Toward an Understanding of the Physical Hazards of Police Work

Authors

Steven G. Brandl, University of Wisconsin-MilwaukeeFollow
Meghan S. Stroshine, Marquette UniversityFollow

Document Type

Article

Language

eng

Format of Original

20 p.

Publication Date

6-2003

Publisher

Sage Publications

Source Publication

Police Quarterly

Source ISSN

1552-745X

Original Item ID

doi: 10.1177/1098611103006002003

Abstract

Most of the existing research on the hazards of police work concludes that policing is a dangerous occupation. The operationalization of dangerousness used by most researchers, however, fails to account for injuries and deaths that occur as a result of accidents, relying instead on the analysis of assaults and homicides. Defining dangerousness in this manner not only provides an incomplete picture of the dangers associated with the job but also precludes the comparison of policing to other occupations. Using injury report data from a police department and fire department in a large Midwestern city, this study contributes to knowledge in this area by (a) expanding the conceptualization of dangerousness to include injuries that occur as a result of accidents, (b) comparing accidental injuries to those that result from felonious acts, and (c) comparing injury incidents of varying natures and causes across occupations.

Comments

Police Quarterly, Volume 6, No. 2 (June 2003): 172-191. DOI.

Recommended Citation

Brandl, Steven G. and Stroshine, Meghan S., "Toward an Understanding of the Physical Hazards of Police Work" (2003). Social and Cultural Sciences Faculty Research and Publications. 26.
https://epublications.marquette.edu/socs_fac/26