Citation

Moyer IL. J. Crim. Justice 1986; 14(4): 363-373.

Copyright

(Copyright © 1986, Elsevier Publishing)

DOI

10.1016/0047-2352(86)90128-5

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

Field observations of police-citizen encounters indicated that police in the United States employ a number of coping strategies for handling occupational stress. Goffman's concept of role distance was applied to explore the lines of action that police officers construct for situations that they define as stressful. The analysis of police behavior suggests that police develop strategies for establishing role distance during stressful situations with citizens and other police officers that are similar to those in Goffman's analysis of surgeons. Observations further suggest that police also create two additional methods for attaining role distance from occupational stress: verbal denial of danger and playful pranks among the officers.