In the USA an International Law Enforcement Stress Association (ILESA) was formed in 1978 which published its own quarterly magazine entitled "Police Stress". Experience there shows that police is a uniquely high stress occupation. The incidents of police high handedness, unjustified use of physical violence and verbal abuse, negative image of the police as being discourteous, inhuman, sadistic and inefficient should in fact prompt the well-meaning reformer to look beyond the surface and discover the underlying strain that exists. The noticeably paradoxical nature of the policeman's job makes it like tightrope walking and deserves a closer scrutiny than is accorded to it so far in our country.

Few occupations require the employees to face the kind of dangerous situation that police personnel encounter as part of routine. The functions of police are preservation of law and order to safeguard people from attack and to protect property among others. We expect the cop to play the varied roles with equal elan. He is a helper, saviour, friend and referee. To enforce law he uses force and make an arrest. This roller-coaster ride is a process difficult to understand functionally and incomprehensible emotionally.

The police are expected to accomplish mood swings from loving father, understanding spouse to a lathi-wielding defender of law facing a riotous mob. The job makes great demand on the mental, emotional and physical capabilities of the officers, demands that are all too often so stressful that begin to destroy the individual. Law enforcement tends to impose a higher degree of stress and a multiplicity of stressful situations on the individual than do most other professions. The policemen encounter the dark side of human nature, quite often facing the reality of irrational violence. With the growing incidence of crime and widening role expectations, the mental and physical health of police personnel assumes greater significance.

Neglected family life: The policeman's family life deserves more attention that it has received so far. A heavy toll is exacted from the wives, children and relatives of police personnel by the stressful aspects of police work. The disruptive effects of irregular work schedules on family centered activities, delinquency, school and adjustments problems among children are a heavy price paid by the police family. A detailed British study by (Cain 1973) found police wives from both urban and rural areas felt that their children suffered from constantly changing shifts as they rarely saw their father. A recent Indian study (Kumar 1995) reported insufficient time for the family as the top ranking stressor. It is important to recognize that the spouse and the family are significant contributors to the success or failure in a law enforcement career. Marital strife and discord and unresolved emotional problems can negatively influence the police officer's development, motivation, productivity and effectiveness. Problems and frustrations faced on the job may be brought home to the family. The converse situation is equally disruptive. There is, therefore, an urgent need to identify and overcome difficulties leading to marital discord and conflict among police personnel. This aspect is important because majority of our policemen do not stay with their families.

Job boredom and work overload: Law enforcement mostly entails considerable boredom; patrol work primarily involves routine, boring tasks which can lull an officer into complacency. Long periods of physical inactivity and repetitive work may induce boredom. However, the unpredictable nature of potential danger gives rise to hyper-vigilant mental state. The almost constant state of peak preparedness tends to wear the police officer down as much as if he were in actual danger. Survey in India reports work overload as the second highest ranking job related stressor (Pragya Mathur 1993). In Bangladesh, the strength of police personnel per 1000 population is very unfavourable to the former in terms of effective and satisfactory service. Large number of policemen in our situation will say that they have to toil for more than 12 hours a day daily, without any weekly offs. There is also excessive paper work as an internal stressor in our law enforcement. The heavier burden carried by our policemen needs to be studied for healthy solution.

Noxious physical environment: The physical work environment of the police exposes them to high levels of air pollution and excessive noise (riots, mobs, traffic etc.) which are great stressors. Experts hold the view that plicemen working constantly in adverse environmental conditions suffer damage to health and efficiency. Studies in India indicate that traffic policemen exposed for long hours to auto exhaust gasses suffer from lung disorders, reduced breathing capacity, excessive carbon monoxide in blood and several other aliments. Policemen, therefore, are a high risk group exposed to a physical environment which deserves greater attention than it has received so far from concerned authority.

Praise and recognition: Recognition and incentive are not broader in our law enforcement. Policing appears to be a thankless job with more than its share of brickbats and few bouquets. Unfavourable public image of the police further compound the issue of lack of recognition. Policemen are expected to believe that what they do is important but they do not feel encouraged at the sight of their low social status and the public's opinion of them.

Stress management for police: Programmes and training modules can be implemented by the police organisation to assist employees in dealing with stressors encountered. The stress control programme may be so devised as to train police personnel to identify and alleviate personal stress for significantly improving their health, work productivity and inter-personal relationships. The programme may provide in depth assistance to police officers on techniques and strategies for coping with stress. The objective should be teaching officers to become aware of their stress and its symtoms to help them identify the significant stress inducing factors in their environment. Job related stressors should be emphasised since police work is one of the most stressful occupations. Individualised programmes may contain plans of exercise and physical fitness, recommended nutritional guidelines and techniques to reduce psychological correlates of stress. Lectures, experimental exercise and practical self-help procedures may be provided by the experts.

Various diseases that include diabetes, heart ailments, circulatory and digestive disorders and others have been found to be linked to stress. With this information available and with the knowledge that policing is a high stress occupation, it appears most logical to study the phenomenon of police stress systematically. Stress in law enforcement should be a common concern for policemen, people and social scientists. An investigation of police stress would help to increase the level of functioning of line policemen by recognising the unique factors affecting his emotional needs and also provide channels to aid him in this area. The base of human relations expertise and human resources management could be broadened by this combination of social purpose and systematic observation. The reason why we cannot neglect the uniquely high stress occupation of law enforcement is that besides being a high cost in terms of impaired psychological, social and physical functioning of members of the police force, stress can impair job performance which in turn can lead to poor response to community needs.

Muhammad Nurul Huda is former Secretary and former IG of Police.