Date of Conferral

2022

Degree

Ph.D.

School

Criminal Justice

Advisor

Grier Grier

Abstract

In recent years, reports of police stress during the COVID-19 pandemic have proliferated across the United States. The extent and nature of the pandemic on the morale and emotional health of law enforcement and the communities they serve have received significant attention from scholars and researchers. In addition, a growing body of literature examining the impact on work performance and overall mental health of first responders serving selflessly during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic also exists. However, there was gap in the research of the impacts on the emotional health of military police members that have worked during the pandemic. In this study, the perspectives of 10 military police members who served during the pandemic were explored through semi-structured interviews. The interview subjects members stationed at a Texas Air Force Base. The goal was to understand if, and how, working during the COVID-19 pandemic has impacted these military members’ emotional health and their perspectives on and decision to continue or leave their respective military organizations. The study revealed that there was a significant impact to the military members’ emotional health, and their decisions and conclusions were based on those impacts. Concerns over personal safety, continuous change of policies, and a lack of transparency had as much influence as the negative connotation of the police members wanting to leave the service. These finding may be used by any military police organization to create positive social change by mediating their members’ beliefs and promoting transparency between military members and their leadership.

Download

Share

 
COinS