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Post Traumatic Stress Disorders In Law Enforcement

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Law enforcement is one of the most physically demanding occupations. The daily routine of a police officer is never the same. Officers have to be ready to go from sitting in a patrol car to chasing a suspect in a matter of seconds and have to do all this while communicating with dispatch to get back up to their location. When officers become unhealthy, they are not only endangering themselves, but are putting fellow officers and the publics’ lives at risk. Without physical fitness, officers succumb to fatigue, burnout, alcoholism, and suicide at a much higher rate than those who remain in good shape. Numerous studies have shown exercise reduces depressive symptoms, as well as PTSD symptoms, which many officers suffer. There are many health …show more content…

During BLET, students learn the ends and outs of the law, but also go through firearms training, drive training, and physical fitness training. At the end of BLET all students must pass a standardized fitness test called the POPAT. The POPAT generally consists of a total of 200 yards of running, running up stairs, push-ups, sit-ups, body drag, and pushing through a weighted door. A study conducted in Texas concluded that 95% of police departments use a physical ability test for hiring (Bisset, D., Bisset, J., & Snell, 2012). Likewise, agencies that hire officers who do not meet physical fitness standards can be held responsible if injuries occur from an officer not being able to handle a physically demanding situation, that the officer should be able to control (Bisset et al., …show more content…

Collingwood, Hoffman, and Smith (2003), suggest that since physical encounters are rare, physical fitness requirements should be thrown out in order to stop discriminating against women. Though physically demanding encounters may be low, not being prepared for one, could cost officers their life.
A police officer’s day is far from normal. It is rare that officers experience the normal eight to five work days, but instead experiences shifts ranging from 10 to 12 hours on a normal day and days as long as 15 hours depending on the calls they are dispatched to. Because of the extraordinary variation of shift length, officers who once enjoyed working out or playing sports are forced to sacrifice these hobbies in order to try to live a normal life (Oldham,

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