Clinically, post traumatic stress disorder symptoms manifests themselves in three eventful ways. It can be reappearance, avoidance or anxiety and arousal of emotions due to the events (Kaplan, Iancu & Bo, 2001). In the case of experiencing the traumatic and stressful event again, a police officer is likely to show signs and symptoms of having flashbacks, nightmares, feeling frightened when people talk of the event or on remembering it, intense stress and fear, increased heart beat, breathing fast, sweating, headache, muscle tensions, nausea and other physical reactions. In the event of trying to avoid the incent events, a police officer will show signs and symptoms of not wanting people to talk of the event, avoiding to be sent on duty to that place, forgetfulness of critical details of the incident, withdrawal and antisocial behaviors like losing interest in group activities, detachment from the others where he tends to be a loner and to do duties alone, and lack of interest in making future life plans (Raphael & Wilson, 2000).  In the third case of anxiety increase and arousal of emotions, a police officer will tend to show signs and symptoms of lack of sleep, high temperaments and anger, throwing tantrums, always being very alert, difficulties in concentration, being jumpy and getting startled easily, and always being in conflict.
The advanced symptoms that these officers who are suffering from post traumatic stress will show include; fury, resentment, culpability, embarrassment, blaming themselves, drug and substance use and abuse, feelings of disloyalty, dejection, depression, suicide, alienation, and physical tenderness and sourness (Yehuda et al, 2004). The officers are also likely to show nervousness, lack of interest in hobbies and social events, increased arousal of emotions, getting too personal, lack of interest and satisfaction on their job, broodiness in job, and other anti social behaviors.
The risk factors that cause post traumatic stress in police officers rotate around the scene of the incident. Most incident scenes that have a traumatic effect are those that put the officers’ life at risk hence threatening his life. Those events that put the officer in great danger are said to have a further effect on him or her (Schnurr, Lunney &Sengupta, 2004). This is because the officers are human and they will always be afraid of anything that may seem to threaten their life. Incidents that put the police officer at a higher threat are more likely to cause him or her post traumatic stress than those that do not poses a high degree of threat. Research studies show that those incidents that are caused by acts of man like rape and murder are more traumatic than those incidents that are of a natural cause like accidents and disasters.
Another cause factor is the nature of the traumatic scenes and incidents. This is because as a police officer, you have a duty to respond to an incident that has been reported. This means that the officer cannot avoid such scenes no matter how much they try. They also cannot control, undo or change the happenings. For example, if someone has been murdered brutally, or shot, the police officers cannot undo the act. Instead they feel guilty especially in the case where they could have prevented such acts. In the case of a natural happening like disaster or accident, the police could not control it. The nature of these events being not able to be escaped, expected or controllable makes it a big causal risk factor (Rose & Wessely, 2001).
Being a witness of a traumatic incident is not the only risk factor that causes post traumatic stress among the officers. There are other risk factors like having been a witness or experiencing a traumatic event in the past. Those police officers who have a history of being involved in traumatic incidents, not necessarily in the line of duty are more likely to develop post traumatic stress disorder, not because of the nature of their jobs but because of past experiences.
Police officers have one of the most stressing jobs, either from internal and external causes. The stressing duties that these officers perform every day in their line of job are likely to cause post traumatic stress to them. Also, some officers lack the coping skills as well as support from home and the office to deal with the stresses (Aamodt &Stalnaker, 2002).
Other internal and external risk factors that cause the post traumatic stress disorder among the officers are as listed. There are also those with a family history of this disorder and depression. Many disorders that people suffer from are found to be inherited. Officers who were either sexually abused or molested physically or mentally when they were young are likely to suffer from post traumatic stress disorder (Otte et al, 2005). The same applies to those officers who have an addiction of drug, alcohol and substance use and abuse. Studies show that when one is addicted, they will suffer a post traumatic stress disorder in absence of the substance. Mental illnesses, emotional arousal, anxiety, and other personal traits that encourage stress are likely to cause post traumatic stress among the officers.
Some of the incidents that put the police officers in this psychosomatic distress include; cases of violence, shootings, natural disasters, car accidents, plane crash, terrorist hits, bombings, death of their colleagues or someone they know, rapes, kidnaps, assaults, physical and sexual abuse, and other dreaded scenes.
The treatment process of post traumatic stress disorder calls requires collective action from the officer himself, the colleagues, the family and the psychiatrist. If a police officer shows signs of post traumatic stress disorder, it is always good to seek help from a therapist while there is still time. Most officers fail to seek treatment on grounds that it is a weakness to be stressed. They should accept that it is not a weakness and seek help (Otte et al, 2005).
The effects of post traumatic stress disorder are great if they are not treated. They affect an officer’s social life and can bring adverse health complications. The social effects are that the officer will have problems with his or her family members due to lack of coordination and cooperation and marriages breaking (Gentz & Taylor, 2004). The officer will lead a loner life and loose friends. It can even lead to loss of job due to the behavior change since the profession does not require someone who has temper problems. It can even lead to the officer committing a crime as it pushes a person to be violent.
Post traumatic stress disorder can also lead to many health problems. Heart attacks have been attributed to this disorder by health researchers. It can also lead to malnutrition related diseases and migraine as a result of the lack of sleep and worry. It can also lead to loss of weight and nausea and therefore, it is important for the officers to seek help.
There are four types of PTSD treatment. The first is the self discovery therapy where the officer will be put through philosophical psychological therapy in order to get over the stress. This therapy requires one to discover himself by exploring his thoughts and feelings, removing any feelings of guilt and self blame, learning how to cope with the incidents and addressing the issues the disorder has caused in your life. This improves the interpersonal attributes of the patient. The second treatment is family therapy where the family members and loved ones help the member to get over the stress. This improves the family relationship. The third is medication where the one is prescribed to drugs like Zoloft, Prozac and other depressants although they are not treatment for the disorder. The final treatment is the eye movement desensitization and reprocessing which removes the aspect of trauma (Brewin et al, 2002).
Conclusion
Post traumatic stress disorder can be reduced in the police department through full participation of the police officers and the management. Trainings, forums and seminars for these officers to deal with the stress should be highly encouraged. This will give the officers an opportunity to talk about their experiences and their coping skills. This will help them get over the traumatic scenes more easily.

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