A price paid? A review of the research on the impact of investigating serious crime on the wellbeing of police staff

Abstract

Research pertaining to the wellbeing of police focuses on the job at a macro level, neglecting that policing is an occupation made up of thousands of roles. The needs of staff in various roles differs according to the situations that they are exposed to. This paper provides a review of the literature pertaining to the impact of criminal investigation on employees’ wellbeing. Three discernible categories regarding the wellbeing of criminal investigators are revealed and the paper demonstrates that criminal investigation has a negative effect on the wellbeing of staff. The paper concludes with recommendations for future research, training and support.

The role of psychological surveillance in reducing harm and building resilience in police forensic investigators

“…This study has demonstrated that the levels of clinical symptoms experienced by the three groups of forensic practitioners confirmed the view of Cartwright and Roach (2021) that more attention should be given to the wellbeing of police staff. Forensic investigators should be regarded as being at a similar, if not higher, level of risk compared to their police officer colleagues.…”

“…Every policing role involves hazards; however, the dangers faced by a response officer are very different to that of a forensic scientist and a collision investigator (Cartwright and Roach, 2021). Each police officer or staff member will have unique vulnerabilities and resilience factors dependent on their life experiences, personality, support and training (Tehrani and Piper, 2011).…”

A comparative study of stress experienced by Swedish and Norwegian police officers

“…Many studies support the notion that police work is highly stressful (9,(23)(24)(25)(26) and that police officers experience high levels of work-related stress relative to many other occupations (27). For example, working with traumatized victims and conducting homicide inquiries are stressors in the area of criminal investigation (28)(29)(30). Police work also involves shift work, traumatic events, staff shortages, and bureaucratic burden, all of which are considered stressful.…”

Bienestar psicosocial de investigadores de explotación sexual infantil de la Guardia Civil.

“…Asimismo, trabajar con víctimas vivas y vulnerables, especialmente menores, tiene más impacto emocional que con víctimas que ya han fallecido. Igualmente, escuchar revivir el evento traumático en las declaraciones puede generar este tipo de efectos negativos (Cartwright y Roach, 2022;Foley y Massey, 2021;Horvath y Massey, 2018;Roach et al, 2016;Simonovska et al, 2023).…”

“…Aunque se utilizan de manera indistinta, poseen matices que los diferencia. El primero no se experimenta de manera directa, pero provoca efectos idénticos que el Trastorno de Estrés Postraumático (TEPT) (Cartwright y Roach, 2022;Figley, 1995;Middleton, 2023;Perez et al, 2011). Entre ellos se encuentra la hipervigilancia, pensamientos intrusivos, revivir el evento traumático, evitación y adormecimiento o excitación persistente (American Psychiatric Association, 2013;Denk-Florea, et al, 2020;Figlley, 1995;World Health Organization, 2019).…”