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No burnout at this coal-face: managing occupational stress in forensic personnel and the implications for forensic and criminal justice agencies
journal contribution
posted on 2023-05-18, 19:35 authored by Sally Kelty, Heidi GordonThe Australian and New Zealand Association of Psychiatry, Psychology and Law Working as a police officer, psychiatric intern, crime scene expert or forensic physician can be stressful and these occupations have high burnout rates. Almost 20% of police officers and other justice-related emergency management personnel develop heightened occupational stress. In some Australian law-enforcement agencies, attrition rates of close to 50% over 3Â years have been reported for forensic practitioners and crime scene examiners (CSEs). Included in these rates are a large number of CSEs who report long-term psychological injury due to their exposure to serious crime scenes. We interviewed 19 CSEs designated by their workplaces as performing at a high level to determine how they manage this stressful occupational. The CSEs were aware of the potential stress of their occupation and actively engaged in self stress-management strategies. In this article, we overview the results with attention given to why forensic organizations should invest in promoting stress-management strategies in their employees.
History
Publication title
Psychiatry, Psychology and LawVolume
22Pagination
273-290ISSN
1321-8719Department/School
School of Social SciencesPublisher
RoutledgePlace of publication
United KingdomRights statement
Copyright 2014 The Australian and New Zealand Association of Psychiatry, Psychology and LawRepository Status
- Restricted