Check points, Police Stress, Coping Mechanisms 

Stress occurs when one was confronted with the situation which is perceived to be overwhelming one cannot cope with such a situation. This study employed quantitative-qualitative research designs. The quantitative research design was used to gather information focuses on the level of organizational and operational stress levels of the respondents. For the qualitative design, the data were taken from the Focus Group Discussions to obtain responses on how the respondents cope with encountered stressors in the conduct of checkpoint operations. There were two groups of police respondents who participated in this study and these were the Police Commissioned Officers (PCOs) and the Police Non-Commissioned Officers (PNCOs) from five police stations and other units and officers in Iligan City Police Office.

Validated self-made instruments patterned with the standardized instruments were used to measure the Organizational and Operational stress levels and the respondents’ coping mechanism. Findings revealed that both groups of Police respondents were more stress in the police operation in relation to their duties and responsibilities during the pandemic time. However, results showed that Police Commissioned Officers were highly stressed that Police Non-Commissioned Officers n both organizational and operational police stress.

Moreover, it was found out from this study that the police respondents were often practicing coping mechanism in order to reduce stress levels. The police respondents’ suggestions to the organization in coping mechanism includes debriefing, post stress debriefing, multi-tasking skills development and team building. In the light of the findings, an Action Plan was crafted.