Importance of self-care in law enforcement Some tips that could save your life while working in law enforcement. Taking care of one's self is important for anyone however it is crucial for anyone working in law enforcement. As a member of law enforcement we deal with crisis intervention and stressors everyday at work. Stressors can range from physical stress, emotional stress, psychological stress etc. In law enforcement, not only is it important to take care of yourself it is important to have strong leadership members that support you in work related matters as well as in your personal life. In addition to positive leadership influences a positive support group combined of coworkers, family as well as friends that understand what you go through on a daily basis while maintaining confidentiality is imperative to members of law enforcement. Most people that work in law enforcement have irregular work schedules. This can cause havoc on one's personal life if not managed properly. For someone that is not familiar with an irregular work schedule it is easy to say put in for a normal schedule. It is not that easy. I can't speak for all agencies but in my department our schedules are distributed by seniority. When seniority scheduling is done you might not get a desired schedule. You have to learn to work with what you are given. Most importantly you have to make the most of your days off. As a Probation Corrections Officer, we currently have schedules with two days off. In speaking with fellow officers, a common practice is to use one day to run errands and catch up on chores. The second day off is spent with family and friends. There is always an option of requesting periodical days off and/or switching shifts with coworkers to give yourself an extended weekend. We become masters at managing time. In addition to irregular work schedules, sometimes we are held over for overtime. This is beyond our control and extremely stressful however we need to meet the needs of the institution. A fight is underway to obtain more normal work schedules. “Which allows officers to plan social activities with their families and friends outside the agency.” (Finn and Tomz 1996). Vacation time is essential because a normal schedule is not common in law enforcement agencies. As earlier stated, we become masters of managing time. In my department if you want a block of time off you have to request that time off a year in advance. Communicate with family as well as friends ahead of time to be able to plan a vacation in advance. This also gives you something to look forward to and work towards. Vacation time vastly improves your family relationships by spending quality time. By taking vacation every two years there is a lower chance of burn out among law enforcement employees. In addition, vacation time makes you more productive that your over worked counterparts and improves your mental and physical well being. Another way to improve physical well being is physical exercise. I do not know many fellow officers who don't have a gym member, work out or go running. Our job is physical demanding and by keeping an active lifestyle you are better equipped to handle that physical demand. Physical activities improve your ability to perform physical tasks, ability to mobilize yourself in physically stressful situations, develops a endurance to fatigue, reduction of risk in physical situations, better psychologically prepared to handle stress, and overall reduces stress and improves personal health. In addition, to improving physical well being through physical exercise it is important to eat right. This includes taking the time to pack your lunch/dinner, healthy snacks, and for some vitamins and supplements. If personal health is not taken care of many health related issues can arise. These include but are not limited to: emotional detachment, ulcers, weight gain/loss, heart attack, low moral, low efficiency, aggressiveness/short-tempered/irritability, alcoholism/substance abuse, marital/family issues, chronic headaches/migraines, fatigue, digestive issues, muscle aches, insomnia, teeth grinding, and suicide. “Stress among law enforcement personnel and their families has serious consequences.” (Finn and Tomz 1996). When a member of law enforcement retires, sadly the statistic is death within six months of retirement. Law enforcement officers, on average, die ten years earlier than non law enforcement personnel. This is why it is so crucial to manage stress within law enforcement careers. As a Probation Corrections Officer we do not see the extent of crimes on the street as Police Officers would. However, we deal with more of an emotional stress. Personally I work on the intake and orientation unit. The age range I deal with is twelve to eighteen years of age. The juveniles that come into Juvenile Hall have committed a mixture of different crimes and come from a variety of different backgrounds. Many come from broken homes with one, sometimes two, parents that are incarcerated. Some have been in and out of foster homes their entire lives in addition to being in and out of detention. When all is said and done they are all still children. It is extremely stressful to see and know a child has potential to become something wonderful in society and not be able to make the youth see it in themselves. Because some youth either cannot or refuse to see their potential, they become repeat residents of juvenile hall. For some juvenile hall is the only place they actually feel safe. Some of these children that are detained in juvenile hall have some type of mental health disorder or multiple/co-occurring disorders that not every officer can deal with. It takes a very patient person to deal with a child that has mental disorders and even still the most patient officer can sometimes develop more stress due to having to deal with it all. Having a support group assists law enforcement officers deal with the different types of stress they see and deal with on a daily basis. Your support group can consist of friends, family, and/or members of your law enforcement family. Because law enforcement officers deal with confidentiality, peer support is important. Not that we don't want to but somethings we cannot talk about with someone who is not part of law enforcement due to confidential liabilities and remaining professional within our career. “Self-help or mutual-support groups are voluntary groups whose members meet to exchange social support and aid in order to solve or deal with a common problem or condition.” (Johnson and Johnson 2012). While a peer support group is that of your peers it is important to have people in your support group that you trust so integrity is maintained. Not every situation that is discussed in such group is work related. The mission of a peer support group is to provide emotional practical support to fellow employees during times of personal or professional times of crisis. Because our coworkers deal with similar situations and more than likely see us more than our actual families, they are able to recognize crisis and encourage assistance before the crisis is severe. Positive leadership within law enforcement is imperative. Everyone within law enforcement is in the position to be a great leader within law enforcement however it depends if leading, training, and making a difference in the lives of their fellow officers is important to them. This is when transformational leadership comes into play. Personally I strive to follow transformational leaders as well as become a transformational leader. A trusting relationship is where these dedicated leaders start and strive to benefit the other person as well as the department. “It is in living the highest standards of moral leadership that leaders merit the trust and follower-ship of others.” (Johnson and Johnson 2012). By following and trying to become a transitional leader there is a lower amount of stress. There is always going to be less stress when you are in a trusting work environment especially when these leaders strive to benefit individuals in their department rather than that of personal gain. Together through these transformational leaders employees work together with honesty, integrity, morals and ethics to better one another and pull each other out of the trenches of law enforcement. In conclusion, as we attempt to manage stress and implement self-care we attempt not only be our best possible person but a better component of our law enforcement family thus helping us to protect and serve at a higher level. Some tips to manage stress and implicate self care are: spending our off days wisely, vacations with family and friends, physical well being through physical activity, maintaining a healthy life style, avoiding health issues, coping with work related stress through a positive peer support group and positive leaders within our department. I hope that these tips were helpful. Not only does law enforcement protect and serve our community we are a brother hood that looks out for one another.

REFERENCES
Johnson, David and Johnson, Frank (Rev.ed 2012). Joining Together Group Theory and
Group Skills

Caldwell et al. (2012). Transformative Leadership: Achieving unparalleled excellence. Journal of Business ethics, 109, 175-187.

Andrew M. Leeds, Ph.D. (2009). Police Officers’ Responses to Chronic Stress, Critical Incidents and Trauma. Retrieved from http://www.andrewleeds.net/psychotherapy/traumarecovery/policeresponsetostress_files/PoliceOfficersChronicStress.pdf

P. Finn and Tomz (1996). Developing a Law Enforcement Stress Program for Officers and Their Families. Issues and Practices in Criminal Justice. National Institute of Justice. Retrieved from https://www.ncjrs.gov/pdffiles/163175.pdf