Last Thursday I was working up at UMass in my position as a Police Cadet and at about 0130, we had a guy come in in Protective Custody (someone who is not under arrest, but too drunk to care for himself, so we babysit till he's sober enough to leave). Usually my shift is over at 0300, but since we had a prisoner, I had to babysit this punk. Till 0700 Friday morning...I had been up since 0700 Thursday morning, and by the time I got to bed at about 0800, I had been up for 25 hours and worked 12 of them, and it got me thinking about sleep deprivation on Police.
Cops, and indeed most people who work in emergency services, are used to pulling double shifts on little or no sleep, but how stupid must we be to do this? Sleep deprivation can have many effects on the human body including:
-Aching muscles
-dizziness
-headaches
-irritability
-tremors
-hallucinations
Having a cop working a double or triple shift with little or no sleep is dangerous not only for the officer, but for the public as well. All Officers understand that on occassion this is required, but often unnecessary. For instance me with the drunk moron. All I'm asking is that when you all go out Saturday night and get lit, just remember that some poor schmuck in a blue uniform may end up babysitting your sorry butt. And because that Officer isn't able to properly rest, some citizen who legitimately needs help may suffer.
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I definately think that police officers and all emergency care people, should get enough sleep. The entire community is depending on them and in the event of an emergency no one would expect less than their best. As college students, we have all experienced the bad side effects that accompany a lack of sleep. And I for one know that I would be in no condition to protect or help anyone if I hadn't slept for 25 hours!
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ReplyDeleteI agree that sleep deprivation is very serious and some take it too lightly in these cases. People just accept policeman, firefighters, doctors, nurses and much more to just be able to deal with it but everyone is human, even the heroes of our society. I wish something could be done to help this cause for more sleep for these individuals. Keep up the good work.
ReplyDeleteI don't understand how people in college stay up all night. I think sleep deprivation takes away your ability to concentrate in class. I usually go to bed at a decent time and get up early to do homework. I find that I can concentrate much better in the morning after a shower rather than night when all I can think about is my bed. All the side effects of not getting enough sleep are very serious. My dad goes back and forth from day shifts to night shifts and it's scary. I would hate to have a sleep cycle like that. Good article!
ReplyDeleteIts too bad that Cops have to stay up all night to babysit drunks who get pulled into the station. it seems to me like they should just lock them up so that the police officer can go home and not deal with that type of thing. At least have a person who comes in during the third shift to take care of anyone who is "too drunk to take care of themselves". I think that police officers should always get enough sleep because as far as im concerned, they dont need to be any more irritable than they already are (according to the list of symptoms)
ReplyDeleteI definitely think that all cops need sleep. Just like you said if they don’t get enough of it, it is putting the public and themselves in more danger then they are already put in. For who goes into protective custody I think they should also just be locked up there’s no need for the cop on duty to suffer from not enough sleep and have to worry about one of the six side effects you mentioned. My question is why don’t they just lock them up? There has to be a good reason I’m sure they have thought about it.
ReplyDeleteI agree that all people in emergency care don't get the proper amount of sleep they need to perform at their jobs 100%. Staying up for instances like drunk people is also not helping the situation, as you said. I feel that if you took shifts, maybe during your breaks you could get a little rest or something along the lines of that.
ReplyDeleteGetting the proper amount of sleep is definitely needed to be at your peak mental state. Like you said, sleep deprivation effects the performance of officers and emergency personnel, which can lead to mistakes that can cost lives. This past summers I worked doubles for a week straight from 10 pm til 1 pm, and it's safe to say I was not at my peak mental state. I was very lethargic and tired. Getting the proper amount of sleep is pivotal in any line of work, but especially in law enforcement and emergency services.
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