Abstract
Individuals who come into touch with victims of tragic events, whether the victims are alive or dead, experience varied degrees of Secondary Traumatic Stress (STS) when attempting to assist or examine their suffering. The vast majority of persons affected by STS are first responders, such as police officers, medical staff, therapists, other social workers, fire fighters, and rescue personnel. Among these categories of first responders, police officers are the first and most experienced in responding to any form of crime victims. According to a substantial amount of criminal justice research, police personnel are susceptible to STS, especially while investigating horrific crimes and major catastrophes. Ethical Injury (EI) is another difficulty realised by the police officers when things go against their own moral values and professional ethics. In this context, an empirical study was conducted with 110 police practitioners who were chosen using multistage random sampling method in Jaipur police-range, Rajasthan. The major objectives of the study were i) To identify the relationship between STS and EI among police practitioners, ii) To understand the relationship between the STS level and Resilience level. The data collected through structured interview schedules were analysed using Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS). Results revealed that, 2/3rd of the police practitioners suffered due to STS due to investigating violent crimes. A low positive correlation (r=.271, ρ<.01) between STS and EI was found. A moderate-level of negative correlation (r=-.476, ρ<.01) was found between the level of STS and Resilience level among police officers at 0.01 significant level.
Keywords: Ethical Injury (EI), Police professionals, Psychological Health, Resilience, Secondary Traumatic Stress (STS).