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Organizational stressors and police performance
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Title
Organizational stressors and police performance
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http://hdl.rutgers.edu/1782.2/rucore10002600001.ETD.17624
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ETD_1332
Language
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eng
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theses
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Topic
Criminal Justice
Subject
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(authority = ETD-LCSH)
Topic
Police subculture
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Topic
Police--Job stress
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Topic
Stress (Psychology)
Abstract
The evidence on police stress is mixed as to whether or not the nature of police work is inherently stressful. A growing body of research suggests police officers are no more stressed than other groups and police work is not especially stressful. Instead, organizational stressors may be the greatest source of stress in police officers. Various structural arrangements, policies and practices imply police agencies can be inhospitable workplaces, where officers must withstand a variety of daily hassles generated internally by the organization.
The purpose of this study is to answer the question: What is the relationship between perceived organizational stressors and police performance? This cross-sectional study pools secondary data collected by the Police Foundation, Washington, D.C. from the Detroit (MI) Police Department (N=113) and primary data collected from the Paterson (NJ) Police Department (N=348) to quantify the level of stress urban police officers may be under. This study uses a non-probability sample of incumbent sworn police officers assigned to the patrol division. Two instruments, the Police Stress Questionnaire (McCreary and Thompson, 2006) and the Daily Hassles and Uplifts Scale (Hart, Wearing and Heady, 1993) are used to measure stress via a composite index (Explanatory variables) extracted from a principle components factor analysis. Internal police data collected from agency records measures performance (Criterion variable) also via a composite index.
Controlling for several demographic variables, organizational stressors made a statistically significant contribution to predicting police performance (F=22.316; p<.001). This finding suggests, as the perceived level of stress increases performance decreases. The policy implications include developing a multidimensional performance framework, developing a discipline sentencing matrix, improving management practices and organizational restructuring.
Future research should include: 1) Predicting police performance in smaller and mid-size police agencies as well as suburban and rural agencies compared to urban agencies; 2) examining organizational stressors over a longer time period and over the course of different police administrations to provide better insight into how management practices correlate with stress and performance; and 3) widening the participant pool to include superior officers and civilian personnel to estimate the effects of organizational stress on performance for other police employees.
The purpose of this study is to answer the question: What is the relationship between perceived organizational stressors and police performance? This cross-sectional study pools secondary data collected by the Police Foundation, Washington, D.C. from the Detroit (MI) Police Department (N=113) and primary data collected from the Paterson (NJ) Police Department (N=348) to quantify the level of stress urban police officers may be under. This study uses a non-probability sample of incumbent sworn police officers assigned to the patrol division. Two instruments, the Police Stress Questionnaire (McCreary and Thompson, 2006) and the Daily Hassles and Uplifts Scale (Hart, Wearing and Heady, 1993) are used to measure stress via a composite index (Explanatory variables) extracted from a principle components factor analysis. Internal police data collected from agency records measures performance (Criterion variable) also via a composite index.
Controlling for several demographic variables, organizational stressors made a statistically significant contribution to predicting police performance (F=22.316; p<.001). This finding suggests, as the perceived level of stress increases performance decreases. The policy implications include developing a multidimensional performance framework, developing a discipline sentencing matrix, improving management practices and organizational restructuring.
Future research should include: 1) Predicting police performance in smaller and mid-size police agencies as well as suburban and rural agencies compared to urban agencies; 2) examining organizational stressors over a longer time period and over the course of different police administrations to provide better insight into how management practices correlate with stress and performance; and 3) widening the participant pool to include superior officers and civilian personnel to estimate the effects of organizational stress on performance for other police employees.
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xi, 286 pages
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Ph.D.
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Includes bibiographical references (p. 218-258).
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Shane
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Jon M.
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Jon Shane
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Kelling
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George L.
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George L Kelling
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Clarke
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Ronald V.
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Ronald V. Clarke
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Felson
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Marcus Felson
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Amendola
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Karen L.
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Karen L Amendola
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Rutgers University
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Graduate School - Newark
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2008
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2008-10
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Graduate School - Newark Electronic Theses and Dissertations
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rucore10002600001
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doi:10.7282/T38G8M1B
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ETD doctoral
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Jon Shane
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Rutgers University. Graduate School - Newark
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Non-exclusive ETD license
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I hereby grant to the Rutgers University Libraries and to my school the non-exclusive right to archive, reproduce and distribute my thesis or dissertation, in whole or in part, and/or my abstract, in whole or in part, in and from an electronic format, subject to the release date subsequently stipulated in this submittal form and approved by my school. I represent and stipulate that the thesis or dissertation and its abstract are my original work, that they do not infringe or violate any rights of others, and that I make these grants as the sole owner of the rights to my thesis or dissertation and its abstract. I represent that I have obtained written permissions, when necessary, from the owner(s) of each third party copyrighted matter to be included in my thesis or dissertation and will supply copies of such upon request by my school. I acknowledge that RU ETD and my school will not distribute my thesis or dissertation or its abstract if, in their reasonable judgment, they believe all such rights have not been secured. I acknowledge that I retain ownership rights to the copyright of my work. I also retain the right to use all or part of this thesis or dissertation in future works, such as articles or books.
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