A study of the effectiveness of early intervention as a means of primary stress management amongst probationary police officers

Kelly, NW

Abstract

Following the result of a pilot study (n=86) involving a number of probationary
constables, experienced officers and retired officers which confirmed that police officers
irrespective of experience or length of service reported finding the same types of incidents
stressful, the author attempted to introduce the concept of primary stress management
through a planned inoculation programme administered to an experimental group of 31
randomly selected male recruits who joined the Greater Manchester Police in the first three
months of 1991.
The experimental group were seen by the author within days of joining the
police service whilst they were still resident at the force training establishment and prior to
them having any contact with experienced operational officers. It was deemed essential to
establish a good working relationship with the officers before they became subject to peer
pressure as they attempted to adjust to their new roles and responsibilities. This early
intervention was doubly important as the author is a senior officer in the force concerned
and as the police service is by nature a disciplined organisation based on a strict rank
structure it was important to build up a good working relationship with the officers prior
to the authors rank influencing them in any way.
It was hoped that through this early intervention it would be possible to
influence the way in which officers perceived and dealt with stressful situations and the
coping mechanisms they utilised, clearly there was nothing the author could do to prevent
the officers coming face to face with violent and distressful situations as these are a regular
feature of police life, but it was hoped to be able to prepare the officers for what lay ahead
and in particular highlight the dangers in becoming insular and distant especially towards
their families and non police friends. To test the success of the research project, a 72 item
questionnaire based on the information that had been gathered during the pilot study was
distributed to the experimental group of officers and two control groups, one comprising
male officers only and the other female officers only (n=79).
The results of the survey showed that generally speaking there was little
difference between the responses of the various groups that could be attributed to the effect
of the inoculation.

Citation

Kelly, N. A study of the effectiveness of early intervention as a means of primary stress management amongst probationary police officers. (Thesis). University of Salford

• Thesis Type: Thesis
• Deposit Date: Jul 16, 2021
• Award Date: Apr 1, 1996