Bibliography-Philly321

Annotated Bibliography

1. Levenson, Richard L. “Why Departments Need to Develop Mental Health Programs for Cops” PoliceOne. PoliceOne.com, 27 June 2016. Web. 28 Nov. 2016.

Background: This article examines the idea that in a predominantly male culture that emphasizes toughness and a suck-it-up mentality, officers are forced to withhold their emotions and resort to detrimental methods of coping with their stress, including alcoholism, drug use, risk-taking behaviors, etc.

How I used it: This article helped me discover that a police officer’s health, confined by cultural beliefs, is not being dealt with in a healthy, productive matter. I used this article to demonstrate the impact of cultural influence in law enforcement, which has a negative impact intellectually and physically on a police officer’s performance.

2. Patton, Mary Claire. “Suicide leading cause of death among police officers.” KSAT. Graham Media Group, 19 Apr. 2016. Web. 28 Nov. 2016.

Background: This article focuses on a study conducted by Badge of Life, a national surveillance of police suicide, that lists the amount law enforcement officers who have committed suicide in 2015 as a result of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder. It also highlights the emotional effects that a distraught officer has on his or her family. The overall well-being (of police officers and their families) is put in jeopardy by offering little assistance to help officers cope with their anxieties.

How I used it: Since this article focuses entirely on the death toll of police officers, I used it as a basis for my argument that officers are not getting the type of support they need to be efficient in their line of duty.

3. University at Buffalo. “Impact of Stress On Police Officers’ Physical and Mental Health.” ScienceDaily. ScienceDaily, 29 September 2008. Web. 28 Nov. 2016.

Background: This article gives statistical analysis of how an officer’s stress level can put him or her at risk for several health complications, such as high blood pressure or cardiovascular disease. It also shows that suicidal thoughts are three times higher in law enforcement than in other municipal workers.

How I used it: I used the evidence of this source to demonstrate that health complications and suicidal tendencies among law enforcement officers are becoming more prominent because of high levels of stress.

4. Robinson, Holly M. “Psychological Reports.” Duty-Related Stressors and PTSD Symptoms in Suburban Police Officers81 (1997): 835-45. ScienceDaily. ScienceDaily, 1997. Web. 28 Nov. 2016.

Background: This article focuses on a study conducted by Cleveland State University that says 63% out of the 100 suburban cops surveyed stated that critical debriefing periods following a life threatening scenario fail to help them cop with their stress or emotional trauma. The article states that police officers often feel alone and isolated despite the exponential funding that Assistant Employee Programs have received in 1997.

How I used it: This survey is extremely useful because it supports my claim that officers are not given the proper care needed to maintain a level of stability in a highly stressful job. I used this to expose the flaws in Assistant Employee programs by using this survey. The evidence is clear that these programs don’t do their job and there is clearly room for improvement.

5. Allmers, Gary. “Employee Assistance Programs.” Personal interview. 11 Nov. 2016.

Background: This personal interview explains the lack of support that police officers receive from Employee Assistance Programs. This interview specifically examines the disconnect between a therapist and a police officer. It uses first hand incite to examine the lack of understanding that therapists, who fail to relate to a mass shooting or a murder, have for police officers.

How I used it: Quite often, police officers feel lonesome in their line of duty from the lack of understanding between a therapist and an officer. Gary Allmers felt that he was not getting the support he need from a therapist. He needed to talk to someone who could relate to the position he was in, such as a retired police officer. This obviously is a major flaw in law enforcement, which I exposed with the help of this interview as it uses first hand insight into the emotional uneasiness among police officers.

6. Freed, Betsy B. “Aversion to Therapy: Why Won’t Men Get Help?” Pacific Standard. Pacific Standard, 25 June 2012. Web. 29 Nov. 2016.

Background: This article discusses the shame that police officers feel when they reach out for help from a therapist, family members, other police officers, etc. It focuses on the negative stigma surrounding therapeutic facilities in police departments and on police officers who neglect to receive help due to the ignominy that comes along with it.

How I used it: I used concrete examples of police officers that refused to seek out help because of the stigma of appearing weak. The evidence is clear that police officers whose lives are being damaged from their incapability to seek out help are at a detriment to themselves and others around them.

7. Mooney, Chris, Indre Viskontas and Chris Mooney, Erika Eichelberger, Jaeah Lee, Inae Oh, Russ Choma, AJ Vicens, and Andy Kroll. “The Science of Why Cops Shoot Young Black Men.”Mother Jones. Mother Jones and the Foundation for National Progress, 1 Dec. 2014. Web. 29 Nov. 2016.

Background: This article examines the origin of racial prejudices. Prejudice draws on many of the same tools that help our minds figure out what’s good and what’s bad. In evolutionary terms, it’s efficient to quickly classify a grizzly bear as dangerous. The trouble comes when the brain uses similar processes to form negative views about groups of people.

How I used it: It is entirely possible that police officers learn to be suspicious of individuals that the general public do not fear. I used this evidence to show that police officers react to certain cues on account of the race of the suspect. Police officer have developed reflexes that we don’t have, causing them to react faster or with more force than we would.

8. Levs, Josh. “Column Defending Cops in Ferguson Sparks Online Fury.”CNN. Cable News Network, 20 Aug. 2014. Web. 29 Nov. 2016.

Background: This article from CNN covers the fatal shooting of Michael Brown and puts into question whether officer Darren Wilson was within his rights to shoot Michael Brown. It provides specific examples of police officers who defend officer Darren Wilson by stressing that law enforcement is constantly under heightened scrutiny even when they are acting in self defense.

How I used it: I used concrete examples of police officers that have been in similar situations as officer Darren Wilson and support his decision. The evidence is clear that victims who show signs of aggression should be dealt with in a forceful manner. The fact that Michael Brown may not have had a weapon in no way diminishes officer Wilson’s fear for his life. I also used officer Darren Wilson as a strong anecdote to help the reader understand the point I am trying to make.

9. Willman, Elizabeth A. “Alcohol Use Among Law Enforcement.”The Journal of Law Enforcement. 2.3 (2008) 1-4. Print.

Background: This journal discusses the prevalence of alcohol in law enforcement. While this journal does not fixate on Employee Assistance Programs, there is a large portion of it that suggests that alcoholism in law enforcement is the result of police officers not receiving the necessary support they need to help cope with their trauma.

How I used it: I used this journal to stress the growing problem of alcohol abuse in law enforcement. This journal helped me discover the most common reasons of why alcoholism is so prominent among police officers. The journal highlights exactly how large of a problem alcohol is in law enforcement by using statistical data to prove how many officers have used alcohol as a method to cope with their problems rather than seek out help, something I proved in my essay on a larger scale.

10. Gustafson, R.D. Timi. “Keeping Your Emotions Bottled Up Could Kill You.”The Huffington Post. The Huffington Post, 31 Mar. 2014. Web. 29 Nov. 2016.

Background: This article from The Blog focuses on a study by the Harvard School of Public Health and the University of Rochester found that suppressing emotions may increase the risk of dying from heart disease and certain forms of cancer. This evidence confirms earlier studies conducted by these Universities that have linked negative emotions like anger, anxiety, and depression to the suppression of emotions.

How I used it: I used this to show the emotional and physical effects that occur as a result of Employee Assistance Programs failing to accomplish their goal to help police officers deal with their stress. This obviously is a major flaw in law enforcement itself, which I exposed with the help of this article as it offers incite on the damaging effects of a failing support system.