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Bell, L. B., Virden, T. B., Lewis, D. J., & Cassidy, B. A. (2015). Effects of 13-hour 20-minute work shifts on law enforcement officers’ sleep, cognitive abilities, health, quality of life, and work performance: The Phoenix study. Police Quarterly, 18(3), 293–337.

Abstract: To determine the impact of a longer-than-average compressed workweek on police officers’ sleep, cognitive abilities, health, quality of life, and work performance, two precincts of the Phoenix Police Department participated in a 9-month, repeated-measures study. The experimental precinct worked three consecutive 13-hr 20-min (13:20-hr) shifts per week for 6 months, while the control precinct worked four 10-hr shifts per week. Officers were assessed using the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index, Psychomotor Vigilance Test, STROOP Color-Word test, Quality of Life Inventory, and measures of salivary cortisol. The Phoenix Police Department provided data for Professional Standards Bureau complaints, shooting qualifications, vehicular accidents, self-initiated calls, adult bookings, field interrogations, overtime, and time off for the 6 months of the study period and the same 6 months of the previous year. Self-reported caffeine intake and shift preference were also collected. Officers working 13:20-hr shifts experienced significant (p < .05) decreases in hours of sleep, overall quality of sleep, concentration, cognitive processing, and quality of life (overall and in six of eight subareas). Significant (p < .05) increases were observed in fatigue, daytime dysfunction due to sleepiness, reaction time, anticipatory errors, and Professional Standards Bureau complaints. There were no significant differences in most indices of work performance or differences due to working day or night shifts. When officers working 13:20-hr shifts returned to 10-hr shifts, all variables returned to baseline (prestudy) levels. Officers from both precincts overwhelmingly preferred 10-hr shifts. This study indicates that there are no apparent advantages but considerable liabilities associated with 13:20-hr shifts for police officers.

Questions to Consider:

1. In police organizations where collective bargaining is authorized, work hours, including shift lengths, are generally determined through negotiations between bargaining units and administration. Should the results of this study (and others) preclude agreements specifying longer work shifts and more days off even if it goes against the wishes of the members of the bargaining unit? Stated differently, should empirical research override employee or union preferences (assuming employees or the union prefer longer shifts)?
    

Huey, L. (2010). “I’ve seen this on CSI”: Criminal investigators’ perceptions about the management of public expectations in the field. Crime, Media, Culture, 6(1), 49–68.

Abstract: Police perceptions as to the influence of CSI and similar forensic and/or police procedural television programs on public expectations of the investigative process in the field is the focus of the present study. Through qualitative interviews with 31 members of Canadian police forces, I explore the question of whether police investigative personnel view media representations of their work as negatively influencing public expectations, thereby creating a source of occupational role strain for police officers. What is revealed is that the majority of investigative personnel interviewed have experienced citizen queries and demands attributed to consumption of unrealistic images of police work in television programs. Where a minority of investigators report feelings of frustration due to the role strain associated with having their expert knowledge and work methods questioned, the majority of those interviewed saw such queries as opportunities for educating the public about the realities of policing.

Questions to Consider:

1. While it may seem obvious that television programs such as CSI are fictional, viewers may not fully appreciate the gaps between fact and fiction. For instance, some may see the story lines, rather than the investigatory procedures, as manufactured by writers. Do producers have any obligation to notify viewers of what is fictional to better align expectations with realities?
    

McCarty, W. P., & Skogan, W. G. (2013). Job-related burnout among civilian and sworn police personnel. Police Quarterly, 16(1), 66–84.

Abstract: Employee burnout can affect workers’ health, motivation, and job performance, and speed staff turnover. In law enforcement, burnout has been attributed to a variety of job-related, organizational, and personal factors, ranging from the danger inherent to the job to the liabilities of late shift work, tension with supervisors, and gender relations in the organization. Overlooked in almost all of these studies has been the place of civilians in police work, and how their burnout experiences differ from—or resemble—those of their sworn counterparts. This study is based on surveys of both sworn and civilian employees of 12 police agencies from across the United States. In the survey they described their extent of emotional exhaustion, and reported on features of their lives and work that have been hypothesized to magnify or minimize this stress reaction. The study found that the burnout process is a universal one, driven by virtually the same factors among both civilians and sworn officers. Difficulties balancing work and life responsibilities, the support they receive from coworkers and supervisors, the fairness of personnel policies, and several personal factors contributed to burnout levels. The implications of these findings for both research and practice are also explored.

Questions to Consider:

1. The results suggest that civilian and sworn employees within police departments experience similar levels of burnout. Yet civilians reported lower levels of social support than their sworn counterparts. How might organizations foster a greater sense of support and camaraderie among civilian employees and across employee groups in order to minimize burnout?