Citation

Koch BJ. J. Police Crim. Psychol. 2010; 25(2): 90-98.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2010, Holtzbrinck Springer Nature Publishing Group)

DOI

10.1007/s11896-010-9070-y

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

When a suicide is completed, police officers are often among the first responders. Little attention has been paid to the emotional and psychological impact on the police officer in this specific situation. This study examines the effects encounters with completed suicides have on the emotional and psychological well-being of the police officer. This is a qualitative study, which intends to bring alive the feelings, thoughts, actions, choices, and challenges of police officers who have encountered completed suicides as imparted through participants' stories. Interviews were done with eight police officers. In addition, interviews were done with a coroner, a police chaplain, and a police psychologist to add some unique perspectives to the police officers' experiences of encountering completed suicides. Interviews were done in a semi-structured, focused format involving an ongoing fine-tuning of questions. The overarching finding reveals the central role played by police culture in shaping how police officers come to perceive this experience, and how they subsequently choose to mediate it. This study identifies ten strategies police officers use to mediate this experience, and discusses the possible psychological consequences of employing each strategy. © 2010 Springer Science + Business Media, LLC.

Language: en

Keywords

Police; Suicide; First responders; Police culture; Police stress; Police trauma