Introduction: Why is this topic important? What makes this topic worthy of study? Why did you choose it? What are the policy issues related to this topic?
             ¡§Before the quality of law enforcement work can be improved, one needs to understand the obstacles which prevent accurate perception, information processing and judgment formation¡ (Cottam and Marenin, 1981).
             A growing concern exists over sleep problems related to shift work and the increased liability law enforcement agencies face. The topic of Shift Work and Sleep Research and the effects it has in law enforcement has a significant impact on health, well being, economy, and the way of life of those involved in law enforcement. With this concern in mind several studies and researches have been developed in an effort to help law enforcement better address a serious potential threat to the safety and health of officers and the communities they serve, a threat that strikes at the heart of sound police/community relations. The objective of this issue is to objectively measure the extent of fatigue in patrol officers and identify possible connections between administratively controllable factors and fatigue, and the relationship between fatigue and law enforcement performance, health, and safety.
             The effects of fatigue on human behavior, performance, and physiology are well understood and widely know. Excess fatigue arising from sleep loss, circadian disruption, shift work and other factors tends to decrees alertness, impair performance, and worsen mood. As such it is reasonable to expect that the performance, health, and safety of law enforcement officers, as well as police/community relations, are adversely affected by the fatigue officers experience. Moreover, policy issues related to the topic is that there is evidence that much of the fatigue officers experience could be controlled administratively, just as we control the working hours of many other occupational...