Psychological Debriefing in Police Organisations

• NCJ Number: 206709
• Author(s): Michelle Tuckey
• Date Published: 2004
• Length: 32 pages
• Sale Source: Australasian Centre for Policing Research
• Publication Format: Book (Softbound)
• Publication Type: Program/Project Description
• Language: English
• Country: Australia
• Note: A critical issues in policing paper No. 10

Annotation

This paper reviews the technique of psychological debriefing in Australian law enforcement and the factors that must be considered when evaluating the effectiveness of psychological debriefing and the implications for police organizations.

Abstract

Operational policing means that police officers face the constant risk of exposure to stressful events. The way in which police organizations support officers exposed to stressful events is extremely important. Police organizations must provide services of the highest standard in response to potentially traumatic incidents, enabling officers the ability to cope with the ongoing demands of operational policing. Psychological debriefing is a technique that has been used for several years to minimize the negative effects of potentially stressful events on police officers, and defined as a single-session, semi-structured crisis intervention technique. It is usually applied shortly after a traumatic event in order to prevent post-traumatic reactions. However, the effectiveness of psychological debriefing is currently the subject of debate thereby raising a number of concerns about the quality of the service provided by police organizations using psychological debriefing. Underlying the debate are a number of conceptual confusions and methodological issues that have made it difficult for experts to agree on the value of debriefing. This paper examines the key issues in the debriefing debate, specifically the range of factors that must be taken into consideration when evaluating the effectiveness of psychological debriefing and the associated implications for police organizations. Issues that must be taken into consideration are the confusion and inconsistency regarding use of the term psychological debriefing; the number of issues associated with studying the effectiveness of group psychological debriefing for emergency personnel that make it difficult to conduct research; and the range of methodological limitations present in the research evaluating the effectiveness of psychological debriefing. The discussion of these issues is organized within the following broad areas: (1) terminology; (2) difficulties in evaluating debriefing; (3) negative outcome studies; (4) positive outcome studies; and (5) responsibilities and considerations of police organizations. References