“I’ve Seen More Dead People than I thought I Would”: Vicarious Trauma Exposure among Police Support Personnel

• Author: Laura Huey,Mark Norman,Rosemary Ricciardelli,Dale C. Spencer
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.1177/00938548221143533
• Published date: 01 April 2023
• Date: 01 April 2023
• Subject Matter: Articles

CRIMINAL JUSTICE AND BEHAVIOR, 2023, Vol. 50, No. 4, April 2023, 541 –558.

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177/00938548221143533

Article reuse guidelines: sagepub.com/journals-permissions

© 2023 International Association for Correctional and Forensic Psychology

541

“I’VE SEEN MORE DEAD PEOPLE THAN I

THOUGHT I WOULD”

Vicarious Trauma Exposure Among Police Support

Personnel

LAURA HUEY

University of Western Ontario

MARK NORMAN

McMaster University

ROSEMARY RICCIARDELLI

Memorial University of Newfoundland and Labrador

DALE C. SPENCER

Carleton University

Civilian administrative assistants who work for the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, known as Detachment Services Assistants

(DSAs), are frequently exposed to materials and/or experiences that are potentially psychologically traumatic. Drawing from 49

semi-structured interviews with DSAs, we analyze how these civilian personnel experience exposure to potentially psychologi-

cally traumatic events, most notably, vicarious trauma. Specifically, we overview the types of exposure to potentially psycho-

logically traumatic events and materials experienced by DSAs, including the impact of incidents involving children, and the

occupational duties through which these exposures occur; we unpack the nuances and variability in DSAs’ occupational work,

which informs such exposures; and we draw from DSAs’ experiences to offer recommendations for ameliorating the mental

health toll of civilian police work. The study adds to the limited academic literature on the occupational and mental health

experiences of civilian personnel, who serve a vital, but underrecognized, role in supporting police operations.

Keywords: civilian police personnel; police; vicarious trauma

Long recognized by stakeholders, government, employers, academics, and employees

alike, public safety personnel are exposed to potentially psychologically traumatic

events (PPTEs) and these exposures affect their mental health and well-being (Oliphant,

AUTHORS’ NOTE: Correspondence concerning this article should be addressed to Rosemary Ricciardelli,

School of Maritime Studies, Memorial University of Newfoundland and Labrador, 155 Ridge Road, St. John’s,

Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada A1C 5R3; e-mail: rricciardell@mun.ca.

*Mark Norman is is also affiliated to Memorial University of Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada.

1143533CJBXXX10.1177/00938548221143533Criminal Justice and BehaviorHuey et al. / Vicarious Trauma and Police Support Personnel

research-article2023

542 CRIMINAL JUSTICE AND BEHAVIOR

2016). Within police services, attention has often been directed toward uniformed officers,

with limited consideration for the experiences of nonuniformed or civilian personnel who

are likely to experience PPTEs, particularly through vicarious exposures. In the current

article, we address this gap by examining the occupational experiences of a subset of civil-

ian personnel working with the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP): Detachment

Services Assistants (DSAs), who perform a variety of administrative and public-facing

tasks in support of the RCMP’s operational goals. To do so, we draw on semi-structured

interviews with 49 DSAs across Canada to understand how they experience PPTE, specifi-

cally vicarious trauma, and to unpack the nuances and variability in their occupational

work, which informs such exposures. Following a contextualization of the DSA role and a

review of relevant literatures, our “Results” section explicates the types of exposure to

PPTE experienced by DSAs, including the impact of incidents involving children and

youth, and the occupational duties through which these exposures occur. We conclude with

recommendations for improving the organizational response to DSAs’ exposure to PPTE

and materials—a necessary and timely step, given the increasingly vital role that civilian

personnel serve in supporting police operations. Our study thus makes novel contributions

to the literatures on the exposure to and impact of vicarious trauma in police work, particu-

larly for civilian personnel whose occupational realities often receive less scholarly atten-

tion than sworn officers.

CONTEXT

The RCMP is Canada’s federal law enforcement agency and also provides contract polic-

ing in all but two provinces and territories, including in many rural/remote regions of the

country (RCMP, 2018). The RCMP have two categories of civilian employee: civilian

members and public servants (RCMP, 2021b), the latter of which includes DSAs. As of

April, 2021, there were 3,087 civilian members and 8,307 public servants working for the

RCMP, representing a combined 37.3% of employees in the organization (RCMP, 2021a).

Whereas civilian members are hired through the RCMP Act for specialized roles, such as

information technology or forensics, public servants are hired through the RCMP Civilian

Public Service Employment Act in primarily administrative roles (RCMP, 2021b). As public

servants, DSAs work in one of the over 700 RCMP detachments or offices across Canada,

providing administrative and, in some instances, operational support to RCMP members.

DSAs are represented by the Union of Safety and Justice Employees (USJE), giving them

supports and protections that may not be available to civilian personnel in other police

services.

As described by participants, DSA duties can vary depending on the specific needs of

their detachment. In some small or remote detachments, there may be only one or two DSAs

fulfilling administrative duties, forcing them to be a “jack of all trades” and perform a wide

variety of job tasks. In contrast, larger detachments or specialized RCMP units (e.g., Major

Crimes) may have a team of administrative personnel in which DSAs work more consistent

and specialized roles. Common duties described by DSAs included working at the front

desk and answering the detachment telephone line, thus being the first point of contact with

members of the public; reviewing case files and entering data into the Canadian Police

Information Centre database; performing criminal record checks for members of the public;

and relaying information to members who are on a call for service. Although DSAs do not