The Relevance of Spirituality in Policing: A Dual Analysis

Abstract

Operational policing is demanding and threatening. Repeatedly dealing with death, serious injury, horrific crime scenes, the need to be constantly alert whether on or off duty, and being ostracised by communities, friends and family, are only some examples of what officers encounter. All take their toll on police officers: on their health, fitness and well-being, and on their view of people and the world. The toll also extends to those who are served by these officers. While this toll is recognised, there are still high levels of sickness absence, ill health, alcohol/drug-related problems as well as suicides. These are clear illustrations of the challenging nature of policing. If we look at the deeper issues of these challenges — nature of policing and its struggle for good; not being recognised as whole people; not being treated as valuable parts of a community; the reality of facing death and destructiveness on a daily basis — we see that, at a fundamental level, these have a spiritual component to them. This is an important but often unrecognised aspect of policing. Forces emphasise the physical and mental well-being of officers but neglect their spiritual well-being. There are sound reasons for a greater focus on this area. It is morally appropriate to address this area. This paper draws from two PhDs. It identifies the issues related to coping strategies and officer fitness, highlights how the spiritual dimension may assist in the development of coping strategies, and identifies how these issues might be taken forward.

Police Services

“…The first point, as we emphasised earlier in the chapter, is that we believe the majority of police officers and staff are very resilient and are able to cope effectively with the adversity and stressors they regularly encounter (see Smith and Charles 2010). If this is the case, the approach for developing resilience further must involve learning from these resilient officers across the world and disseminating the strategies that have been found to be successful specifically within the policing environment.…”

“…We've been conducting research since 2000 with well over a 150 police officers related to resilience, well-being, and how officers and police leaders cope with the demanding nature of their job. This is summarised in Smith and Charles (2010;. We will begin this chapter by defining resilience, outline why this may be an important focus, and explore stress and how stress and resilience are connected.…”

Walk in Balance: Training Crisis Intervention Team Police Officers as Compassionate Warriors

“…A sense of connectedness to something larger than self is a common theme among definitions of spirituality (Feemster, 2009;Fox, 1999;Smith & Charles, 2010). Smith (2009) described spirituality in relation to police work as "a state or experience that can provide individuals with direction or meaning or provide feelings of understanding, support, inner wholeness, or connectedness.…”

“…It means individuals and organizations attempting to live their values more fully in the work they do" (Smith, 2009, p. 3). Smith and Charles (2010) found many police officers believed their work to be a spiritual calling. The authors noted a common belief among the officers that a higher power used them to serve humankind through the perspective of being either a warrior, protector, or minister to the people.…”

“…Additionally, when discussing the shirt wearers tradition of the Lakota, CIT instructors can make a connection to the uniform shirt of officers displaying their badge, department shoulder patches, chevrons to indicate rank, name tag, and CIT pin (awarded to officers following the CIT training and worn on the uniform shirt to identify them as CIT certified). Interestingly, Smith and Charles (2010) found that many officers viewed their cloth uniform metaphorically as a suit of armor and thereby a source of protection from physical and emotional pain. Their research supports my personal experience as a CIT instructor that officers tend to have a mindset conducive to incorporating these analogies.…”