Criminology

Before 6000 BC wine was both regarded as a source of affliction and a God given gift. The power of wine to inflict pain and give joy defines the perception of alcohol from the ancient civilizations of Mesopotamia, Egyptian, Chinese, Greeks and Romans. From the 15th century to the 19th century, laws governing alcohol consumption have alternated with changing socio-cultural norms and advancement in medicine. Currently, alcohol consumption is legalized but controlled in terms of access, quality of production, and places of consumption (Dunlap, 2006, p. 1-3). According to the World Health Organization, alcohol abuse is defined in terms of the number of standard drinks. Problematic or binge drinking refers to the consumption of more than ten standard drinks (100g of alcohol) for men and six standard drinks (60g of alcohol) for women in any occasion (McNeille  Wilson, 1993).

Law enforcement officers occupy an integral placement in public life. Police officers engage in proactive patrol activities such as crime prevention, criminal apprehension, crime and narcotic investigations and general protection of public life and property (Parsons, 2004, p. 2). This position of societal importance usually promulgates the view that law enforcement officers are role models when it comes to public behavior, especially with regard to alcohol and drug abuse. On the contrary, research indicates that the level of alcohol consumed by law enforcement officers far exceeds consumption in the general population (Smith et al, 2005, p. 63 Lindsay, 2008, p. 1).  This interesting juxtaposition offers an important impetus for research on the prevalence of alcohol consumption and abuse among officers and preventive strategies that can be used to reduce this prevalence.

In terms of occupational health, police officers are highly exposed to risk of assault and homicide hence making them more prone to psychological hazards such as sexual harassment, suicide, stress, and discrimination. These hazards further increase the risk of depression, suicide, disease, and divorce problems in police officers and their families (Parsons, 2004, p. 2). These risks influence the level of occupational stress and increase the probability that a police officer may engage in excessive alcohol consumption (Smith et al, 2005, p. 65).

Despite various theorizations on the prevalence of alcohol abuse in the United States, it is imperative to state that no nationwide study of alcohol study have ever been conducted within the US (Lindsay, 2008, p. 1). While this study assesses the prevalence of alcohol abuse among a selected sample of 600 officers out of the more than 4,545 enlisted members of the Pennsylvania State Police, it does not attempt to fill the statistical void left by the paucity of actual nationwide studies on the prevalence of alcohol abuse in the police force.

This study determines the prevalence of alcohol abuse among police officers in with regard to age, gender, and rank. Identifying the hazards encountered in the police profession, illuminating the causal factors of alcoholism, and empirically determining the extent of the alcoholism scourge in the profession aids in addressing safety and health issues, reducing the levels of occupational stress and fatigue, forms the framework for instituting intervention programs, and improves the quality of policing to the community.

Research Objectives
To determine the prevalence of alcohol use, misuse, and abuse among police officers with regard to age, gender, and rank among certified enlisted members of the Pennsylvania State Police (PSP).
To examine the level of high impact exercise and low impact exercise among all participants in the study.

To assay the relationship between occupational stressors and level of alcohol intake among Pennsylvania police officers.

To determine whether the level of exercise has a positive or negative influence on alcohol abuse among PSP officers so as to set a stage for the institution of sound intervention programs.
To correlate the prevalence of alcohol prevalence

LITERATURE REVIEW
The Center for Disease Control (CDC) prevalence estimates of 2008 reports that 50 of American adults are regular drinkers. Occasional (infrequent) drinkers constitute 14. Gender specifically, men constitute 58 while women constitute 42 of regular drinkers in the United States (CDC, 2008, p.19).
In the United States, the prevalence of alcoholism among law enforcement officers, particularly the police, doubles that of the general public. Across different professions, law enforcement accounts for approximately 8 of heavy drinkers. This implies that the profession contains the highest numbers of heavy drinkers (Smith et al., 2005, p. 63). Given that these statistics are probably underestimated due to the fact that many officers may fear disciplinary actions, the extent of alcohol abuse in the profession is worrying. According to Lindsay (2008), alcohol use within the US police force is theorized to double the prevalence of alcohol use in the general population, with those who are dependent being 20.

According to Violanti (2010), 25 percent of police officers who abuse alcohol are alcohol dependent. This high prevalence of alcohol dependency underlies the high mortality due to liver cirrhosis (Sudetic, 1995, p.1).

On the other hand, the prevalence differs among male and female officers. In a survey carried out by the National Survey on Drug Use and Health (2004), alcohol abuse and alcohol dependency is much higher among male officers than female officers 10.5 for men and 5.1 for women respectively. With regard to race, whites drink more compared to minority populations such as black Americans. The prevalence among whites is 44 while that of the rest of the US populace is 55 (Winkel, 2010, p. 1).
Comparative to other professions, the law enforcement profession ranks considerably higher in terms of alcohol prevalence. This difference may be attributable to the presence of specific or highly concentrated causal factors which influence the incidence and prevalence of alcoholism in the police force. Just like in the general population, the police fall prey to a number of causal factors. The only difference is that such factors may be more pronounced or heightened among police officers (Smith et al, 2005, p. 63). The causal factors are varied and multifaceted just as the resultant effects of alcohol. These causes are not discriminative in terms of age, race, or gender (Alexander, 2001, p. 1). Broadly stated, alcohol abuse may be mediated by a complex multifaceted network involving genetic, biological, psychological and environmental factors (Swierzewki  Emmitte, 2008, p. 1). In most cases, biological, psychological, and environmental factors play a central role. However, the huge difference in alcoholism prevalence among police officers and the general population is mainly attributable to environmental factors such as occupational stress and the drinking subculture among police officers.

Some authors have reported that there exist a positive correlation between the level of occupational stressors and the level of alcohol intake. This increases the risk of developing alcohol related behaviors (Smith et al, 2005, p. 64). The profession is also ranked as one of the most stressing occupations in the United States (Forst  Dempsey, 2010, p. 174). At an individual level, stress may be caused by family issues such as domestic discord, financial problems, and divorce. Many police officers find it extremely hard to seek assistance from their colleagues for fear of stigmatization. The failure to cope with these psychological problems exacerbates the problem of alcohol abuse (Bonfacio, 1991).

In some instances, officers intimated that alcohol was one of the primary methods they employed in coping with workplace stress.  However, in some scenarios male officers often consumed large amounts of alcohol as a show of prowess. This show-off behavior is especially detrimental to female officers who may be tempted to challenge or emulate male drinking prowess. However, given that law enforcement still remains a male dominated profession, the proportion of alcoholism prevalence in male officers far outcompetes that of female officers (Smith et al., 2005, p. 64).

There is an increasing level of acknowledgement both in literature and the community that alcohol abuse is a major social and health problem. At home, excessive alcohol consumption causes marital discord, financial problems as well as a host of other difficulties. In the workplace, excessive alcohol consumption has been linked to a decrease in effectiveness, heightened risk of occupational injuries, late arrivals at work, increased absenteeism among others. Due to the huge costs of alcohol consumption, both at the personal and organizational level, organizational restructuring and the development of alcohol preventive programs have been cited as key measures that can minimize the problem (McNeille  Wilson, 1993, p. 7).

In terms of occupational safety, the high prevalence of alcohol abuse in the police force is attributable to the high levels of occupational stress these officers experience in the workplace. Police officers are often exposed, on a regular basis, to stressors ranging way above what is normally experienced in other professions. Due to the significant relationship existing between alcohol abuse and occupational stress, strategies which reduce occupational stress should be targeted. Workplace heath promotion under the auspices of a sound healthy institutional policy should be espoused to meet the challenges caused by alcoholism and alcohol abuse among law enforcement officers (Smith et al., 2005, p. 65). These workplace health promotion programs should be directed at tackling the multifaceted nature of occupational stress at both the individual and institutional levels.

At the institutional level, the program should aim at developing an organizational charter (such as a state charter) which supports creating supportive work environments, enhances personal skills among police officers, strengthens their involvement in community alcohol prevention efforts, and reorienting health services. With regard to reducing the level of the causal factor occupational stress, health promotion at the workplace should support the reduction of the number of hours that an officer can work overtime, carefully reorganizing the shift rosters, arranging for all court appearances to fall within the officer working hours, and streamlining all the relevant administrative processes so as to allow rest breaks during night shifts.  On an individual level, police officers should be enrolled in programs which assist them in recognizing the hazards of alcohol abuse and preventing overconsumption. These programs should involve interpersonal support, counseling, and incident debriefings (Smith et al, 2005, p. 65). Violanti (2009) notes that on the basis on these preventions strategies which promote stress reduction, lifestyle education, and wellness police administrators and personnel should encourage officers to reduce their consumption of alcohol while making lifestyle changes. Additionally, state police departments should promote non drinking activities such as sporting events which directly influence health behaviors (Smith et al., 2005, p. 65 Violanti, 1999, p. 2). In a nutshell, both the state police departments and the law enforcement officers themselves should be consistently involved in the creation of an organizational culture that defends the quest for health and well being in the workplace.

While this literature review is not overly extensive, it provides the overall picture of the state of alcohol use, misuse, and abuse among police offers. It clarifies the gaps in research and directs the methodological design to assess the loopholes in examination, especially the belief that exercise programs may reduce alcohol abuse among police officers. This is especially important because police officers constantly engage in high impact and less vigorous exercises for fitness and health purposes.

METHODOLOGY
Sampling
The study will employ a multistage sampling technique in which stratified, cluster, and simple random sampling techniques will be enlisted to generate a representative sample. All the participants will be drawn from 100 stations in the state of Pennsylvania. All participants enlisted will be certified members of the Pennsylvania State Police (PSP). A random sample of 600 law enforcement officers, stratified on the basis of gender and rank, will be included in the survey. These officers will age from 18 years to 57 years, with the average being 32 years. Out of this number, 25 (150) will be Majors, Captains and Lieutenants, 30 (180) will be Sergeants and Corporals, and 45 (270) will be Trooper First Class and Troopers. Of the 600 officers in the study, 80 (480) will be male officers, while the remaining proportion will consist of female officers.

The table below describes the sample in terms of the total number of law enforcement officers surveyed, their rank and gender.

Table 1 Sample by Rank and Gender
RankMajors, Captains and LieutenantsSergeants and CorporalsTrooper First Class and TroopersGenderMaleFemaleMaleFemaleMaleFemaleBreakdown of Gender125251404021555Total Interviewed150180270Research Design

The study design basically involves the collection of data using a telephone survey technique. The use of a specifically designed and systematic telephone questionnaire makes it possible to randomly select and stratify participants in terms of rank, age and gender. The choice of this sampling technique allows for the utilization of both quantitative and qualitative approaches in assessing the prevalence of alcohol consumption within the police force, the differences in alcohol use across gender and age groups.

The first phase of this study will involve an informed review of journals, essays, research papers, and books that explore the prevalence of alcohol abuse in the police force (in general), the relationship between occupational stress and excessive alcohol consumption, and the preventive programs utilized all around the world in minimizing the prevalence of alcohol abuse among police officers. Generally, this initial phase concentrated on browsing the internet for relevant updated information, before specifically narrowing down on information and statistical data archived from the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), the Federal Bureau of Statistics (FBI), and the Association of Chiefs of Police Bureau of Operations and Research.

Prior to the commencement of the survey, a statewide advertisement will be placed on local gazettes and circulars as a means of notifying the participants about the intended study as well as providing basic information about the nature, scope, utility, and reasons behind the study. With respect to the specified number of participants who have so far shown willingness to participate in the study, the researcher will be forced to scale down on the number of submissions from different stations with a view of collecting data that represents the entire state of Pennsylvania.

Before digressing into key questions, the participants will be requested to provide information on their professional rank and age. The second sets of questions are related to alcohol usage. Drinking behavior will be determined on the basis of the World Health Organizations definition of alcoholism. For instance, binge drinking refers to the consumption of more than ten standard drinks (100g of alcohol) for men and six standard drinks (60g of alcohol) for women in any occasion. Thus, responses to alcohol consumption related questions were recorded as per the WHO definition 1 Standard Drink is equivalent to 10g of alcohol. Questions on exercise levels are intended to validate the relationship that exist between alcohol abuse and exercise and whether exercise intervention programs may be used to minimize the prevalence of alcohol abuse.

For every individual participant, the interviewer is expected to spend at least 2-3 minutes. The data collected will be analyzed for the patterns of alcohol consumption, the frequency of alcohol consumption, the amount of alcohol consumption per drinking session, and the relationship between occupational stress and alcohol abuse across different gender and age groups.

Testing for Reliability
The probability of presenting skewed and utterly non-representative results calls for reliability testing. In this study, the assessment of the reliability of the data collected will be finalized by making a second contact with 50 out of the 600 respondents assayed in the initial interview. The second reliability testing interviews will be done 2-3 weeks after the first. The responses recorded will be compared with the first interview occasion. If the reliability test indicates high agreement, the researcher will proceed with data analysis and presentation.