Crime, violence and stress in the emergency services work: military police in southern Brazil

IMPACT

The importance of this article for emergency service workers, such as police officers, lies in the connection between processes of government and outcomes on the street—especially the impact on the mental health of frontline police officers. Organizational responsibility for the protection and mental health of frontline personnel is vital in the stressful political and social environment in Brazil, where solidarity is essential for effective policing work and for developing and maintaining a culture of caring for one another. ‘Keeping each other’s back’ is central in the face of high levels of violence and crime, not just in southern Brazil, but in other jurisdictions where police operate in stressful environments, which have been exacerbated by deleterious social conditions arising from the Covid-19 pandemic.

ABSTRACT

This article examines the relationship between perceived organizational support (POS), work-related stress and effective commitment to the organization for military police officers in southern Brazil. The findings suggest that POS has an impact on both operational and organizational stress and organizational commitment. Further, operational stress has an impact on organizational commitment. An adequate level of support is required to relieve organizational pressures, especially to minimize work-related stress and other health issues such as post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).

KEYWORDS:

• Affective commitment
• operational stress
• organizational stress
• perceived organizational support
• police officers