I Love a Cop: What Police Families Need to Know. - book reviews

Police work has long been recognized as a stressful profession. This stress and the resulting problems or challenges it causes not only affect police officers and their co-workers but their families, as well. The author of I Love a Cop: What Police Families Need to Know draws upon her experience as a police psychologist to explain some of the common stress-producing experiences police officers face as they progress through their careers. From organizational factors and traumatic incidents to emotional issues and special circumstances, the author discusses a wide range of concerns. She uses real-life examples to illustrate her points and provides an exhaustive number of tips from both experts and officers on the street to help police families cope with these aspects of police work and mitigate their negative effects.

Most police practitioners know the various stages and corresponding behaviors that officers can experience during their careers, from the probationary period to the honeymoon period to disillusionment and, finally, burnout. In part 1, the author describes these phases, letting police families know what to expect at each stage, and provides tips for dealing with each one. Additional chapters in this section deal with the other realities of police work: long hours, shift work, unpredictability, public scrutiny, organizational stress, and injuries.

In part 2, the author addresses the various types of traumatic events that can occur, including police-involved shootings, line-of-duty deaths and injuries, and the like, as well as their effects on officers and their families. One chapter focuses specifically on helping children through traumatic incidents. Also in this section, the author addresses what she calls emotional extremes - domestic abuse, alcoholism, and suicide.

Experience has shown that police officers and their families often are reluctant to seek counseling, primarily for reasons of confidentiality and the stigma associated with asking for help. Moreover, officers who feel unable to problem-solve and remain in control of their own lives often feel diminished and inadequate. In the last chapter in this section, the author discusses these concerns and lets police families know when they should seek professional help and the various types available.

The chapters in part 3 address the special concerns of female, minority, and gay officers, as well as police couples. Part 4, the book's final chapter, provides an ending to each of the real-life stories the author begins in earlier chapters. At the end of the book, the author provides an extensive reference list and a compilation of resources available, including organizations, books, and videos.

I Love a Cop is a comprehensive, easily understood source of valuable information. The difficulty comes in disseminating this information to the people who need and could benefit from it - police administrators, officers, and their families. This could be accomplished through various methods, including orientation programs for officers and their families, in-service and roll-call training, stress management programs, career counseling sessions, and retirement planning seminars. I Love a Cop provides such worthwhile information that police administrators should seriously consider making it required reading for promotional examinations.

Reviewed by Captain Linda S. Forst (ret.), Ed.D. Adjunct Instructor Palm Beach Community College South Boca Raton, Florida

COPYRIGHT 1998 Federal Bureau of Investigation
COPYRIGHT 2004 Gale Group