best, Philly. In short, until you dispense with the actual case of officer Balcerzak, it’s dangerous to add distractions. You’ll have plenty of time to list the results of stress, but the point of your anecdote appears to be that one officer in particular did not receive needed assistance. Draw a particular conclusion from that choice before you list random symptoms or expand your coverage beyond the introductory case.
That will have to conclude my remarks for now. Feel free to ask for additional interference after you’ve absorbed these and revised if needed.
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feedback provided.
—DSH
Thank you for the feedback. I could see how I was a little off topic towards the end of my first paragraph. I have made a few changes to my first paragraph. Thanks!
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What is it with you and apostrophes, Philly?
I want to agree with Officer Allmers, but there’s a contradiction in your proposal maybe he can help you with. How can bruised officers receive counseling from other officers who were indoctrinated into the same “suck it up” culture? To a civilian, it seems the officers would be more comfortable confessing their anxieties and second-guessing to a civilian, not another uniform. Do cops become less macho when they retire?
This sentence is vague twice:
“Exposure” doesn’t begin to describe the trauma Balcerzak experienced. Secondly, the “case” is two paragraphs away, too far for us to know immediately what you’re talking about.
I’ve asked you about this before:
It’s an unmoored statistic. Do 17 suicides occur every year for every 100,000 active duty cops? Or is this a lifetime number? 17 cops will commit suicide for every 100,000 who graduate from the academy? The same question for college students. If you can’t answer, then don’t use the per 100,000 calculation. It’s meaningless. You could simply say that cops are 2-and-a-half times as likely to commit suicide as college students.
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Thank you for the feedback. I will not be using my rebuttal as one of my two final 1000 word essays. However, I have made the necessary adjustments in my research position paper. Thanks!
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