Contamination of cop: Secondary Traumatic Stress of Officers Responding to Civilian Suicides (In: Suicide and Law Enforcement, edited by D C Sheehan & J I Warren)

Because police response to civilian suicide is uncharted territory for the field of mental health, the authors drew from 3 well-researched areas to develop a model: secondary traumatic stress, critical incidents in law enforcement, & suicide in the helping professions. A questionnaire was completed by 103 sworn personnel & 3 modes of assessment determined patterns of responses. Results indicate that in the aftermath of civilian suicide, many officers experience an adverse stress response approximating secondary traumatic stress. Furthermore, an additive effect of multiple suicide calls exists. Reexperiencing the event & anger were the most common symptoms while humour & social support were the most common coping strategies. JA}