British Policing and the Ottawa Shift System Easing the Stress of Rotating Shifts

FBI Law Enforcement Bulletin,The, Jan, 2000 by Mike Simpson, Suzanne Richbell

All emergency services operating on a 24-hour basis have to deal with the issues of shift work and the availability of personnel. The British police forces are no exception. However, recent international comparisons have shown that England and Wales have a worse crime rate than nearly every other major industrialized nation, [1] which has placed additional pressure on police resources. Crime analysts have suggested many ways of reducing crime, including trying to match the demand for police services with police resources by looking at the variations in daily, weekly, or annual crime rates and changing the number of officers on duty accordingly. This approach to reducing crime constitutes one reason for using alternative flexible work practices--such as overlapping shifts, alternative shift patterns, more part-time police officers, and more civilians to carry out administrative and clerical work.

Two other factors affecting police resources involve new legislation that limits the working hours of British and European workers and a move to develop a European flavor in British towns and cities by extending retail outlet operating hours and creating a "24-hour society." These competing pressures have led to changes in the demand for police services and posed problems for some agencies. To combat these difficulties, the British police forces need efficient and effective policing techniques, [2] including the use of shift systems in general and the Canadian shift system, Ottawa, in particular.

POLICING THE 24-HOUR SOCIETY

With the recent development of the 24-hour society in the United Kingdom, some cities have encouraged shops, cinemas, clubs, and bars to substantially lengthen their hours of operation. [3] This has led to a demand for staff to work unusual and, some people consider, unsociable hours. [4] Service and retail establishments have begun to tackle this issue in a variety of ways. However, concerns about changing crime patterns and the subsequent increasing demand for officers have proven challenging to local police forces.

New legislation also has affected how British police must handle the burdens of the 24-hour society. The European Union is implementing a Working Time Directive that will limit the workweek to 48 hours (averaged over 17 weeks). [5] At present, police officers, medical students, and public safety personnel are exempt. However, within the next 2 years, the Working Time Directive will include police officers in the limited workweek, and British police forces will need shift systems that comply with this directive. Therefore, in their current quest to find shift systems that improve officer health and welfare while matching supply for police services with demand, British police forces also must consider systems that will comply with this new legislation or face having to change systems again in the very near future.

EFFECTS OF SHIFT WORK

Research on shift work in other sectors, such as manufacturing and service industries, provides a useful context for the examination of the implementation of the Ottawa system. The issues raised include the effects of shift work on organizations, their employees and families, as well as possible interventions to limit those consequences.

On Attendance

Research evidence on the effects of shift work on absenteeism conflicts. For example, one study revealed that shift workers lost fewer workdays through sickness than personnel who did not work on a rotating schedule. [6] However, another survey found that shift workers suffered greater sickness and absenteeism than normal workers, especially when the hours were long [7] A third report estimated that in U.S. companies alone, shift-work-related costs (e.g., absenteeism, lost production, medical bills, and accidents) totaled approximately $70 billion a year. [8]

Some workers, however, like shift work, and studies have found that less absenteeism occurs with these workers than with employees who work normal business hours. [9] However, one report found that absences increased on shift-change days, [10] which may impact police services because of "quick changeovers" (e.g., completing one shift at 10 p.m. and starting the next the following day at 6 a.m.) that some shift patterns use. All in all, the evidence for a correlation between shift work per se and higher absences from work remains meager and vague. [11]

On Stress

Over the past several years, work, particularly shift work, has become more stressful. [12] This fact, combined with the mixture of boredom and danger inherent in police work, has led to stress and negative effects on marriages and family life for British police officers. [13] At the same time, however, young police officers have highly rated and often preferred the variety that shift work offers. [14]

On Family

Rotating work schedules lead to less time in the family role and result in conflicts between work and family life. [15] Shift workers can become marginalized and isolated from normal community life. Social and domestic difficulties may arise from working shifts due to the disruption of "normal" family life, particularly in young families. Further, shift workers' spouses dislike being left alone at night. Thus, the overlap between work and family issues can lead to domestic problems for British police officers. [16]