Research physician Hans Selye introduced the concept of stress to the life sciences and later defined stress as the organism’s response to any demand placed on it (1946, 1976). Although there has been extensive research on the topic of stress, there is not necessarily a commonly accepted definition of the term. Stressors are physical or psychological
Security and Civil Liberties in the Twenty-First Century We live in a time of rapid social change, being driven by technology. Consequently, policing is becoming increasingly difficult as the technologies driving change become more sophisticated and society becomes more dependent upon them. Criminals, too, are relying more on technology, increasing criminal opportunities and threatening civil liberties.
“Technology,” defined by Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary (Ninth Edition) as “a particular means for achieving ends,” is a denotative definition, that is, it is glossed as (extended in meaning to) the totality of means employed to provide objects necessary for human sustenance and comfort. Academic definitions range widely (for a daunting list, see Roberts and Grabowsky 1996
In the popular imagination, surveillance involves public police agents working undercover against foreign enemies, organized crime networks, corporate fraudsters, drug dealers, and ordinary crooks in hot spots of thieving. The police do undertake such work, although it has a minor role in their repertoire of investigative methods (Marx 1988; Ericson 1993; Sharpe 2002). Surveillance of this
Police supervision is the act of supervising, directing, or overseeing the day-to-day work activities of police officers. In most law enforcement agencies the majority of the policing services provided to the public are provided by uniformed patrol officers and detectives. These officers and detectives make up the lowest level of their departments’ hierarchical structure and are
Police work is highly stressful since it is one of the few occupations where employees are asked to continually face physical dangers and to put their lives on the line at any time. The police officer is exposed to violence, cruelty, and aggression and is often required to make extremely critical decisions in high-pressured situations (Goolkasian
A police interrogation involves a police officer interviewing someone who is believed to have committed a crime. The officer who conducts the interview is often called an interrogator, and the person being interviewed is commonly referred to as a suspect. The evidence pointing to the guilt of the suspect can range from mere suspicion to
The police lineup involves the presentation of multiple individuals (a suspect and a group of known innocent individuals known as fillers) to a witness in order to determine whether or not the witness recognizes the suspect as the perpetrator of the crime. The purpose of presenting a suspect within a group of other individuals is
Police officers hold a position of power in the criminal justice system, exercising authority over members of the public to maintain order in society. Much research in the field of criminal psychology focuses on understanding offenders and their offending, assisting police in their role of crime detection and investigation. However, research has also acknowledged that
Suitability for hire and fitness for duty evaluations (FFDEs) for police officers are complex evaluations that attempt to predict one’s suitability for being hired as a police officer or to determine fitness to continue to serve as an officer. There are multiple issues with regard to conducting these assessments; some of the issues addressed in