The Echoes of Violence in the Police Family
by
Beverly J. Anderson, PH.D., B.E.C.T.S.
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"The credit goes to the person who's actually in the arena; whose face is marred with the dirt, sweat and blood; who knows great enthusiasm and joys. Who spends himself in a worthy cause,
and whose place shall never be with those timid souls
who knew never victory nor defeat."
Teddy Roosevelt

With the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, the bombing of Pearl Harbor was no longer the deadliest day in American history. Over 3000 innocent people lost their lives. The world watched in horror as the twin towers collapsed entombing hundreds of police and firefighters who had rushed into harm's way to rescue the victims. These "first responders" would soon emerge as the real American heroes. The selfless acts of bravery witnessed by a stunned nation was not a new phenomenon. These unsung heroes who have been virtually unnoticed have captured the hearts of Americans if only for a brief moment. Unfortunately, the public's interest in the effects of traumatic exposure has waxed and waned throughout history. It seems to peak immediately following catastrophes like those of September 11th. Nevertheless, it is with this recent tragedy in mind, that the effects of traumatic exposure among law enforcement officers will be examined within the context of their twenty-plus years of public service.

There are over three-quarters of a million police officers in the United States today. Law enforcement is a highly stressful job where one continually faces the effects of murders, violent assaults, accidents and serious personal injury. Over 70,000 officers are assaulted each year on the job - more than 200 officers per day. (These are "reported" assaults to the Department of Justice. Many, if not most, actual assaults against police officers go "unreported.")

Unlike any other occupation, police officers are expected to die for the community they serve. It's an occupational hazard. They are expected to risk their lives every day to protect the citizens who, most often, do not appreciate them. Assaults against police officers are often not prosecuted even though a similar offense against a citizen would almost certainly result in an arrest and prosecution. Law enforcement, the media, and the public foster the myth that police officers can experience trauma and violence without suffering any ill effects. In fact, research has shown that when stressors are prolonged and overwhelming, individuals lose their ability to cope.

The traumatization of this profession uniquely and profoundly impacts not only the officers themselves, but their families as well. "Police Trauma Syndrome" (PTS) is a major public health problem among police officers worldwide. The symptoms of this syndrome can develop over time or acutely after a single catastrophic event.

The results can be seen physically, emotionally, mentally and behaviorally. The statistics are alarming: high divorce rates, suicide, domestic violence, heart attacks, stroke, cancer, depression, alcoholism and morale problems. All police veterans suffer in varying degrees from the syndrome. However, with education, intervention and support, the devastating effects of police trauma syndrome can be mitigated.

Law enforcement organizations and the therapeutic community should be aware of the complex type of posttraumatic stress reactions that occur consistently after prolonged, repeated exposure to violent assaults, murders, rapes, child abuse, natural and manmade disasters as well as on-going personal physical assaults.

The current definition of PTSD (posttraumatic stress disorder) is directed primarily to survivors of relatively circumscribed traumatic events such as combat, disasters or rape. This diagnostic category fails to encapsulate the symptoms manifested as a result of prolonged, repeated trauma in an occupation that refuses to validate that these events are catastrophic for those who are exposed to them. Hence, we devised the term, "Police Trauma Syndrome" to describe the condition that afflicts countless law enforcement officers as a direct result of their jobs.

In 1984, the Fraternal Order of Police Labor Committee representing police officers of the Metropolitan Police Department in Washington, D.C. began to address an alarming problem within the police department--- serious problems with overly aggressive police officers. The Labor committee's legal bills were escalating due to recurring problems of officers who were repeatedly in trouble for "overreacting." Paradoxically, these same officers had been productive and responsible but were now experiencing serious symptoms of stress and burnout. Simply providing legal representation for the officers was not addressing the root cause of the problem.

Apparently, the Union's dilemma was substantiated by the 432 police brutality suits brought against the District for the years 1984, 1985 and 1986. The District government was forced to pay out $5.4 million dollars for these suits against the police department. Similar problems existed in other urban areas in the 1980's. In the Los Angeles Police Department, applications for disability pensions increased by 82%. Sixty-three percent (63%) of disability claims were stress-related.

In November of 1988, under Article 45 of the collective bargaining agreement between the District of Columbia Government and the F.O.P. Labor Committee, a jointly sponsored Union/Management Program was instituted. The only program of its kind, the Metropolitan Police Employee Assistance Program was chosen as a model for all law enforcement agencies in 1991 by the United States House of Representatives Select Committee on Children, Youth and Families in the hearing "On the Front Lines - Police Stress and Family Well Being."

This unique, comprehensive psychological services program has provided counseling and critical incident debriefing for over 5,000 police officers and their families. It has provided training to over 10,000 officers, supervisors, recruits and family members. It has provided post-shooting debriefing to over 800 police officers who have used their weapons in the line of duty.

More than ever, the increase in violence in our society echoes throughout the law enforcement community with more use of "deadly force" and unprovoked assaults against police officers. Unlike combat veterans, who are often compared to the police, the traumatic experiences suffered by police officers are encountered day after day over a period of twenty-plus years. The traumas do not take place in foreign lands far away from family and home. In fact, police officers work in or adjacent to the neighborhoods where they live.

Each officer represents an investment of thousands of tax dollars. The effects of stress and trauma exact a high toll in lost dollars and inferior services rendered to the department and to the community. Let us now examine how trauma plays a role in the police experience.

"Nothing fixes a thing so in memory as the wish to forget it."
~Montaigne

The word "trauma" is derived from a Greek word, which means "to wound" or "to pierce." It is most often used to describe any sudden physical injury. The intensity or violence of the wound is such that the consequences are long-lasting. Just as the body can sustain a physical trauma that can devastate its defenses, so too, can psychological trauma overwhelm one's normal coping mechanisms. Long term exposure to traumatic events or "critical incidents" can and do have a negative impact upon police officers and their families. While the human response to trauma is consistent among all people, the job of policing separates law enforcement officers from the rest of society.

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