Drug and Alcohol Abuse on the Police Force Essay

Drug and Alcohol Abuse on the Police Force - Essay Example d other drugs to some extent, the greatest reason being on-the-job stress – they consume them as a way of helping them deal with the stress that is related to being on their kind of job (occupational stress) (Hensaw, Murphy & Morse, 10). Genovese and Genovese who also support this point indicate that there exists a strong sub-cultural more amongst police officers, which encourages drinking both for stress-reduction as well as social purposes. In Iraqi, where addiction has increased in the course of three decades of economic hardship and war, the year 2010 saw an increase in the numbers of members of the security force who became reliant on drugs or alcohol. This raised concerns regarding a considerable problem of addiction among the armed services of this country as the insurgency continued being a strong force and as American troops prepared to depart towards the end of last year. Military and police officials in Iraqi confess that in some parts of Iraq, as many as 50% of their colleagues use drugs or alcohol while on duty. These include high-ranking officers. There is no way of knowing the correct number of the members of the security force who are dependent on drug and alcohol. However, interviews with scores of health officials, police officers, soldiers, drug dealers, pharmacists and political leaders in the country reveal that drug and alcohol abuse among the military, police and security force has become progressi vely more common and seems to have grown considerably. Although those who confess to using alcohol and drugs while on duty admit that they cause erratic behavior, they state that working at checkpoints for long hours, perpetual fear and observing the horrible deaths of their colleagues make the use of alcohol and drugs less an option than a necessity. Some senior Iraqi army and police officers declared that they were reluctant to take punitive action against drug abusers because they were usually among their most courageous fighters (Williams &

Analysis paper Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 1

Analysis paper - Essay Example He adequately explains that tough laws on gun control will not be effective since it will affect about two percent of the one third of the 200 million guns in private ownership who own hand guns and who use these guns in serious crimes. He further explains that most of the handguns used in serious crimes are purchased privately from local pawn shops and gun shops which would not be affected from the gun laws (James, 126). While this happens Wilson argues that majority of the guns that would be subject to these laws would compromise the ability of victims of the climes to defend themselves since the guns are often used in self defense purposes. James (126) states that this would be centrally to the objectives of the gun laws of disarming citizens who own guns illegally and are more likely to use them commit crimes. Instead, the tough gun law would reduce the number of law-abiding citizens owning guns to use in areas with high crime levels. He further argues that the most effective way of discouraging individuals from owning and carrying illegally acquired guns is through police search and street frisks where individuals who are caught carrying guns without permits are arrested and charged. However the frisks must be based on reasonable suspicion and not mere hunch. Additionally, the police frisks must be aimed at detecting illegal guns, arresting suspects and avoids harassing innocent citizens in the name of searching illegal weapons (James, 127). According to Wilson, each police officer could be given a list of individual suspects who are members of a known criminal gang, on parole or probation, and live within the officer’s beat. The officer could conduct frequent search to ensure that the individual does not possess illegal weapons. This is because these individuals do not possess these guns to engage in criminal activity, but to protect themselves from other armed gangs or individuals who oppose them. In most cases the