Predictors of Police Assaults

Police work has been described as one of the most stress tidied, health threatening, and psychologically dangerous jobs in the world (Hill & Clawson, 1988; Anson & Bloom, 1988). Although many other occupations have higher mortality rates and higher rates of accidents and injuries, few occupations face the same variety of stresses as does law enforcement (Hill & Clawson, 1988). Some stresses recognized to be involved in law enforcement are rotating shifts, Ix)or public image, role conflict, boredom, an inefficient judicial system, poor supervision, and lack of adequate equipment (Kroes, 1985). Certainly the most unique of all stresses in police work is the continued exposure to physical assault (Singleton, 1977; McMurray, 1988). "With regard to the police, assault is a type of institutionalized role strain which makes stress and possibility of distress inevitable for officers actively engaged in law enforcement" (p. 28; McMurray, 1988). Further support for the stressful consequences of assault can be found in a survey of Florida police officers conducted by Spielberger, Westberry, Grier and Greenfield (1981). The four physical/psychological situations rated by the officers as the most stressful were fellow officer killed in the line of duty, exposure to dead or battered children, and assault on one's person. In 1989, an average of 16 out of 100 police officers were assaulted in the U.S., for a total of 62,172. Of those officers assaulted, 21,893 reported they incurred an injury as a result of the assault (Federal bureau of Investigation, 1989). The economic and legal repercussions of police officer assaults can be profound for the community. Assaulted officers report being less relaxed with citizens (44%), avoiding similar circumstances to the assault (48%), and being more willing to use force to protect themselves (52%); McMurray, 1988. The potential, that after an assault, some officers may use excessive force in similar situations cannot be ignored. Under the principle of negligent retention, the courts have made it clear that departments must monitor the behavior of their personnel and are liable for any misconduct (Moriarity & Field, 1989; Stone, 1990). Attrition and manhours lost due to assaults are also prohibitive. For example, the City of Cleveland estimates the loss of an applicant who was selected, passed through the probationary period and the leaves to be $500,000 (McCafferty, Domingo & Palahunic, 1989). Bannon (1976) attributes a substantial proportion of the 14,000 police man hours lost to the City of Detroit to be due to injuries from assaults. Why police assaults occur and how they can be prevented is the subject of considerable research by social scientists (Magarita, 1980). The premise that an unusual set conditions is needed for a physical assault on the police to occur is supported by their rarity, 60,000 assaults, in comparison to the nearly 8,000,000 arrests made per year (Meyer, Magedanz, Kieselhorst, & Chapman, 1979). To understand this special set of conditions, social scientists have focused on three sets of variables: the characteristics of the assaulted officer, the circumstances surrounding the assault, and the characteristics of the police assailant.