Testifying after an Investigation: Shaping the Mental Health of Public Safety Personnel

Rosemary Ricciardelli (), R. Nicholas Carleton, Barbara Anschuetz, Sylvio Gravel and Brad McKay
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Rosemary Ricciardelli: Fisheries and Marine Institute, Memorial University of Newfoundland, St. John’s, NL A1C 5S7, Canada
R. Nicholas Carleton: Psychology Department, University of Regina, Regina, SK S4S 0A2, Canada
Barbara Anschuetz: The Trauma Centre, Cape Town 7925, South Africa
Sylvio Gravel: Badge of Life Canada, Orillia, ON L3V 5X6, Canada
Brad McKay: Badge of Life Canada, Orillia, ON L3V 5X6, Canada

IJERPH, 2022, vol. 19, issue 20, 1-8

Abstract: In this editorial, we draw on two Canadian cases to interrogate how mass causality events and investigations consume many responders before (e.g., public safety communicators, detachment service assistants), during (e.g., police, fire, paramedics), and after the incident (e.g., coroners, correctional workers, media coverage). Their well-being may suffer from the associated processes and outcomes. In the current article, we focus on the mass causality incident of 2020 in Nova Scotia, Canada, and the investigation following a prisoner death in 2019 in Newfoundland, Canada, to explore how testifying post-incident can be made more palatable for participating public safety personnel (PSP). Specifically, we study how testifying after an adverse event can affect PSP (e.g., recalling, vicarious trauma, triggers) and how best to mitigate the impact of testimony on PSP well-being, with a lens to psychological “recovery” or wellness. We focus here on how to support those who may have to testify in a judicial proceeding or official inquiry, given being investigated for best-intended actions can result in moral injury or a posttraumatic stress injury, both exacerbated by judicial review, charge, accusation, or inquiry.

Keywords: potentially psychologically traumatic event; public safety personnel; testifying; investigation (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
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