Traumatic Stress of Multiple Murder Investigations

Details

• Personal Author:
  Hurrell, Joseph J. Jr. ; Sewell JD
• Description:
  The phenomenon of serial, spree, and mass murders has become pronounced and publicized ln the United States within the last few decades. With the response to and investigation of such crimes come significant and unique stress to law enforcement personnel. The violence and dehumanization often associated with these crimes, both in terms of magnitude and multitude, exceed preparation given the typical responding law enforcement officer or even a well-prepared and experienced homicide investigator. Such visual and emotional stress is magnified by organizational stressors, including administrative pressure to solve the crime and conflicts within an officer's role and responsibility, and event stressors, especially those relating to an inability to bring closure to the crime. The impact of such unique traumatic stress has been subjected to little analysis and, more especially, empirical research. Utilizing a theoretical framework developed for training violent crime investigators and drawing from the experiences of Special Agents within the Florida Department of Law Enforcement assigned to a major multiple murder investigation, this presentation will attempt to empirically analyze the perceived trauma associated with multiple murders. With the understanding offered through such research, agencies can better respond to the needs of their personnel. Successful management of this unique type of law enforcement stress requires a strong organizational commitment, specific management programs involving training and critical incident debriefing, and community support. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Law Enforcement Mental Health Nervous System Occupational Health Safety Stress, Psychological Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic Violence
• Keywords:
  Job Stress Law Enforcement Law Enforcement Workers Mental Health Psychological Effects Psychological Stress Traumatic Incident Stress
• Publisher:
  American Psychological Association
• Document Type:
  Text
• Genre:
  Abstract or Summary
• Place as Subject:
  District of Columbia ; Florida ; Ohio ; OSHA Region 3 ; OSHA Region 4 ; OSHA Region 5
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Division:
  DBBS - Division of Biomedical and Behavioral Sciences
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20059021
• Citation:
  Stress in the 90's: a Changing Workforce in a Changing Workplace, November 20-22, 1992, Washington, D.C. Washington, DC: American Psychological Association, 1992 Nov; :309
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  1993
• Peer Reviewed:
  False
• Source Full Name:
  Stress in the 90's: a Changing Workforce in a Changing Workplace, November 20-22, 1992, Washington, D.C.
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:e0cb06a262f0086094b170dd5c2e31364890b32f00242cc5c2a2323e7b68feefd5b4a2013e323ef34ff58b47eb8e39e13446600ea06f783cc0919abfebbc2e30
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/223355/cdc_223355_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 1.51 MB ]