Abstract
Police officer suicide rates hit an all-time high in the province of Ontario, Canada, in 2018. Sadly, this statistic is somewhat unsurprising, as research has shown that police officers suffer from higher rates of mental health disorder diagnoses compared to the general public. One key reason for the elevated levels of suicide and other mental health issues among police officers is believed to stem from the stigma associated with seeking help. In an attempt to address these serious issues, Ontario’s police services have begun to create internal peer support programs as a way of supporting their members. The present research explores the experiences of police officers serving as peer-support team members, particularly with regards to the impacts of peer support. In addition, this research also examines the importance of discussing shared experiences regarding a lack of standardized procedures for the administration and implementation of peer support in relation to the Policy Feedback Theory. The Policy Feedback Theory (PFT) posits that, when a policy becomes established and resources are devoted to programs, it helps structure current activity. This study utilized a phenomenological, qualitative approach, with data collection consisting of face-to-face interviews with nine police officers serving on the York Regional Police’s peer-support team. The findings revealed that peer support is more than just a “conversation”; rather, it suggests to contribute to enhancing mental health literacy among police officers, and it significantly contributes to stigma reduction. The findings also revealed that internal policy demonstrated an organizational commitment to mental health and peer-support, and that a provincial standard is necessary to ensure best practices and risk management in the creation and maintenance of peer-support programs.
Highlights
Mental health issues among police personnel has been a particular topic of concern for police services in Ontario, Canada, since 2015 (Mental Health Commission of Canada and Public Services Health and Safety Association, 2015)
Increased rates of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and other mental health issues among law enforcement has led researchers to look at other stressors that are inherent in the policing profession
Mental health literacy is defined as the ability to understand: the difference between mental health disorders and mental health issues; the importance of seeking treatment early and its role; the definition of stigma and how it relates to mental health; and how to develop competencies to improve one’s mental health (Kutcher et al, 2016)
Summary
Mental health issues among police personnel has been a particular topic of concern for police services in Ontario, Canada, since 2015 (Mental Health Commission of Canada and Public Services Health and Safety Association, 2015). Peer-Support, Police Mental Health pressure, and elevated cortisol levels due to shift work (Jensen et al, 2016), as well as other factors inherent to a high-intensity profession where individuals sometimes experience low-levels of control (Garbarino and Magnavita, 2015). The majority of research on stress and wellness among police officers has primarily focused on these physiological factors and the importance of health and fitness programs (DeNysschen et al, 2018). Increased rates of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and other mental health issues among law enforcement has led researchers to look at other stressors that are inherent in the policing profession. The Carleton et al (2018) study of Canadian public safety personnel (PSP) found that first responders have increased symptoms of mental health disorders compared to the general public. The focus of research is leaning toward the effectiveness of proactive mental health programs and initiatives in the policing community which focus around stigma reduction (Smid et al, 2017; Stuart, 2017)
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