Prevalence of alcohol abuse among police officers at the major barracks, Dar es salaam, Tanzania

Abstract

Background: The Tanzania Police Force (TPF) has an immense responsibility in terms of providing a safe and secure environment for every individual residing in the Republic of Tanzania. Environmentally, the work is exciting and boring, challenging and tiresome, rewarding and frustrating, unpredictable and regular. Organizationally, officers may have to contend with rigid command structures, unreasonable policies and procedures, and inequitable treatment by superiors (Murtagh, 2010). These taxing working conditions add tremendous stress to the lives of police officials and increase the risk of alcohol misuse more so than other professional groups and members of the public (Govender, 2008). Police officers may deal with job related stress, by turning to hazardous alcohol consumption as a coping mechanism (Murtagh, 2010). The extent to which Tanzanian police officers drink alcohol at hazardous, harmful or dependent levels is unknown since no research has been conducted among them. Objectives: To assess the prevalence of hazardous, harmful, as well as dependent drinking among police officers. Materials and method: A cross sectional study was conducted among police officers. Data was collected using interviewer administered Alcohol Using Disorders Identification Test (AUDIT) questionnaire and demographic data form. Results: This study found that, the prevalence of hazardous alcohol drinking among police officers at Kilwa Road police barracks is 14.8% and levels of harmful and dependent drinking are 4.4% and 2.4% respectively. Conclusion and Recommendations: From this study it can be concluded that alcohol consumption is problematic among police officers. There is need to establish a training program for police counselors who will be able to identify police officers at risk and offer early interventions. Further studies may focus on predictors of hazardous, harmful, and dependent alcohol abuse among police so that more appropriate interventions can be put in place.