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.

Keywords

Police detective officers secondary traumatic stress sexual crimes South African police service traumatic complainants

Traumatic events, such as violence and abuse, are frequent in South Africa. Several studies have found that post-apartheid South Africa demonstrates high rates of violent crimes, sexual abuse, and domestic abuse crimes (Gumani, 2012; Statistics South Africa, 2019). Consequently, previous studies revealed that police detective officers (PDOs) could be exposed to traumatic events indirectly when spending significant time listening to and reviewing evidence of traumatic events experienced by complainants (MacEachern et al., 2011; Tovar, 2011). Police officers’ duties and responsibilities place them at risk for physical, emotional, and psychological trauma. For instance, PDOs have the role of investigating the crimes committed against their complainants, charging alleged perpetrators, and submitting police dockets to the public prosecutor. Generally, complainants refer to a person who lays a formal complaint that they have been hurt by someone else (Robinson & Davidson, 1996). These acts indirectly expose PDOs to the traumatic situations and vulnerabilities of their complainants, which may create concerns about their sense of efficacy and development of secondary traumatic stress (STS) symptoms (Cieslak et al., 2013).

STS

Generally, STS refers to the ‘natural consequent behaviours and emotions resulting from knowing about a traumatising event experienced by a significant other – the stress resulting from helping or wanting to help a traumatised or suffering person’ (Figley, 1995, p. 10). Literature has shown that STS was initially recognised among the immediate families of Vietnam War veterans and sexual assault victims. The history of STS can be traced back to the early 1970s: the first descriptions in the literature arose from Haley in 1974. The concept of STS expanded to apply to a broad range of helping professionals working with victims of trauma, and it reflects the emotional disequilibrium resulting from close contact with trauma victims (Sanchez, 2010). However, there is a consensus among scholars that STS originated from research and theory and became popular during the early 1990s (Figley, 1995; Masson, 2016; Sanchez, 2010). It (STS) suggests that professionals working with traumatised persons may experience stress reactions because of their contact with such victims (Coles et al., 2014; Gumani, 2012; Masson, 2016; Robinson-Keilig, 2014).

Furthermore, it is worth noting that several scholars have utilised diverse terminology to refer to this phenomenon, including compassion fatigue (Turgoose & Maddox, 2017), vicarious traumatisation (Bourke & Craun, 2012), and burnout (Maslach, as cited in Harms, 2011). Some scholars maintain that these terms are synonymous, while others believe that the terms as mentioned above do not mean the same thing (Stamm, 2010). Nevertheless, the premise of this study is that despite some intersect, there are theoretical distinctions between the terms.

STS and police officers

Previous studies have shown that police officers work long hours and work under dangerous conditions, and the almost daily confrontation with high degrees of physical danger, violence, and trauma (MacEachern et al., 2011; Perez et al., 2010; Tovar, 2011). Papazoglou and Tuttle (2018) establish that policing work is highly stressful since police officers deal with the full variety of social ills, including the effects of high unemployment, political tension, and social deprivation. In South Africa, for instance, it is estimated that rape occurs as often as every 4 min and that one in three South African women will be raped in their lifetime (Rape Crisis, n.d.). According to the 2018/2019 South African Police Service (SAPS) annual crime statistics, sexual offences have increased by 4.6% from 50,108 in 2017/2018 to 52,420 in 2018/2019. Due to the nature of their work, PDOs may be at increased risk of experiencing STS. This is supported by MacEachern et al. (2011), who assert that there is a high possibility of STS among police officers working with the victims of sexual crime. In addition, a number of studies conducted on police officers have indicated that PDOs report more severe indicators of psychological distress, namely STS, than their counterparts who do not work with victims of sexual crime (Bourke & Craun, 2014; MacEachern et al., 2019; Perez et al., 2010). These PDOs similarly display signs of STS/vicarious trauma (VT), including hyper-vigilance, recurrent and intrusive distress, difficulty concentrating, relationship problems, lack of communication, denial, repression, avoidance, isolation, disassociation, change in worldviews, and loss of a sense of meaning (Bourke & Craun, 2012; MacEachern et al., 2011; Tovar, 2011).

A study by Bourke and Craun (2014) found the most common symptoms of STS were (1) thinking about work when not intending to, (2) being easily irritable, (3) feeling emotionally numb, and (4) experiencing sleep difficulties. This body of research serves to verify that trauma is present among police officers and that it does bear similar features to STS, as is observed in the literature concerning helping professionals. In addition, Martin, McKean, and Veltkamp (as cited in MacEachern et al., 2011) found those police officers working with victims of rape experience and display more severe symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) than general police officers dealing with regular crimes and offences.

It is pertinent to note that much research has been conducted on the effects of STS among helping professions such as psychologists, social workers, emergency workers, law enforcement officers, and other health care workers. However, most of these studies were conducted in high-income countries, such as the United States and United Kingdom.

There are some studies conducted on police stress in South Africa (Dixon, 2012; Gumani, 2012; Masson, 2016; Robinson-Keilig, 2014); however, what about the forgotten population which exists within the SAPS, namely the PDOs, who work alongside the social workers, prosecutors, medical doctors, and who assists these officers? It seems reasonable to presume that the amount of traumatic material to which PDOs, who support the victims of trauma or who conduct forensic investigations, are exposed is likely to increase. To this date, there is a lack of research in this area and even fewer studies that specifically focus on the PDOs and STS in lower income contexts, like South Africa.

This study investigated the relationship between exposure to traumatic complainants and STS among PDOs in the Family Violence, Child Protection and Sexual Offences unit of the South Africa Police Service (SAPS-FCS).

Method

This research aimed to investigate how the study variables operate in relation to one another. A quantitative approach was used, employing questionnaires to enable statistical analyses (Babbie, 2011). Correlational research design was employed to achieve the research aim.

Participants

In all, 65 PDOs were approached to participate in this study, but 14 declined. As a result, the sample consisted of 51 PDOs, 29 males, and 22 females. Their age ranged from 25 to 61 years. Data were collected in the SAPS-FCS units located in 4 of the 21 SAPS clusters of the Eastern Cape (EC) Province (see Table 1). The SAPS did not provide the researchers with the exact number of FCS PDOs within these clusters. The sample was obtained using a combination of convenience and purposive sampling techniques. These non-probability sampling techniques were chosen based on the nature of the PDOs’ work availability. It was anticipated that finding PDOs to take part in the study might be a problem due to the nature of their workload. As a result, PDOs were chosen based on their availability and for having shared characteristics as they are detectives working in the SAPS-FCS unit.

Table 1.

Demographic information distribution (n = 51).

Characteristics	Frequency	Percentage
SAPS cluster
Humansdorp	6	12
Motherwell	23	45
Mount Road	18	35
Uitenhage	4	8
Rank
Constable	11	22
Sergeant	11	22
Warrant Officers	20	39
Captain	7	14
Lieutenant Colonel	2	4
Gender
Male	29	57
Female	22	43
Racial Grouping
Black	27	52
Coloured	13	26
White	11	22
Age (years)
25–31	2	4
32–37	12	24
38–43	12	24
44–49	18	35
50–55	5	10
56–61	2	4

SAPS: South African Police Service.

Instruments

Quantitative data were collected through two questionnaires: a biographical questionnaire and the Secondary Traumatic Stress Scale (STSS). The researchers developed the biographical questionnaire to provide descriptive information on the sample.

The biographical questionnaire consists of two main sections: Section A includes demographic variables, while Section B measures the PDOs’ level of exposure to traumatised complainants and traumatising material. These include PDOs’ age, rank occupied, gender, number of years as a member of the SAPS, number of years working in FCS, complainants assisted per week, and number of hours spent performing FCS-related work per week and per month.

The STSS is a 17-item questionnaire that measures the frequency of STS symptoms in the past 7 days. It consists of five items for the Intrusion subscale, seven questions for the Avoidance subscale, and five items for the Arousal subscale (Bride et al., 2004). The STSS uses a 5-point Likert-type-like scale ranging from 1 (never) to 5 (very often). Subscale scores are obtained by adding the scores for items in each subscale. A total score is also calculated across all 17 questions. Bride et al. (2004) reported adequate alpha levels for full STS score (.93), Intrusion (.80), Avoidance (.87), and Arousal (.83). The STSS has previously been used in studies within a few African countries, including South Africa, Kenya, and Namibia (Masson, 2016; Ramatsipele, 2014). Masson established the mean, standard deviation, and internal reliability for Intrusion (M = 12.5, SD = 4.3, α = .80), Avoidance (M = 16.5, SD = 6.2, α = .87), and Arousal (M = 11.3, SD = 4.7, α = .87). Masson also found evidence for convergent and discriminant validity as well as factorial validity in the STSS, as part of an assessment battery of other scales for stress, trauma, and burnout, such as the Trauma and Attachment Belief Scale (TABS), Professional Quality of Life Scale (ProQOL), Coping Resources Inventory (CRI), Resilience Scale (RS), and the Work Environment Scale (WES). Ramatsipele reported mean and standard deviation scores for full STS score (M = 37.1, SD = 12.3), Intrusion (M = 11.5, SD = 3.7), Avoidance (M = 15.3, SD = 5.7), and Arousal (M = 10.3, SD = 4.1).

For the present study, full STS scores were categorised to determine the number of participants who reported little or no STS (scores <28), mild STS (scores from 28 to 37), moderate STS (scores from 38 to 43), high STS (scores from 44 to 48), and severe STS (scores >49; Bride, 2007).

Procedure

Approval to conduct the study within the SAPS premises was provided by the head of the Human Resource Division in the SAPS – head office and by the SAPS-EC Provincial office.

The researchers attended parade meetings that were held by different FCS units in different clusters of the SAPS. At these meetings, the researchers explained the nature of the research and invited PDOs to participate. The researchers also liaised with various Employee Health Wellness commanders from chosen clusters for referral purposes.

Ethical considerations

Ethics approval was obtained from the Research Ethics Committee Human (REC-H) at the Nelson Mandela University (Ethics clearance number H17-HEA-PSY-013). In addition, PDOs were briefed about the background, nature, and purpose of the study. All participants provided written consent before the completion of the questionnaire. Furthermore, PDOs’ identities were concealed and were also notified that their participation in the study was voluntary. Counselling services were available, but no participants indicated the need for counselling after completing the questionnaires.

Data analysis

Data from the questionnaires were captured using Microsoft Excel^® and analysed by the Unit for Statistical Consultation of the Nelson Mandela University, using the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS^®). Descriptive and inferential statistics were used to analyse the data. In terms of inferential statistics, the Pearson product-moment correlation coefficient was calculated to determine linear correlations between exposure to traumatised complainants and STS.

Results

Table 2 presents the descriptive statistics for the occurrence of STS symptoms among the PDOs. From Table 2, it is evident that 26 (51%) participants reported high to severe levels of STS. Sixteen (31%) participants reported mild to moderate levels of STS, while 9 (18%) reported little or no STS. The results indicated that 31 (61%) of the participants reported moderate to severe levels of STS symptoms.

Table 2.

Descriptive statistics for occurrence of STS among participants (n = 51).

	Little or no STS	Mild STS	Moderate STS	High STS	Severe STS
Frequency	9	11	5	2	24
Percentage	17.6	21.6	9.8	3.9	47.1

STS: secondary traumatic stress.

In terms of the level of PDOs’ exposure to traumatised complainants, of the sample, 28 participants (55%) strongly agreed and 17 participants (33%) agreed that they had been exposed to traumatised complainants. Only 2 (4%) participants disagreed that they had been exposed to traumatised complainants. Of the sample, 49 (96%) of the 51 participants agreed with the statement.

Table 3 presents the descriptive statistics for the STS sub-categories. The results illustrate that STS avoidance symptoms were slightly higher (M = 17.7) than both intrusion and arousal-reported symptoms. Avoidance had a higher maximum score and had a higher standard deviation than intrusion and arousal, indicating that Avoidance scores were more widely dispersed across the sample.

Table 3.

Descriptive statistics for the STS sub-categories (n = 51).

	Mean	Median	SD	Range	Minimum	Maximum
Intrusion score	14.0	14	4.6	18	5	23
Avoidance score	17.7	17	6.7	26	7	33
Arousal score	12.4	12	5.1	20	5	25
Total score	44.1	43	15.4	61	18	79

STS: secondary traumatic stress; SD: standard deviation.

Table 4 depicts the descriptive statistics for the types of violent crimes dealt with by the PDOs in the SAPS-FCS unit in the EC Province. All participants in the sample reported that they had assisted complainants of rape in the past 3 months. Other cases included indecent assault (75%), child molestation (75%), and domestic violence (63%). Common robbery (4%) was the least frequent crime dealt with by participants.

Table 4.

Descriptive statistics for types of violent crimes (n = 51).

	Frequency	Percentage
Rape	51	100
Indecent assault	38	75
Child molestation	38	75
Domestic violence	32	63
Assault with intent to inflict grievous bodily harm	20	39
Common robbery	2	4

No statistically significant correlations were found between STS and years of service in the SAPS (.12), FCS years of service (−.02), duration performing FCS work (.06), conducting investigations in the previous week (.24) or month (−.04), collecting evidence from perpetrators in the previous week (−.18) or month (−.20), gathering evidence from witnesses in the previous week (−.15) or month (−.18), and testifying in court in the previous week (−.06) or month (−.01).

In addition, STS did not correlate significantly with the number of hours in the past month either spent performing investigations (.08), being exposed to traumatic material (.03), or collecting evidence from perpetrators (.11).

In terms of the relationship between STS and exposure to specific types of crimes, no statistically significant correlations were found with common assault (−.11), rape (.02), domestic violence (.25), assault with intent to inflict harm (.16), or murder and kidnapping (.09). Low positive statistically significant correlations were, however, found between STS and exposure to cases of indecent assault (r = .28, p < .05) and child molestation (r = .29, p < .05), both indicating definite but small relationships.

Discussion

The results revealed that 61% of the participants were experiencing moderate, high, or severe levels of STS symptoms. In terms of comparisons with existing research studies, it is essential to note that the current study is the first known study to consider STS in PDOs working in the SAPS-FCS unit in South Africa. There is no other existing research to make direct comparisons for this specific group. Nonetheless, several previous studies conducted in different developed countries such as the United States and the United Kingdom used the STSS as an instrument (Bourke & Craun, 2012, 2014; Bride, 2007; Hurrell et al., 2018; MacEachern et al., 2019; Perez et al., 2010; Perron & Hiltz, 2006). The present study found higher levels of STS symptomology among PDOs compared with previous studies conducted in the United Kingdom and the United States. For example, the levels were higher than that reported by MacEachern et al.’s (2019) study of 63 detective officers from Family Protection Units in the United Kingdom, where 27% of those detective officers scored moderate, high, or severe levels of STS. The rates were also higher in comparison to Hurrell et al.’s (2018) study of 101 police officers working in the Child Abuse Investigation Unit in the United Kingdom, which found that 35% of those police officers scored moderate, high, or severe levels of STS on the STSS. The average STSS scores in the present study were also higher than scores reported in previous South African and Kenyan studies (Masson, 2016; Ramatsipele, 2014).

The majority (96%) of the present sample agreed that they had been exposed to traumatised complainants. These findings are consistent with studies that suggested that working with persons who experienced trauma might hurt the service providers’ life and their degree of exposure to different trauma experiences of primary victims has different effects on them (Bride, 2007; Dutton & Rubinstein, 1995; Figley, 2002). In addition, these findings, for instance, are aligned with a recent survey by MacEachern et al. (2019), which revealed that detectives in the United Kingdom considered themselves to be exposed to the trauma of their complainants.

In terms of types of violent crime, the results have shown that most PDOs in the sample had assisted mostly complainants of rape (100%), indecent assault (75%), child molestation (75%), and domestic violence (63%) in the preceding 3-month period. These findings are in line with the current situation in South Africa as violent crimes, such as rape, murder, robbery, and assault, have become more prevalent (Gumani, 2012; SAPS, 2019; Van den Heever, 2013).

These results were further consistent with the SAPS (2019) crime statistics that these types of violent crimes are the highest reported in South Africa and compatible with the Statistics South Africa (2019) crime survey, which found that sexual offences have increased from 50,108 in 2017/2018 to 52,420 in 2018/2019. However, it is worth noting that these results should be interpreted with caution since the reliability of such statistics is dependent upon other factors, including reporting of crime by victims and accurate capturing of criminal offences. Some scholars (Bruce, 2010; Gould et al., 2012) have also questioned the accuracy of the SAPS annual crime statistics.

Regarding the relationship between STS and level of exposure, the current study found mostly no association between the level of exposure to trauma complainants and measures of STS. The findings were consistent with a study conducted by Van Lelyveld (2008), which found that there is no association between the experience of secondary traumatisation (compassion fatigue [CF]/VT) and the amount of caseload per week of the SAPS members. In addition, a study by Perron and Hiltz (2006) on 66 forensic interviewers of abused children found no association between the number of forensic interviews conducted and STS.

There are several reasons to justify these findings. For instance, PDOs are employed by the SAPS to investigate all FCS-related cases, such as sexual offence and domestic violence. They (PDOs) often conduct investigative interviews in different venues such as in the police station’s ‘trauma room’ and Thuthuzela Care Centres. Consequently, those investigative interviews are not always favourable for developing a strong connection with their complainants. According to Perron and Hiltz (2006), most investigative interviews are systematic and time-limited, which minimise the emotional connectedness between the PDO and the complainant. These findings are also supported by Du Preez (1996), who defines investigation of crime as ‘a systematised search for the truth, with the primary purpose of finding a positive solution to the crime with the help of objective and subjective clues’ (p. 1). A study by Jamieson et al. (2017) found that trained police officers responded very quickly to any reported FCS-related cases in the SAPS. However, their dockets revealed a lack of belief in complainants at multiple levels and negative attitudes towards mental health. For instance, in their dockets, some PDOs referred to children with mental illnesses as ‘retarded’, ‘disturbed’ or ‘slow’ and police officers seemed naive and insensitive to the needs of such children.

The current study did, however, find small positive associations between STS and frequency of exposure to indecent assault and child molestation. In terms of exposure to child molestation and STS, the findings align with several studies on law enforcement officers involved in child exploitation cases. For example, Bourke and Craun’s (2014) survey on task force personnel investigating internet crimes against children found that more than 70% of the investigators experienced STS symptoms, with a quarter of them reporting high or severe levels of STS. Likewise, a study conducted by Perez et al. (2010) on law enforcement officers investigating child pornography and abuse found that 18% of the investigators reported STS symptoms that were high with an average score of 36.1 on the STSS. The findings are also consistent with studies in the United Kingdom by MacEachern et al. (2019) and Hurrell et al. (2018), although the prevalence of STS symptoms tended to be higher in the present sample. From the current study, specific types of violent crimes also appear to place PDOs at higher risk to develop more severe levels of STS.

The researchers recognise several limitations of this study. First, the size and geographic containment of the sample to 4 of 21 police clusters in the EC limits generalisability. Second, the study could not measure some pivotal risks and protective factors as these were outside the study aim. These include environmental factors, such as social support and SAPS organisation structures, and personal factors, such as the previous history of trauma, empathy, personality, self-efficacy, and relationships among colleagues and with supervisors, which may have impacted on the development of STS in the PDOs.

Conclusion

The current study is the first known study to investigate the occurrence of STS among PDOs in the SAPS-FCS unit in South Africa. In addition, it is the first study known to document STS using a tool with known validity and reliability, namely the STSS, on PDOs in South Africa.

Despite the study limitations, the present work contributes to research on the occurrence of STS among PDOs in the SAPS-FCS unit. It has revealed that PDOs are regularly exposed to traumatic materials during the execution of their work. It also expanded knowledge in the traumatology sub-field of psychology. It further serves as an exploratory study that has indicated some merit for investigating STS and exposure to traumatised complainants among PDOs. Thus, further investigations into the specific manifestations of trauma in PDOs will allow clinicians to focus interventions on the unique needs of these clients. This research can be used as a platform for the development of various interventions with police officials exposed to or affected indirectly by trauma. Future research should investigate other pivotal risk and protective factors that may influence the development of STS in FCS PDOs.

Footnotes

Declaration of conflicting interests

The authors declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.

Funding

The authors disclosed receipt of the following financial support for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article: This study was supported by National Research Foundation of South Africa (Unique Grant No. 111588).

ORCID iD

Johan Herman Cronje

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