Psychological law assignment

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STRESS TRAINING FOR POLICE 1

STRESS TRAINING FOR POLICE 4

Stress Training for Police

Henry Mack

Grantham University

Stress Training for Police

In the article, "Stress Training for Cop's Brains Could Reduce Suspect Shooting" the author, Rachel Nuwer, outlines certain factors that deem it necessary to offer stress training to the police. In essence, the article also articulates the underlying issues that lead to shooting mistakes. An example has been given of a police officer Norm Stamper who unwillingly shot dead a suspect in San Diego. As he narrates, the influence to shoot emanated from circumstantial stress. He was in a dark tunnel and did not understand what was going on. His case has been presented in the article as an example of numerous untold stories of the police officer who ended up making shooting mistakes because of engaging under stress. Due to the adversities linked with the influence of tension in the roles and engagements of police officers, the article suggests the essence of stress training to reduce unintended shootings.

Articulately, the article elaborates how the brain functions when a person is placed in stressful situations and how they are likely to respond. According to research denoted in the piece, the brains triggers the development of another judgement system when one is panicking. This act forces one to rely on the sculpted neural areas and make quick unthought decisions. In most instances, the immediate responses birth the implementation of unpleasing actions. This ideology has been closely related to why police officers shoot unintentionally when engaging in stressful situations (Nuwer, 2016). As Stamper testifies in the article, it is possible to experience deadly mistakes from police's action because of panic. The findings in the masterpiece highlight that stress training can help to improve performance since a police officer can act justly even when scared tired or stressed.

Coherently, competence in police actions tends to reduce when stress or anxiety levels are high. As the article puts it, officers experience challenges in maintaining shooting accuracy, communicating and defending themselves when exposed to tension. It is easy for a police officer to think of themselves as dangerous threats as seen in places like New York, La, Dallas and Baton Rouge (Nuwer, 2016). However, a study conducted in the Netherlands indicated that cops performed better when training in less stressful environments. Therefore, finding measures of stress training can help enhance the conduct of police officers.

Stress training among police officers can facilitate the development of assertive minds, thus leading to undistorted reasoning and action. Police officers should be exposed to training mindfulness activities. The actual effectiveness of this training should emerge a stress-based approach. In connection to that, extensive research should be conducted as a strategy of making sure that the training serves its defined purpose. In other words, it is essential to highlight the actual evidence of whether the training works or not (Nuwer, 2016). When police are coached on how to act when feeling stressed, it will aid in the development of a better basis of making decisions. Being in a stressful situation and working accordingly can be possible in the training standards facilitate police officers in dealing with stress-related cases or environments.

In a nutshell, the shooting mistakes exhibited by police officers deem it inevitable to conduct stress schemes. Police officers are bound to act carelessly when under the pressure of tension or high levels of anxiety. Panic distorts their mode of reasoning and forms a quick judgment causing the execution of dangerous acts like suspect shooting. It is, therefore, essential to incorporate stress training as a way of alienating these adverse outcomes.

Reference

Nuwer, R. (2016). Stress Training for Cop’s Brains Could Reduce Suspect Shootings. Retrieved 15 November 2019, from https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/stress-training-for-cops-brains-could-reduce-suspect-shootings/