The effect of stress among police officers in Tanzania
Loading...
Date
2012-03
Authors
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Kampala International University, Colleges of Humanities and Social sciences
Abstract
Law enforcement is a stressful profession. It is assumed that police work is among the world’s most stressful occupations. Policemen and policewomen are some of the most misunderstood people in the world. As crime becomes a major social problem in the world today, the public perception of the “men in khaki” is very low. Crime rates have been increasing in most developing countries. In Tanzania, everybody is concerned about escalating crime rate. Most parts of Kahama are considered unsafe and downgraded to class “C” category. It is the police force, which is responsible of crime management. The public has a notion that policemen are not doing enough. They feel that the policeman shoots at people and intimidate them. To justify this conviction, they give simple references such as “after all was it not a bunch of police officers who nailed Jesus Christ on the cross?” The study used several inter-related approaches in data acquisition. Three level of Administration Police Officer and members of their families overall 54 Administration Police Officers and 6 members of their family were interviewed. This research project serves as a vital reference point for any meaningful intervention in this area. The principle assumption behind this study is that the mission of Administration Police exits to contribute to National development through the provision of sustainable peace and tranquility to all people in Tanzanian. For this to be achieved, common sense and sound judgment must prevail. It has however been noted that high level of stress related illness is causing concern across the entire Administration Police department making it hard for the force to achieve this noble goal. Arising from the study, there is a connection between Administration Police Officers stress and job performance. The study indicated that all the officers working abilities are impaired when they are under stress. This partly explains the cause of bizarre behaviors commonly portrayed by Administration Police Officers. To minimize or control stress among Administration Police Officers, the administrative decision-making process should be devolved, deployment and transfer streamlined, political interference curbed, counseling intensified and above all improve the welfare of the officers.
Description
A research report submitted to the faculty of social sciences in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the award of the bachelor of guidance and counselling at Kampala international university
Keywords
Stress, Police, Officers, Tanzania