Law enforcement personnel: systematic review of the impact of prevention programs following exposure to work-related trauma

Purpose Law enforcement personnel are often exposed to critical incidents and are at risk of post-traumatic psychopathologies. The purpose of this systematic review is to synthesize and evaluate recent empirical research about primary and secondary prevention strategies designed to reduce the risk of law enforcement officers developing post-traumatic disorders. Design/methodology/approach The study used a systematic review approach guided by the Institute of Medicine’s Standards for Systematic Reviews and Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses. Findings In total, 13 articles were deemed relevant to the question of evidence for prevention programs intended to reduce the development of post-traumatic psychopathologies in law enforcement officers. Our review found these indicated a lack of evidence for the efficacy of prevention programs. Seven of the articles included in this review focused on Critical Incident Stress Debriefing (CISD), providing no evidence to support CISD as a secondary prevention strategy for law enforcement officers. The remaining six studies focused on diverse prevention approaches including resilience training, imagery and psychosocial support, with limited evidence available. Originality/value Interestingly, despite a plethora of literature in this area, our review indicates a lack of high-quality studies investigating effective prevention approaches for law enforcement personnel. Given the potentially significant impact of post-traumatic stress disorder and other conditions associated with work-related trauma for law enforcement organizations, there is a clear need to undertake high-quality research into preventative measures in this area.