Police and alcohol abuse Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Police and alcohol abuse - Research Paper ExampleAlcohol forms a significant component of cultural, hearty and interpersonal associations in most societies across the world. According to Doherty and Roche (2003), alcohol is the most widely used drug in the world in spite of its sound documented indecorous effects on health and social order. Medically, research has demonstrated that consuming moderate amounts of the beverage is beneficial to health by cut back incidents of cardiac ailments especially among the elderly (Lindsay, 2008). However alcohol abuse is a major global concern, affecting people in various professional backgrounds.The adverse effects of excessive alcohol consumption to the user and others are documented in numerous research studies. Excessive alcohol consumption is a major contributing factor of premature death, gritty morbidity rates and accidents in the population. In addition, it increases of interpersonal violence and aggravates mental illnesses such as depression resulting to high suicidal rates in the contemporary society (Doherty and Roche 2003). In the police force, alcohol consumption does not only cause health problems, but as well impacts negatively on the officers performance. In a profession that requires high levels of alertness, alcohol use lowers reaction time and reduces mental and physical coordination. A combination of these factors results to rock-bottom productivity in the work place, high levels of absenteeism and increases the risks of work related injuries and accidents(Lindsay, 2008).Research findings on drinking habits of police officers indicate that they drink higher quantities of alcohol in a given occasion compared to the general population (Amaranto, et al 2003). Several factors are attributed for alcohol abuse in the police.