It is important for the police service to develop an understanding of what aspects of the job cause stress and also how individuals deal with stress to determine how best they can manage stress at an organizational level

Ross and Alison (1999) explored the effectiveness of critical incident stress debriefing (CISD) with Australian police officers who had been involved in a shooting incident. They compared two groups of 30 officers: one group had received CISD and one group had not. The two groups were examined for differences in maladaptive coping strategies and levels of anger. The findings revealed that the group which received CISD showed a significant reduction in anger levels and increased use of adaptive coping strategies.

However, Ross and Alison (1999) emphasize the need for further research on CISD to also consider contextual life factors which may impact upon stress levels and coping strategies.

The police service has begun to recognize the detrimental effects stress can have on its officers and the ways in which stress can be identified and managed.

In order to reduce stress levels in policing there needs to be a conscious move away from the perception that officers are tough and able to cope with anything the job throws at them.

There also needs to be an acknowledgment and acceptance by officers that attending counselling and/or debriefing sessions aims to help them and does not reflect an inability to cope.