Work-Related Violence, Debriefing and Increased Alcohol Consumption among Police Officers

Abstract

Purpose: this study examined the associations between increased alcohol consumption and work-related violence among police officers. Data consisted of a representative sample of Finnish police officers (N = 1,734), who responded anonymously to a postal questionnaire. Methods: binary logistic regression analyses were used to calculate the odds ratios and their 95 per cent confidence intervals (CIs) for increased alcohol consumption. Results: 5 per cent of the study group rated that they had increased their alcohol consumption due to violence. The odds ratios of the increase were 6.96 (95 per cent CI = 2.08–23.25) for lack of debriefing, 2.18 (95 per cent CI = 1.26–3.78) for shortage of patrol personnel, and 1.71 (95 per cent CI = 1.11–2.62) for lack of training to handle violent situations. Conclusions: those who lacked debriefing, patrol personnel, and training to handle violent situations all seem to increase their alcohol use due to violence. Increased alcohol consumption may reflect attempts to cope with some intolerable emotions or situations originating from violent encounters in their work.