Officer's Perceptions of Counseling Following an Officer Involved Shooting
Date
2018-08
Authors
Polk, Taylor D.
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Abstract
To evaluate the effectiveness of counseling received after an officer involved shooting, officers were administered three rounds of questionnaires using The Delphi Method in order to build a consensus about which treatment modalities are most effective and which are not. Results showed that all officers received some form of counseling, whether it be sessions with a psychologist, Critical Incident Stress Management debriefings, or more informal methods. Critical Incident Stress Management debriefing was among the most beneficial method of counseling received by the officers and was recommended for future officers by the participants. Administrative leave was reported to be the least beneficial aspect by respondents. The policies and procedures in place at police departments on handling a critical incident lack a tailored process to reflect what the individual officer needs to recover from the traumatic incident. This research gave an in depth look at what the officer experience and how a post-shooting intervention can be improved.
Description
Keywords
Officer involved shooting, Counseling, PTSD, Post shooting, CISM, Critical incident
Citation
Polk, T. D. (2018). <i>Officer's perceptions of counseling following an officer involved shooting</i> (Unpublished thesis). Texas State University, San Marcos, Texas.