Incorporating mental health literacy and trauma-informed law enforcement: A participative survey on police officers' attitudes and knowledge concerning mental disorders, traumatization, and trauma sensitivity.

OBJECTIVE

The main goal of this study was to investigate how persons with symptoms of traumatization and other mental disorders influence daily policing work.

METHOD

In total, 2,228 German police officers filled out a questionnaire (28.2% female, 71.8% male). The data were assessed using Mann-Whitney U and chi-square tests.

RESULTS

The results show that 14.3% of the individuals police officers encountered in their daily work had been traumatized, according to police officer observations. With respect to mental health literacy, depression was the best-known disorder (M = 13.46) among police officers, and anxiety was the least known disorder (M = 10.88). According to police officers' responses, 75.5% of the persons thought to be suffering from mental health disorders or traumatization did not file a complaint because interrogation, investigations, or legal proceedings were perceived as too stressful. More than half of the participating police officers (50.4%) recommended the expansion of specialized training programs for law enforcement personnel, and more than one third recommended an increase in collaboration with professionals (39.1%), such as psychiatrists and psychologists.

CONCLUSION

Law enforcement officers often have contact with persons who show symptoms of traumatization or other mental disorders. Their general knowledge about mental disorders and regarding traumatization in particular is in need of expansion. The additional strain caused by legal proceedings prevents reporting of criminal incidents to the police from the respondents' viewpoint. This impediment to law enforcement needs to be addressed. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved).