An Exploration of the Personal Experiences of Forensic Scene Investigators’ Daily Work: An Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis

Abstract

Police officers are significantly more likely than other emergency workers to experience mental health issues (MIND (2015) Blue Light Scoping Survey. https://www.mind.org.uk/media-a/4857/scoping-survey.pdf) and significantly more likely than the general population to develop post-traumatic stress disorder (Bell and Eski, Policing 10:95–101, 2015). More specifically, forensic scene investigators (FSIs; also known as crime scene investigators) are a sub-group of police officers who are exposed to distressing material as part of gathering forensic evidence from crime scenes. Recent studies have suggested that FSIs are at risk of high levels of stress and trauma responses (Clark RD, Distelrath C, Vaquera GS, Winterich D, DeZolt E (2015) Critical-incident trauma and crime scene investigation: a review of police organizational challenges and interventions. J Forens Identification 65(6):929–951. https://collected.jcu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1033&context=soc-facpub) and (Mrevlje, Rorschachiana 39:1–19, 2018). Despite this, research into the personal experiences of FSIs is sparse. The present study therefore specifically explored the lived experiences of FSIs and their daily work using Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA). Seven FSIs from a specialist unit within a UK police force took part in semi-structured interviews. Two superordinate themes were identified: (i) The psychological impact of being an FSI is high and requires personal sacrifice and (ii) The organisation does not care about reducing our stress—it increases it. All participants talked about the psychological impact of working as an FSI and the need to emotionally detach to be able to function/work in the role. Findings are discussed in relation to theoretical and practical implications, as well as directions for future research.