Trauma and Resilience in Contemporary Australian Policing

This book examines how fifty police officers in South Australia keep well and “bounce back” from duty-related traumatic experience in the absence of practical, accessible and timely organisational support. It investigates mechanisms police officers presently use to “normalise” their duty-related traumatic experiences to preserve the delicate professional balance between “coping” and “psychic numbing” and avoid the much publicised perils of a PTSD diagnosis, while being appropriately responsive to colleagues, victims and survivors in their daily work environment.

By revealing how police officers manage trauma—outside of the expectations of mental health professionals, union representatives and police leadership—innovative approaches and recommendations are offered to support first responders in moving from assumptions of post-traumatic stress and through post-traumatic growth. The book considers recent advances in post-traumatic growth and resilience theory and reinterprets exposure in a positive context, as well as preventative experiences in Australia and internationally.

• Trauma in Policing
• Resilience and a Long Policing Career
• Police Executive Management as a Primary Stressor
• Staying well as a Police Officer
• Women in Policing
• Suicide in Police Organisations
• Death Exposure and Trauma in Policing
• Are Debriefs Useful to Police?
• Alcohol and Shift Work
• Sustaining Sleep and Police Shifts
• Resilience among South Australian Police
• changing police management
• Suicide in Policing
• PTSD and Policing
• Posttraumatic Growth and a Long Police Career

• Chandlers Hill, Australia

  Andrew Paterson

Andrew Paterson began his social work career in 1974 and spent most of it working in the justice system in South Australia. He began as Community Welfare Worker in the Adelaide Office of the state welfare department working with young offenders. In 1975, he became Founding Supervisor of the Crisis Care Unit, working directly with SA police patrols in early domestic violence programmes, siege negotiation and Police Academy training.

After six years in that role, during which the unit was replicated in several other Australian states, Andrew managed district centres for state welfare and in 1989 was seconded into the victims of crime service, a fledgling NGO as its first professional Executive Director. In this role, he raised profile of victims of crime, while carrying a case load of homicide victim’s families and armed robbery victims. He was instrumental in the creation of victim’s services in South Australia police and trained recruits at the Police Academy and offered in service training to officers in domestic violence and victim support.

 In 1995, Andrew was appointed General Manager of Mobilong Medium Security Prison and set about changing the culture and approaches to rehabilitation and management in the institution.

In 1997, he established Empower Justice Services, a consultancy focused on crime prevention, restorative justice, victim support, debriefing and training and worked with SAPOL on criminal intelligence around crime reduction strategies.  During this period, he sat on a UN Institute Board, The International Centre for the Prevention of Crime, based in Montreal, Canada.

Dr. Paterson has worked at Flinders since 2010, supervising social work masters students on placement during which time he established many justice-oriented placements including SAPOL, Corrections and the Court System. He teaches topics focusing on professional ethics, critical thinking and social work in a justice context.

In 2015, he commenced Ph.D. studies into resilience and policing, interviewing fifty officers and six psychiatrists and psychologists who treat and assess police members.  This thesis was passed in July 2018, and the degree was conferred in September of that year.