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placing officers and the public in harm’s way.
Currently, no state or federal mandates exist regarding police
work length. Requiring officers to work 12-hour shifts and then return to another tour of duty with only a limited break creates safety and health issues. The City cannot keep implementing abnormally dangerous working conditions for work by requir- ing police officers to work so many hours without affording them ample time to rest.
One study found, “Humans are hardwired with a genetical- ly determined biological need for sleep and with a circadian pacemaker that programs us to sleep at night and to be awake during the day on a 24-hour schedule.” Fatigue costs the U.S. economy $136 billion per year in health-related lost productiv- ity alone.
Rotating shift work is inherently dangerous. Clearly, sleep deprivation is dangerous. Another study found that more than half of police officers fail to get adequate rest and have a 44 per- cent higher level of obstructive sleep apnea. Law enforcement officers not only deal with the stress of working shifts, but they also witness or experience trauma and managing dangerous confrontations. Exposures to various high intensity stressors also impact the quality of the sleep that officers do receive.
Reactions to sleep deprivation are greatly highlighted when using the alcohol metaphor— being very tired is comparable to being impaired from alcohol consumption. Research has shown that being awake for 19 hours produces “impairments that are comparable to having a blood alcohol concentration (BAC) of .05 percent. Being awake for 24 hours is comparable to having a BAC of roughly .10 percent.” In essence, the impact
of sleep deprivation is doubled with that additional five hours of lost sleep. It is significant to note that Illinois considers it a crime to drive with a BAC of .08 percent or higher. Moreover, as we know, police officers must maintain a BAC of .00 percent during duty hours.
More law enforcement officers die as the result of accidents than from criminal assaults. Indeed, the rates of such accidents increase with lack of sleep and time of day. Research shows that the risk increases considerably after a person is on duty for nine or more hours; after a 10-hour tour of duty, the risk increases by about 90 percent; and after a 12-hour tour of duty, it increases 110 percent.
Clearly, police officers who are overtired put themselves, their fellow officers and the communities they serve at risk. Arguably, the City and/or Police Department may be held re- sponsible if an officer causes a death or serious injury as a re- sult of being too tired. Research clearly establishes that a scien- tific correlation exists among sleep, fatigue and diminished job performance. The Department cannot continue to allow such dangerous practices to exist. In one study conducted over a 40-year period, the average age of death for police officers was 66, a full 10 years earlier than the norm. Officers’ health and safety must be taken seriously. When asked at a recent press conference about the most recent cancellation of RDOs, Super- intendent Brown said, “We are very careful . . . you know officer wellness is one of our key pillars of our strategic plan.” The City has a funny way of showing its concern. If the City doesn’t care, then the Lodge will make sure that officers, at a minimum, are afforded their contractual rights.
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