Tag: Police

Spring 2021 Capstone: Whittier Police Department

whittier PD

 ~Nicolai Andersen, Rachel Medina, Hannah Ontiveros, K’Yanna Wesley, Julie Zendejas 

Faculty Advisor: Dr. David Gonzalez, Jr.

Our capstone group evaluated the potential benefits of implementing restorative nap policies for the Whittier Police Department in Los Angeles County. Through our research, we conducted a literature review of the prevalence of sleep disorders in law enforcement, the impacts of napping, and how sleep relates to mental health among police officers. We administered a survey to police and fire departments with similar policies in place and analyzed their responses in order to develop recommendations for the Whittier Police Department.

We found this to be an interesting topic, as police work comprises one of the largest groups of shift workers in the U.S. Police performance has also been under increased scrutiny in recent years due to increased media attention and adverse publicity. Innovations in communications and information technology have made it easier than ever to detect and report instances of police brutality through cell phone video-recording and social media sharing. Movements such as Black Lives Matter have also helped bring increased scrutiny on inadequate police performance in recent years. When researching existing data on sleep disorders in America’s police forces, we found as many as 40% of officers identified as having at least one sleep disorder. The 2011 Harvard Work Hours and Safety Group Police Study found one-third of North American police officers screening positive for obstructive sleep apnea (Rajaratnam, 2011). This is 44% higher than the general population (Conn, 2018). 

This study accompanied by other existing data from our literature review found officers with sleep disorders to be more likely to report negative safety events, such as falling asleep while driving or poorer work performance. In the Harvard study, more than one in four officers also reported having fallen asleep while driving at least once a month. Exhibiting uncontrollable anger towards suspects was also reported as more likely among officers with sleep disorders (Kitaeff, 2019). 

To investigate whether restorative naps had any benefits for police officers and public safety, we were able to recruit four public safety agencies with existing restorative nap programs to participate in a survey. Results showed that sleep-deprived officers were more likely to fall asleep while driving, had a higher incidence of citizen complaints, and were more prone to making administrative and/or safety errors. Survey participants also noted a variety of benefits since the implementation of restorative nap policies. Reno Police Department noted that their policies had led to better attitudes, sharper focus, and increased problem-solving capabilities, along with increased safety, happier employees, and a decline in chronic sleep problems. Overall, across all survey participants, we found all agencies positively accepting their restorative nap programs. Since the implementation of these pioneering policies in the Henderson Police Department, Hampton Police Department, and Reno Police Department, a number of positive effects have been reported, including increased public safety and improved work performance. 

With many police officers resting during their short lunch breaks or at inappropriate times, often considered misconduct, developing a program with a formal policy for napping would not only benefit public safety but also officer’s overall well-being, health, and work performance. Therefore, based on the existing data and our survey results, it was our recommendation that the Whittier Police Department would be wise in implementing a similar program. 

 

References 

Conn, Stephanie M. (2018). Increasing Resilience in Police and

          Emergency Personnel: Strengthening Your Mental Armor.

          Routledge. ISBN 9781317193753.

Kitaeff, Jack (2019). Handbook of Police Psychology. Routledge. p. 551.

          ISBN 9780429554667.

Rajaratnam, S.W., Brager, L.K., Lockley, S.W., Shea, S.A., Wang, W.,

          Landrigan, C.P. & Czeisler, C.A. (2011). Sleep disorders, health and

          safety in police officers. Journal of the American Medical

          Association, 306, pp. 2567-2578.

Resistance to mask-wearing: Can wearing masks be seen as not macho enough/“effeminate” behavior?

The latest issue of Administrative Theory and Praxis has an interesting article titled “Street-level bureaucrats under COVID-19: Police Officers responses in constrained settings,” by Rafael Alcadipani,  Sandra Cabral, Alan Fernandes, and Gabriela Lotta. They point out, based on inductive qualitative analysis that in a major Brazilian metropolitan area, conflicts concerning political, occupational culture, and material dimensions can “negatively impact police officers’ response in financially and institutionally constrained settings.”

Their paper is an interesting one in that they suggest something that is known among those who work on the front-lines: organizational values shape how people respond to crises. In the case of COVID-19, the paper elegantly shows how Brazilian policemen – much like others around the world – value machismo and bravery – and define their roles through this lens. When actions or values go against these two clashes, they are quick to fall back into what they know best: defending their machismo and perceived sense of “bravery.”

This is precisely what makes them reject masks and social distancing. Consider that for a cop, being seen as “tough” and “manly” is crucial. In a culture where wearing a mask is seen as being afraid of a virus and caring for one’s colleagues is seen as being effeminate, then such behaviors are punished by one’s peers, rather than supported. This is precisely what is going on in parts of the country.

mask-wearing
source: stanford.edu

And the authors point out that it doesn’t help when the President of Brazil does not encourage mask-wearing and has criticized social distancing (similar to former President Trump). The conflicting messaging at the federal/ central levels and local levels can create tensions that manifest in how local authorities perceive the message, the authors point out.

They point out that “COVID-19 has produced dual outcomes: on the one hand, police forces crime control values align with the political and occupational values. On the other, it can create a conflict,” (p.395) – especially on the three dimensions: political, occupational culture and material conditions.

Their suggestion is that discretion at the street level among these bureaucrats can be both a blessing and a curse. But of material resources, such as a shortage of PPE can lead to greater conflicts of vision and values within an organization. They call for greater coordination and alignment among all values in an organization and suggest that leaders have a big role to play in this process., to increase creativity and decrease divergence.