Frequency of police officers' problems and the sources of counselling most preferred by police officers

The purpose of this study was to establish the frequency of problems that members of Police Force X experience or have experienced, and to determine which source of counselling the members of Police Force X would prefer most for each problem. A single stage sample design was used for this study. Two hundred non-commissioned police officers were randomly selected and were mailed a questionnaire through the police department's in-house mail system. One hundred and fifteen police officers returned completed and usable questionnaires. With the exception of an under representation of female police officers, the sample was representative of the population. The analysis of data showed that the five most frequent problems reported by the respondents were anxiety that interferes with the enjoyment of life, alcohol abuse, depression, financial problems, marital problems and sleep disturbance (these problems are presented in alphabetical order, and not in order of frequency). Further, for thirteen of fifteen presented problems the majority of respondents selected outside psychiatrist or psychologist as the most preferred source of counselling. For the problem of boredom and alienation members were equally divided between outside psychiatrist or psychologist and peer counselling as the most preferred source of counselling. The study concluded with a discussion of practical implications and recommendations for further research were presented.Education, Faculty ofEducational and Counselling Psychology, and Special Education (ECPS), Department ofGraduat