Most people know that .08 is the blood alcohol concentration limit to receive a DUI, but did you know that without enough sleep our police officers are driving around at .05 to .08 or higher. Studies have shown that police officers are at a high risk of impairment due to sleep deprivation. Could you imagine pulling someone over and arresting him or her for a DUI later to find out that you may have received one? This is a serious issue that we need to resolve and make appropriate changes within our organization. More of our officers die due to accidents rather than criminal encounters. These are the things we can prevent to better protect our communities, our families and ourselves. We are going to make it our goal to reduce accidents, …show more content…
Lack of rest and proper nutrition are the leading cause of fatigue and can cause permanent damage. Talk one on one with your officers looking for signs of depression, mood swings and possibly the use of excessive force. Enforce the no fast food policy, monitor and control their exercise, making it a routine daily. Ensure each officer is getting the required amount of hours off and takes the appropriate vacation days each year. Be flexible on the scheduling to work around their family’s which will limit the amount of undue stress he or she brings to work. Secondly, pay close attention to officer’s overtime and moonlighting. This should be limited by policy and general orders. Officers are not going to voluntarily cap potential earnings on their own. Working overtime and having part-time jobs is a normal practice that has been going on for years, but it is dangerous when they work to the point of exhaustion. The studies and evidence are clear what happens to our officers when they work exhausted. This is a safety issue and for leadership not to step in and address the problem through a combination of policy and training is failed