Deciphering the health profile of police personnel in the Jaipur Commissionerate

Background: Since its founding, the police force has required its employees to operate in hazardous and stressful conditions, and today's force is exposed to physically demanding tasks, irregular working hours, high levels of stress, and encounters with dangerous situations. Dealing with some of society's most difficult social problems. It is a line of work in which employees may be exposed to traumatic situations in which their health and well-being are directly jeopardised. Unhealthy lifestyles and demanding work conditions predispose the police force to a variety of non-communicable as well as communicable diseases. Methods: A descriptive, cross-sectional study was conducted between May 2018 and November 2020 on a representative sample of 4263 across various ranks and units posted in the jurisdiction area of the Jaipur commissionerate. Results: The age group of the study was from 35 to 60 years of age, with a mean age of 50 years. Out of the total sample, the response rate was 96%. The average height and weight were 173.09 cm and 77.48 kg, respectively. The basal metabolic index (BMI) was 25.9 on average. Conclusions: By improving the overall well-being of police officers, not only can their quality of life be enhanced, but their effectiveness in ensuring public safety and maintaining law and order can also be optimised.

Evaluating the impacts of lockdown duties on mental health of male police personnel in Eluru City, Andhra Pradesh

Background: The COVID-19 pandemic placed immense demands on frontline workers, including police personnel, who bore the responsibilities of maintaining public order during lockdowns. This study focused on male police officers in rural India, examining the mental health impact of their post-lockdown duties, which included enforcing pandemic-related measures. Methods: An analytical cross-sectional study was conducted among police personnel in Eluru, Andhra Pradesh. Data was collected through interviews, using the depression, anxiety, and stress scale-21 (DASS-21) to assess mental health. Demographic variables (age, marital status) and stimulant use (tea, coffee, and cigarettes) were analyzed for associations with mental health scores via ANOVA. Results: Among 70 participants, the majority were aged 25-30 (37%), married (61.4%), and consumed stimulants, primarily tea (84.3%). Overall, participants reported moderate stress (mean =8±4.1), while anxiety levels varied (mean =2.73±3.34), and depression was generally low (mean =0.17±0.66). Age, marital status and stimulant use were found to be significantly associated with subscale scores, 36-40 age groups more likely to report anxiety and stress. Married individuals were more likely to report depression and anxiety. Stimulant use was associated with all three subscales. Conclusions: This study revealed the mental health of rural male police personnel after COVID-19 lockdown duties. It emphasizes generational stress differences and the influence of stimulants. Stigma, masculine norms, and rural challenges may suppress depression and anxiety reporting. Policymakers should act on these insights, fostering mental health awareness and interventions for this vital workforce. Longitudinal studies are crucial for deeper understanding.

Assessment of Physical activity Level and Sedentary Behaviour Among Pune City Police Personnel Using Global Physical Activity Questionnaire: A Survey

Background: Policemen being an integral part of the law implementation system have long working hours with huge workloads. They may not be able to save time for regular exercise or eat timely healthy meals which may put them at high risk of developing non-communicable diseases like cardiovascular diseases, diabetes, or lifestyle disorders such as obesity. The purpose of this study was to assess their existing physical activity level and sedentary behaviour using Global Physical Activity Questionnaire version 2.0.Objective: To assess the level of physical activity in police officers during work, travel and leisure-time and also determine the sedentary behaviour in them.Method: A cross-sectional study was conducted on 270 policemen, 168 males and 102 females, from 16 different police station of the Pune city using Global Physical Activity Questionnaire. Along with the analysis of demographic factors, data was analysed to evaluate if the study participants met the criteria for physical activity recommended by WHO. Participants were then divided into different categoridepending on their energy expenditure i.e., MET-mins/week. Their sedentary behavior was calculated in terms of hours spent in sitting position.Result: Out of the total study participants, 50.4% were physically active and 49.6% were physically inactive.3.7% study participants were involved in the moderate-intensity physical activity at the workplace; 32.2% study participants were active in travel domain and 54.8%in leisure-time domain.12.2% of study participants were involved in vigorous-intensity physical activity in leisure-time domain only. 134 participants were inactive, 132 were low-active, 4 were moderately-active with not a single participant in highly-active category. The average amount of time spent sitting in the male participants was 6.11 + 3.03 hours whereas in female participants it was 7.50 + 2.62 hours.Conclusion: Even though 50.4% policemen were physically active, most of them were “low- active” and very few were “moderately-active” whereas not a single study participant was found to be “highly-active”. Sedentary behaviour in terms of average amount of time spent sitting was found to be more in female than male participants. Also,51.11% percentage of the study participants belonged to the overweight and obese category. Thus, there is huge scope for improving the physical activity level as well reducing the sedentary behavior in these professionals.

Occupational stress among armed forces and police personnel: a review

In today’s world, stress is a word which is hard to avoid. If someone asks people about their stress and specifically how they know it exists- two general types were described. First, there are experiences of mental distress, - often accompanied by feelings of not being able to cope, that things are falling apart, that the person is not in control of themselves and their situation or is just a general case that without specific reasons that all is not well. Secondly, the physiological manifestations of less appetite, sleeplessness, sweating, ulcers and physical illness of various degrees. Different people have different views about it from various, sources. Occupational stress can be explained as the physiological and emotional responses that originate when personnels feel an imbalance between their work demands and their capability and response to meet these demands. Purpose of this paper is to provide a general review on “occupational stress among armed forces and police personnel of India” with the help of available literature. The home ministry commissioned conducted a study to look into the reasons for premature retirements of paramilitary forces. The findings of the study revealed that lack of sleep, manpower crunch, no leaves and lack of motivation were some of the reasons responsible for people quitting the jobs. However, to the best of my knowledge, no specific research study has been carried-out in India till date to assess the rate and reason of suicides among armed forces and even the home ministry’s official statement revealed that, in most of the cases of suicides, the reasons are more personnel than work related.

Occupational stress and its coping strategies among the police personnel of the Chitradurga city: a cross-sectional study

Background: Everyone relishes having a peaceful and safe society to live in. But nobody thinks about the police who work hard to keep our community safe and secure. They have to face potentially hazardous situations that can result in physical or mental trauma or even death in the line of duty. This study will help to reveal the stress and coping strategies employed by the police personnel of Chitradurga city. To determine the stressful situations faced by the police personnel and to ascertain the positive & negative coping strategies employed by the study participants.Methods: A cross sectional study was conducted among the police personnel in all the five police stations in Chitradurga city for a period of one year. Complete enumeration method was used to include 282 police men and women in the study. A pre-designed, pre-structured questionnaire was used to collect the data. The analysis was done using SPSS version 20. Appropriate statistical tests were applied.Results: The mean age of the participants was 36.13±10.33. Majority of them were males (89%), Hindus (95.4%), graduates (49.6%), living in their own house (38.7%), hailing from a nuclear family (62.1%) and belonged to socio-economic status class I (50%) according to modified BG Prasad’s classification.Conclusions: The stress was found to be significantly associated with work-related factors like difficulties in meeting deadlines, insufficient personal time, inadequate family time, needing changes in the department, eagerness to go to work and job satisfaction.

Factors influencing the stress among the police personnel of Chitradurga city: a cross-sectional study

Background: Policemen are the real heroes of our country, but most people are unaware of the amount of stress they face every day. Their work involves protecting life, safeguarding properties by vigilant patrolling and maintaining law and order in the society. Hence the present study on the police personnel of Chitradurga city will help to reveal the impact of their job on their day to day life. The objectives of the study were to find out the stress level among the police personnel; to assess the influence of demographic, occupational and personal factors on the stress. Methods: A cross sectional study was conducted among the police personnel in the five police stations in Chitradurga city for a period of one year. Complete enumeration method was used to include 282 police men and women in the study. A pre-designed, pre-structured questionnaire was used to collect the data. The analysis was done using SPSS version 20. Appropriate statistical tests were applied. Results: The mean age of the participants was 36.13±10.33. The participants in the study were predominantly males, 89%. About 70.9% of the study participants were found to be stressed - 38.7% had mild stress, 26.2% had moderate stress and 6% had severe stress. Conclusions: The stress was found to be significantly associated with marital and socioeconomic status, station, shift work, having sustained injuries during work, attending court summons, smoking, alcohol consumption, tobacco chewing, less sleep and snoring.

Reflexión sobre los derechos de los policías en México / A reflection on policemen’s rights in Mexico / Reflexão sobre os direitos dos o" ciais de polícia no México

Se hace una reflexión acerca de la problemática existente en México sobre la falta de cumplimiento de los derechos de los policías. Se pone énfasis en que para que los operadores del sistema de seguridad pública puedan realizar su importante función cabalmente, es necesario primero que se haga realidad el cumplimiento de los derechos fundamentales del personal que labora en esta primordial tarea.

The current problem regarding lack of respect for policemen’s rights in Mexico is discussed by emphasizing that fulfilling human rights obligations towards public security operators is essential for them to properly perform their significant tasks.

Realiza-se uma reflexão sobre os problemas existentes no México sobre a falta de cumprimento dos direitos dos agentes policiais. Coloca-se ênfase no feito de que para que os operadores do sistema de segurança pública possam realizar plenamente o seu importante papel, é necessário primeiro fazer realidade o cumprimento dos direitos fundamentais do pessoal que trabalham nesta tarefa essencial.

Prevalence of diabetes mellitus, impaired fasting glucose, impaired glucose tolerance, and its correlates among police personnel in Bankura district of west Bengal.

A cross-sectional study was conducted among police personnel (N = 1817) in Bankura District, West Bengal, India to estimate the prevalence of diabetes mellitus (DM), impaired fasting glucose (IFG), impaired glucose tolerance (IGT), and its correlates during July-November, 2011. Participants were enquired about their age, gender, physical activity, and predominant occupational activity. Diagnosis of DM, IFG, and IGT was based on a history, fasting, and 2-h post-load blood glucose estimation as per World Health Organization (WHO) criteria. Body mass index, waist circumference (WC), and blood pressure (BP) were estimated. Out of 1817 subjects, DM was found in 15%, 1.1% had IFG and 5.7% had IGT. Age >50 years, family history of diabetes, hypertension, and abdominal obesity were found to be significantly associated with DM and IGT, whereas IFG was significantly associated with the family history of diabetes and hypertension. High prevalence of diabetes and pre-diabetic condition warrants early effective intervention to keep the police force healthy and agile.