Secondary traumatic stress in police detective officers dealing with complainants of sexual crimes

Abstract

The present study aimed to investigate the relationship between exposure to traumatised complainants and secondary traumatic stress. It also established the occurrence of secondary traumatic stress and the degree to which police detective officers reported secondary traumatic stress symptoms. Data were obtained on 51 police detective officers working in the Family Violence, Child Protection and Sexual Offences unit of the South African Police Service. A quantitative, correlational research design was employed to achieve the aim of the study. The sample was obtained using a combination of convenience and purposive sampling techniques. The majority of police detective officers reported some degree of secondary traumatic stress symptoms as they are frequently exposed to traumatised complainants. No significant statistical relationship was found between exposure to traumatised complainants and secondary traumatic stress. Nonetheless, there was a statistically significant relationship between the type of crime and secondary traumatic stress among the police detective officers in the Family Violence, Child Protection and Sexual Offences unit of the South African Police Service unit. Future research should investigate other pivotal risks and protective factors, such as environmental factors and personal factors that may have an impact on the development of secondary traumatic stress in the police detective officers.

Secondary traumatic stress among police officers – the relationship with personality and ruminations

“…High intensities of STS symptoms have also been observed in the representatives of emergency services helping children who have suffered trauma, particularly policemen. The majority of police detectives from the South African Police Service who worked in the Family Violence, Sexual Offences and Child Protection unit (Cronje & Vilakazi, 2020) reported some degree of STS symptoms, which the authors attribute to frequent exposure to traumatised complainants. Research conducted in Wales and England among police officers from the Child Abuse Investigation Unit indicated that increased exposure to childhood sexual abuse was connected with a higher degree of STS (Hurrell et al, 2018).…”

Upper and lower musculoskeletal back pain, stress, physical activity, and organisational work support: An exploratory study of police investigative interviewers

“…This sampling procedure is best described as purposive criterion sampling that is “reviewing and studying ‘all cases that meet some predetermined criterion of importance’” (Patton, 2002, p. 238, cited in Suri, 2011 ). This procedure is applied both in qualitative and quantitative studies ( Cronje and Vilakazi, 2020 ) . For reasons of confidentiality, an anonymous paper-and-pen survey, with stamped and addressed envelopes for return use, was distributed by postal mail primo 2020.…”

Police Resilience as a Multilevel Balance: Needs and Resources for Victim Support Officers

“…The study of compassion fatigue within police organizations is also a growing field, after critiques such as Andersen and Papazoglou’s (2015) on the existing gap in the research literature. Its research has also focused on particularly traumatic experiences and crimes, such as sexual and other extremely violent situations (Cronje & Vilakazi, 2020; Hurell et al, 2018). Police officers have also been found to experience low compassion satisfaction, with this dimension having a negative association with burnout and compassion fatigue (Grant et al, 2019).…”