Tired Cops��The Importance of Managing Police Fatigue - Brief Article - Review

Tired Cops-The Importance of Managing Police Fatigue, Bryan Vila, Police Executive Research Forum, Washington, D.C., 2000.

Why does easy-going Officer Jones receive a citizen's complaint for rudeness while, on the same night, safety-conscious Officer Smith backs into a parked car? In addition, their supervisor yells at them in front of their colleagues. Is it coincidental that these aberrations occurred just after the three officers rotated to night duty after 6 months on the day shift?

In Tired Cops, Dr. Bryan Vila provides some answers. His studies and research show that fatigue arising from sleep loss, disruption of natural body rhythms (circadian), and other factors, such as diet and overtime, can have serious negative effects. For one thing, fatigue worsens mood; tired officers get irritable and short-tempered just like other people. Fatigue also may increase the possibility of officers becoming involved in official misconduct and jeopardizing the positive relations between themselves and their families, and eventually, the community.

Safety stands as a very real and serious concern for both officers and citizens. Vila's research shows that fatigue can impair officers just as if they had consumed too much alcohol. Judgment and common sense become substandard. Seventeen hours of sustained wakefulness decreased physical and mental performance to a level equivalent to a blood alcohol concentration of .05 percent, while 24 hours of sustained wakefulness was the equivalent of .10 percent, which meets or exceeds the legal standard of driving while intoxicated in all American states.

Vila discusses how a supervisor would discipline an officer who reported for work impaired by alcohol, yet ignore (and often contribute to) fatigue-related impairment by assigning additional duties. He also describes the fatigue factors in major incidents, such as Three Mile Island, Chernobyl, and the Exxon-Valdez shipwreck. He further asserts that an inordinate amount of time is spent on researching fatigue with pilots, medical interns, and truck drivers, yet society seems to tolerate, or ignore, chronically fatigued law enforcement officers.

Managers will appreciate what Vila has to offer in the way of solutions. As a police practitioner and supervisor for over 20 years, he knows that law enforcement agencies must operate 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. He clearly states that overcoming fatigue issues will take a mutual effort between the manager and the employee, working with realistic policies that promote a physically healthy lifestyle, minimize mandatory overtime, and encourage time a way from the job with friends and family. Vila stresses the importance of scheduling and suggests that supervisors never use a weekly shift rotation. When rotation does occur, it always should move forward, and not back, in time for easier adjustment with body rhythms.

For many reasons discussed in his book, Vila espouses the theme, "good cops don't let tired cops hit the streets." The author presents a well-written and documented book that encourages law enforcement officers at all levels to make proper sleep and rest as important in survival as training with firearms and the safe operation of vehicles. Law enforcement agencies should add it to their libraries for research, reference, and as a tool to explain uncharacteristic behaviors of some officers.

COPYRIGHT 2001 Federal Bureau of Investigation
COPYRIGHT 2001 Gale Group