Officer Safety and the risks of policing Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Officer Safety and the risks of policing - Essay Example Indeed, in every aspect of their lives, it is evident that the lives of police officers are always endangered, both when on-duty and off-duty (Asbury and Jacobs, 2014). These points out clearly on the importance of officer safety and the risks associated with policing, requiring the development of appropriate strategies that would work to provide effective solutions to such risks. Many studies and researches have been conducted in examining both the mental and physical health of police officers, in order to identify the different conditions for which the officers have a greater risk. Police officers are usually mandated to provide the public with security without taking into consideration the circumstances involved in the provision of such security (Asbury and Jacobs, 2014). This has indeed contributed substantively towards increased police causalities, mostly in the line of duty where the officers have always become victims to assaults, in some instances by the public while in others the criminals under their watch, vehicle crashes, stress, overexertion, and falls. Officers are always the first in crime scenes, when in possession with the least of information about the potential risks in such areas, and therefore, risks to which they expose themselves (Asbury and Jacobs, 2014). Dependent of the various aspects pertaining to police safety and the risks associ ated with their job, it is important that much still needs to be done in order to improve police officers’ safety and health. Many studies have been conducted in order to get the most appropriate ways of improving the safety and health of police officers be it on or off duty, however, little success has been realized. Improving the safety and health of police officers involves an in-depth understanding of the range of health and safety risks that the police face in their profession (IFPO, 2010).