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In case you haven't noticed, you're living in a personal crisis society. As
a police officer, you'll deal with some kind of crisis nearly every day of
your career. It's always been that way for police officers. The biggest
risk you face — even bigger than risk to your physical safety — is
becoming a casualty of the ever increasing personal crisis mania.
Today, personal courage is expressed in some pretty perverse ways.
You're told it's okay if you're as weak and inadequate as the next guy.
An entire industry has been built around personal crisis, and police
officers are an ideal target for this burgeoning industry. The next time
you watch your favorite cop show on television, take note of how much
time is devoted to the personal crises of the cop cast.
One of the greatest benefits of being a police officer is the opportunity
to view social behavior at its best and worst; albeit, the worst far
outweighs the best. However, that's good, because you see, first hand,
the often disastrous consequences that result from irresponsible
personal behavior.
So, why is irresponsible behavior so tolerated, and even acceptable, in so
many parts of the society you serve? The short answer is, it's
profitable. A growing economy combined with doctors, lawyers, all kinds
of advocates, and a runaway healthcare system have made personal
crisis a multi-billion dollar industry.
However, the personal crisis industry is suffering the same growing
pains any industry suffers from fast and furious growth. Any
infrastructure is only as good as its ability to handle the volume for
which it's designed. When the volume exceeds the design, things start
to become complicated.
Police officers have always been at risk of being adversely affected
psychologically by situations and circumstances that come with the
territory. Some may become physically ill from some of the things they
simply witness. In the past, a police officer either put all the awful
things into perspective, or the police officer would resign and look for
another line of work. Peer pressure contributed significantly to weeding
out those who were psychologically unsuited for police work. That
pressure was rarely mean spirited. Instead, the pressure was applied in
good faith with the welfare of the individual police officer as the primary
factor. Of course, since police officers are so dependent upon one
another, the group's welfare was also of paramount importance.
Things weren't perfect. Some police officers would succumb to stress
and emulate, in various degrees, some of the irresponsible behavior
they observed in others on a daily basis. However, most would disdain
such behavior, and they would consciously work to prevent similarly
destructive behavior from entering their personal lives. In other words,
they learned from their observations.
Today, the weeding out process by peer pressure has pretty much come
to a halt. To ever increasing degrees, it's now acceptable for police
officers to be just as weak and dependent as the next person. You
might ask the question, "What about the pre-employment psychological
testing?" Good question. Most, if not all police departments, now
require psychological evaluation of people seeking to become police
officers. Of course, the primary purpose of pre-employment
psychological testing is to identify the aggressive personalities among
us. Pretty much everything else can be fixed later on by the
Industry…or so some believe.
There are two exceptions to the "fix it later" category. Domestic
violence and sexual harassment are gender specific zero tolerance
items. Both of these transgressions will prevent your employment as a
police officer in the first place. If they occur post employment, you'll
find no sympathetic counseling solutions from the Industry. If you have
to ask what is meant by "gender specific," you'll have to work on your
powers of observation.
Every person will have a personal crisis, from time to time, in his or her
life. These occurrences are normal and inevitable. Normality applies
when you're subjected to a personal crisis which is beyond your ability to
control. Obviously, these crises would include actions by others close to
you which may cause you stress and worry in varying degrees. Ill health
or death of a family member or a close friend comes in at the top of that
list.
In the past, a police officer's personal life was pretty much his own. I'm
using the masculine pronoun [his], because, in the past, nearly all police
officers were male. Police officers were expected to keep their personal
affairs in order. There was little tolerance for personal crises which
adversely affected other police officers and their daily work
environment. Of course, since police officers were working in a single
gender environment, they had a tremendous support group.
Police commanders rarely became involved in an individual police
officer's personal crisis. When a commander became aware of a crisis,
or a perceived crisis, in a police officer's personal life, he'd simply make
it known, to those subordinate to him, that he wanted the problem
addressed…and solved. If an effort was not already underway, that's
when the police officer's immediate supervisor and fellow police officers
would swing into action.
A lot is made of the fact that police officers deal with some extremely
stressful situations in their work environment…and that's true.
But…police officers are just people, and they experience the same kinds
of crises in their personal lives as anyone else. Many would argue that
the police officer's work environment contributes to, and exacerbates,
the seriousness and potential damage from a personal crisis which would
otherwise be less were it not for the police officer's working
environment. This goes right back to my point that the police officer's
working environment can be a very positive factor when confronting a
personal crisis. The truth is that police work is a very convenient causal
excuse for any number of personal crises in police officers' lives.
When people talk about personal crisis, they tend to miss the meaning
of "personal." The vast majority of personal crises — for anyone — will
involve a personal relationship with a person of the opposite sex. It
doesn't matter whether the cause of the crisis is financial; work related
or whether the primary cause arises from unique circumstances within
the personal relationship. The severity of the crisis will depend upon
how the crisis affects the personal relationship.
Again…in the past…and before the crushing advance of political
correctness, police officers were quick to support their own and do
everything in their power to provide good counsel to their fellow police
officers. The biggest advantage of any single gender work environment
is its ability to absorb a multitude of views. Police work used to be
unique in this regard. A police officer could receive counsel ranging
from thoughtful to the absurd, but the police officer had the advantage
of evaluating his crisis in the light of honest counsel.
Today, the absence of the single gender work environment, and the
onslaught of political correctness has placed the personal crises of police
officers squarely within the domain of the Personal Crisis Industry. The
informal peer counseling of the past is now not only unwelcome, but it's
also dangerous to any police officer who might offer counsel to a fellow
police officer who is experiencing a personal crisis.
When you begin your police career, you're going to see a lot of police
officers in crisis. If you're a relatively self sufficient individual, you're
going to view most of the "crises" you observe as just everyday, normal
problems people have. While your predecessors would have quickly
verbalized that view without fear of retaliation, you won't enjoy the
same freedom to express your views.
a police officer, you'll deal with some kind of crisis nearly every day of
your career. It's always been that way for police officers. The biggest
risk you face — even bigger than risk to your physical safety — is
becoming a casualty of the ever increasing personal crisis mania.
Today, personal courage is expressed in some pretty perverse ways.
You're told it's okay if you're as weak and inadequate as the next guy.
An entire industry has been built around personal crisis, and police
officers are an ideal target for this burgeoning industry. The next time
you watch your favorite cop show on television, take note of how much
time is devoted to the personal crises of the cop cast.
One of the greatest benefits of being a police officer is the opportunity
to view social behavior at its best and worst; albeit, the worst far
outweighs the best. However, that's good, because you see, first hand,
the often disastrous consequences that result from irresponsible
personal behavior.
So, why is irresponsible behavior so tolerated, and even acceptable, in so
many parts of the society you serve? The short answer is, it's
profitable. A growing economy combined with doctors, lawyers, all kinds
of advocates, and a runaway healthcare system have made personal
crisis a multi-billion dollar industry.
However, the personal crisis industry is suffering the same growing
pains any industry suffers from fast and furious growth. Any
infrastructure is only as good as its ability to handle the volume for
which it's designed. When the volume exceeds the design, things start
to become complicated.
Police officers have always been at risk of being adversely affected
psychologically by situations and circumstances that come with the
territory. Some may become physically ill from some of the things they
simply witness. In the past, a police officer either put all the awful
things into perspective, or the police officer would resign and look for
another line of work. Peer pressure contributed significantly to weeding
out those who were psychologically unsuited for police work. That
pressure was rarely mean spirited. Instead, the pressure was applied in
good faith with the welfare of the individual police officer as the primary
factor. Of course, since police officers are so dependent upon one
another, the group's welfare was also of paramount importance.
Things weren't perfect. Some police officers would succumb to stress
and emulate, in various degrees, some of the irresponsible behavior
they observed in others on a daily basis. However, most would disdain
such behavior, and they would consciously work to prevent similarly
destructive behavior from entering their personal lives. In other words,
they learned from their observations.
Today, the weeding out process by peer pressure has pretty much come
to a halt. To ever increasing degrees, it's now acceptable for police
officers to be just as weak and dependent as the next person. You
might ask the question, "What about the pre-employment psychological
testing?" Good question. Most, if not all police departments, now
require psychological evaluation of people seeking to become police
officers. Of course, the primary purpose of pre-employment
psychological testing is to identify the aggressive personalities among
us. Pretty much everything else can be fixed later on by the
Industry…or so some believe.
There are two exceptions to the "fix it later" category. Domestic
violence and sexual harassment are gender specific zero tolerance
items. Both of these transgressions will prevent your employment as a
police officer in the first place. If they occur post employment, you'll
find no sympathetic counseling solutions from the Industry. If you have
to ask what is meant by "gender specific," you'll have to work on your
powers of observation.
Every person will have a personal crisis, from time to time, in his or her
life. These occurrences are normal and inevitable. Normality applies
when you're subjected to a personal crisis which is beyond your ability to
control. Obviously, these crises would include actions by others close to
you which may cause you stress and worry in varying degrees. Ill health
or death of a family member or a close friend comes in at the top of that
list.
In the past, a police officer's personal life was pretty much his own. I'm
using the masculine pronoun [his], because, in the past, nearly all police
officers were male. Police officers were expected to keep their personal
affairs in order. There was little tolerance for personal crises which
adversely affected other police officers and their daily work
environment. Of course, since police officers were working in a single
gender environment, they had a tremendous support group.
Police commanders rarely became involved in an individual police
officer's personal crisis. When a commander became aware of a crisis,
or a perceived crisis, in a police officer's personal life, he'd simply make
it known, to those subordinate to him, that he wanted the problem
addressed…and solved. If an effort was not already underway, that's
when the police officer's immediate supervisor and fellow police officers
would swing into action.
A lot is made of the fact that police officers deal with some extremely
stressful situations in their work environment…and that's true.
But…police officers are just people, and they experience the same kinds
of crises in their personal lives as anyone else. Many would argue that
the police officer's work environment contributes to, and exacerbates,
the seriousness and potential damage from a personal crisis which would
otherwise be less were it not for the police officer's working
environment. This goes right back to my point that the police officer's
working environment can be a very positive factor when confronting a
personal crisis. The truth is that police work is a very convenient causal
excuse for any number of personal crises in police officers' lives.
When people talk about personal crisis, they tend to miss the meaning
of "personal." The vast majority of personal crises — for anyone — will
involve a personal relationship with a person of the opposite sex. It
doesn't matter whether the cause of the crisis is financial; work related
or whether the primary cause arises from unique circumstances within
the personal relationship. The severity of the crisis will depend upon
how the crisis affects the personal relationship.
Again…in the past…and before the crushing advance of political
correctness, police officers were quick to support their own and do
everything in their power to provide good counsel to their fellow police
officers. The biggest advantage of any single gender work environment
is its ability to absorb a multitude of views. Police work used to be
unique in this regard. A police officer could receive counsel ranging
from thoughtful to the absurd, but the police officer had the advantage
of evaluating his crisis in the light of honest counsel.
Today, the absence of the single gender work environment, and the
onslaught of political correctness has placed the personal crises of police
officers squarely within the domain of the Personal Crisis Industry. The
informal peer counseling of the past is now not only unwelcome, but it's
also dangerous to any police officer who might offer counsel to a fellow
police officer who is experiencing a personal crisis.
When you begin your police career, you're going to see a lot of police
officers in crisis. If you're a relatively self sufficient individual, you're
going to view most of the "crises" you observe as just everyday, normal
problems people have. While your predecessors would have quickly
verbalized that view without fear of retaliation, you won't enjoy the
same freedom to express your views.
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The
Personal
Crisis
Industry
Personal
Crisis
Industry
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