ABSTRACT
This chapter focuses on measures which officers themselves might adopt to ensure their own emotional survival and welfare. It examines the importance of officers acknowledging and understanding their potential vulnerability to the pressures of working in the service. The chapter identifies some of the major potential stressors that officers may encounter; analysis suggests that as well as acknowledging their vulnerability, officers must also be aware of the stress precipitators and the signs of stress which they may be experiencing. Gilmartin comments on the effects of potential isolation on officers as they become increasingly detached from the non-police world. He writes at length concerning personal time-management. Gilmartin describes how personal relationships with partners and children can be destroyed as a consequence of the way in which officers focus on their careers. Finally, the chapter draws attention to the decisive actions that officers might take to engage with a range of preventative measures to ensure their emotional survival.
