Job stress related alcoholism, drug abuse and mental health problems

[Unregistered]

This is the elephant in the room that nobody in the administration wants to address. It's easier to ignore it and just discipline or fire people. Even the deputies who experience these symptoms do not realize these conditions and addictions are due to job related stress and often fail to seek help. Alcoholism can lead to a DUI which means automatic terminations. Drug abuse can also cause mental health issues and violence, which can also lead to terminations. This administration fails to account for members' job related personal problems when they go to ARBs or the sheriff reviews files to sign off on punishments. All this is because we are just numbers and expendable pawns to be discarded and replaced whenever it suits Sheriff Bob Gualtieri's whims.

[Unregistered]

This is the elephant in the room that nobody in the administration wants to address. It's easier to ignore it and just discipline or fire people. Even the deputies who experience these symptoms do not realize these conditions and addictions are due to job related stress and often fail to seek help. Alcoholism can lead to a DUI which means automatic terminations. Drug abuse can also cause mental health issues and violence, which can also lead to terminations. This administration fails to account for members' job related personal problems when they go to ARBs or the sheriff reviews files to sign off on punishments. All this is because we are just numbers and expendable pawns to be discarded and replaced whenever it suits Sheriff Bob Gualtieri's whims.

What specifically are these "stresses" you are referring to that are in any way above and beyond the stresses of other people with difficult jobs?

[Unregistered]

What specifically are these "stresses" you are referring to that are in any way above and beyond the stresses of other people with difficult jobs?

Seeing a murder victim. Seeing a dead child or infant. Seeing abused children and seeing how they live. Seeing crash victims who were hit by cars while crossing the road. Seeing suicide victims who blew their brains out while their family was in the other room. Seeing regular citizens at their very worst. Seeing overdose victims gasp their last breath and turn blue before they die. Removing kids from parents with CPID. Removing people from homes with DVI’s and watching their kids flip out. Delivering death notifications to family members. Seeing domestic violence victims who won’t leave even though they get beaten. Seeing people at their worst stealing, lying, cheating, hurting others or taking advantage of the weak.

No that doesn’t happen ever day. It you will see all of that in your career. Is it normal to see all that? Not in most jobs.

And I got your sarcastic tone. Go **** yourself faggot.

[Unregistered]

Seeing a murder victim. Seeing a dead child or infant. Seeing abused children and seeing how they live. Seeing crash victims who were hit by cars while crossing the road. Seeing suicide victims who blew their brains out while their family was in the other room. Seeing regular citizens at their very worst. Seeing overdose victims gasp their last breath and turn blue before they die. Removing kids from parents with CPID. Removing people from homes with DVI’s and watching their kids flip out. Delivering death notifications to family members. Seeing domestic violence victims who won’t leave even though they get beaten. Seeing people at their worst stealing, lying, cheating, hurting others or taking advantage of the weak.

No that doesn’t happen ever day. It you will see all of that in your career. Is it normal to see all that? Not in most jobs.

And I got your sarcastic tone. Go **** yourself faggot.

Many of these same stresses are confronted by other professions as well. Doctors, coroners, social workers, EMT's all face these same things. Many soldiers coming back from war faced far worse. So what's the solution?

[Unregistered]

And I got your sarcastic tone. Go **** yourself faggot.

Well there is on clear sign of someone that is not coping well and ready to snap.

[Unregistered]

What specifically are these "stresses" you are referring to that are in any way above and beyond the stresses of other people with difficult jobs?

If you are asking that means you haven't done the job so you don't have a clue. Or you are one of the command scumbags who looks down on deputies and treats them like dirt.

Stay locked up with 80 inmates in a direct supervision pod for a few years, 12 hours a day and you will find out.

[Unregistered]

Well there is on clear sign of someone that is not coping well and ready to snap.

Ok, let’s test your theory and meet. See what happens.

[Unregistered]

Ok, let’s test your theory and meet. See what happens.

And there is another sign. Aggression, anger and threatening behavior. You really should consider another line of work. You are a walking time bomb.

[Unregistered]

If you are asking that means you haven't done the job so you don't have a clue. Or you are one of the command scumbags who looks down on deputies and treats them like dirt.

Stay locked up with 80 inmates in a direct supervision pod for a few years, 12 hours a day and you will find out.

So is it the 12 hours? Or the line of work? Just like everybody else on the planet, if you don't like your line of work or you are not cut out for it, you are free to change. What keeps you there if you hate it so much? I am asking because I am very interested in researching methods on how to make it better for both the deputies and the people that the deputies come into contact with.

[Unregistered]

So is it the 12 hours? Or the line of work? Just like everybody else on the planet, if you don't like your line of work or you are not cut out for it, you are free to change. What keeps you there if you hate it so much? I am asking because I am very interested in researching methods on how to make it better for both the deputies and the people that the deputies come into contact with.

If I quit then you have to hire someone else to do the job but the job stress remains and the new person has to deal with it.

The problem is with the job stress itself and with the command staff who could care less about the deputies who are affected by it, and often suffer negative consequences. In addition to alcoholism (DUI), drug abuse, they can snap at work and turn violent on other staff and inmates (mental health problems). Such individuals clearly need treatment rather than termination because they turned violent, alcoholic, or drug addicted due to job stress. They did not have these conditions prior to being hired.

Also, command staff should look at the workplace conditions which causes such stress related problems and find ways to eliminate or mitigate them. However no such efforts have even been undertaken. Jail staff continues to be needlessly overexposed to job stress due to the blatant ignorance of the command staff and sheriff.