RT Article
T1 “The Light at the End of the Tunnel Has Been Permanently Shut Off”: Work-Role Overload Among U.S. Police
JF Criminal justice and behavior
VO 49
IS 7
SP 1070
OP 1089
A1 Hofer, Meret S.
LA English
YR 2022
UL https://krimdok.uni-tuebingen.de/Record/1805596942
AB The functional breadth of the police role is a primary issue facing law enforcement. However, few empirical data examine how officers are experiencing an occupational environment characterized by an increasingly wider range of new (but routine) duties. I take a qualitative approach to explore experiences of work-role overload via in-depth, semi-structured interviews with a sample of U.S. police officers (N = 48). By applying the framework for thematic analysis, I find that work-role overload is a robust feature of police officers’ occupational experiences and presents in two ways: (a) through quantitative overload related to the excessive volume of work demands and (b) qualitative overload related to strained or diminished psychological resources. The findings provide valuable insights for improving the theoretical understanding of work-role overload among police in light of international trends toward broadening law enforcement’s social functions and add to contemporary discussions to “defund the police.”
K1 CRIMINAL justice system
K1 Policing
K1 Qualitative methods
K1 Law Enforcement
K1 Police
DO 10.1177/00938548211024706