COPING MECHANISM

Coping Mechanism

Instances and ways for officers to cope with Line-of-duty deaths in Corrections and Law Enforcement

In 2010, around 162 Law Enforcement Officers lost their lives in the line of duty. The cause of deaths ranged from gunfire, to vehicular assault. Correctional officer deaths tend to take a significant toll on their colleagues and fellow officers on account of the fact that correctional officers are generally stationed in environments where they are continuously exposed to high levels of risk (Pollock, 2005). This paper will shed light on the ways for officers to cope with exposure to the killing of a fellow officer in the line-of-duty.

As a result, the death of a correctional officer in the line of duty tends to come forth as a shock to fellow officers. Fellow officers who choose to keep control of their anxieties tend to go through intense trauma when their fellow officers die. The death of fellow officers often drives them to lose their grasp on the little composure they have. Working in a correctional institution can be stressful and hazardous. Every year, correctional officers are injured in confrontations with inmates. Correctional officers and jailers have one of the highest rates of nonfatal on-the-job injuries. First-line supervisors/managers of correctional officers also face the risk of work-related injury (Sullivan, 2005). Correctional officers may work indoors or outdoors. While the death of a police officer is a highly stressful incident by default, it becomes all the more stressful when the death occurs in the line of duty. The stress levels become worse when this happens in the case of a correction officer.

It is imperative for officers to exercise coping mechanisms when they are exposed to the death of a fellow officer. The importance of coping mechanisms at this point is to allow the police officers a ...