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Article
Toward an Understanding of the Physical Hazards of Police Work
Police Quarterly
  • Steven G. Brandl, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee
  • Meghan S. Stroshine, Marquette University
Document Type
Article
Language
eng
Format of Original
20 p.
Publication Date
6-1-2003
Publisher
Sage Publications
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.

Citation Information
Steven G. Brandl and Meghan S. Stroshine. "Toward an Understanding of the Physical Hazards of Police Work" Police Quarterly (2003) ISSN: 1552-745X
Available at: http://works.bepress.com/meghan_stroshine/10/