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| Copyright © 2006 - 2008 - Barry M. Baker - CareerPoliceOfficer.com |
| Disclaimer |
| CareerPoliceOfficer.com is not responsible for the contents of any linked site or any link contained in a linked site, or any changes or updates to such sites. Links are provided only as a convenience, and the inclusion of any link does not imply endorsement by this site. |
Prejudice
and Stress
and Stress
Webster's Dictionary defines Prejudice as: "1. a judgement or
opinion formed before the facts are known; preconceived
idea, favorable or, more usually, unfavorable."
opinion formed before the facts are known; preconceived
idea, favorable or, more usually, unfavorable."
That's the first, and most benign, definition of prejudice. Whether
favorable or unfavorable, you'll never, as a police officer, have any
constructive use for prejudice of any kind. Forget, for just a moment,
the word itself. When you make a judgement or form an opinion before
the facts are known, your prejudice will frequently lead you to wrong
conclusions. For a police officer, frequently reaching wrong conclusions
will, without any doubt whatsoever, result in stress for the police officer
as well as others affected by the police officer's prejudice.
Even though you're a police officer, you're still just an imperfect human
being, and you will have prejudices. Make no mistake, your prejudices
will cause you stress if you let those prejudices affect the outcome of
anything you do. The really beautiful thing about being a fact finder
and enforcer of laws is your ability, as a police officer, to reach
conclusions based on facts devoid of prejudice.
As a police officer, you are the first, and most important, cog in the
wheel of criminal justice. People often view judges and lawyers as the
supreme defenders against prejudice. Sometimes that's true;
sometimes it's not. Remember, judges and lawyers have a lot of time to
insert their own prejudices into outcomes through arguments that are
sometimes reasonable and sometimes unreasonable. You, on the other
hand, will not have time to finesse your prejudices into a desired
outcome without exposing your prejudices.
Here's a sad fact. You're going to work with police officers who let their
prejudices influence their fact finding activities. I once worked with a
police officer of above average intelligence, but his slavish devotion to
his own prejudices made any association with him, or his investigative
activities, a stressful experience for me and others. If you find yourself
working with a police officer, or for a supervisor, who has no
appreciation for facts and truth in general, you should do exactly what I
learned to do...you call that person on each and every false or
outrageous conclusion that person attempts to render as factual.
Facts are facts, and it's very easy to reach conclusions based on facts
alone. As you go about an investigation, you're going to have a
preconceived outcome in mind...it's only natural. As your investigation
continues, your desired outcome looks promising as emerging facts
seems to support your initial conclusion. Then...you uncover a very
strong and verifiable fact that simply blows away your initial idea of how
your investigation would conclude. If your prejudice(s) is strong
enough, you might be tempted to ignore a fact(s) which does not fit with
what is now your prejudicial conclusion. If you ever feel such
temptation, take a moment to reflect on who and what you are...a police
officer.
Everyone has prejudices, and that's a universal truth. While many
people can express their prejudices in a variety of ways with little or no
consequences, a police officer does not have that luxury. You'll be
accused -- many times -- of acting out of prejudice whether or not
there's any basis for the accusations. Whether true or false, any
accusation of prejudicial wrongdoing is a stressful experience to endure.
However, a false accusation is far less stressful than a truthful one.
It is what it is...a simple phrase that every police officer should never
forget. Even simpler is your ability, as a police officer and fact finder, to
avoid stress by never letting your prejudices overshadow or influence
the factual simplicity of...it is what it is.
favorable or unfavorable, you'll never, as a police officer, have any
constructive use for prejudice of any kind. Forget, for just a moment,
the word itself. When you make a judgement or form an opinion before
the facts are known, your prejudice will frequently lead you to wrong
conclusions. For a police officer, frequently reaching wrong conclusions
will, without any doubt whatsoever, result in stress for the police officer
as well as others affected by the police officer's prejudice.
Even though you're a police officer, you're still just an imperfect human
being, and you will have prejudices. Make no mistake, your prejudices
will cause you stress if you let those prejudices affect the outcome of
anything you do. The really beautiful thing about being a fact finder
and enforcer of laws is your ability, as a police officer, to reach
conclusions based on facts devoid of prejudice.
As a police officer, you are the first, and most important, cog in the
wheel of criminal justice. People often view judges and lawyers as the
supreme defenders against prejudice. Sometimes that's true;
sometimes it's not. Remember, judges and lawyers have a lot of time to
insert their own prejudices into outcomes through arguments that are
sometimes reasonable and sometimes unreasonable. You, on the other
hand, will not have time to finesse your prejudices into a desired
outcome without exposing your prejudices.
Here's a sad fact. You're going to work with police officers who let their
prejudices influence their fact finding activities. I once worked with a
police officer of above average intelligence, but his slavish devotion to
his own prejudices made any association with him, or his investigative
activities, a stressful experience for me and others. If you find yourself
working with a police officer, or for a supervisor, who has no
appreciation for facts and truth in general, you should do exactly what I
learned to do...you call that person on each and every false or
outrageous conclusion that person attempts to render as factual.
Facts are facts, and it's very easy to reach conclusions based on facts
alone. As you go about an investigation, you're going to have a
preconceived outcome in mind...it's only natural. As your investigation
continues, your desired outcome looks promising as emerging facts
seems to support your initial conclusion. Then...you uncover a very
strong and verifiable fact that simply blows away your initial idea of how
your investigation would conclude. If your prejudice(s) is strong
enough, you might be tempted to ignore a fact(s) which does not fit with
what is now your prejudicial conclusion. If you ever feel such
temptation, take a moment to reflect on who and what you are...a police
officer.
Everyone has prejudices, and that's a universal truth. While many
people can express their prejudices in a variety of ways with little or no
consequences, a police officer does not have that luxury. You'll be
accused -- many times -- of acting out of prejudice whether or not
there's any basis for the accusations. Whether true or false, any
accusation of prejudicial wrongdoing is a stressful experience to endure.
However, a false accusation is far less stressful than a truthful one.
It is what it is...a simple phrase that every police officer should never
forget. Even simpler is your ability, as a police officer and fact finder, to
avoid stress by never letting your prejudices overshadow or influence
the factual simplicity of...it is what it is.