Revista de Psicologia Forense

Abstrato

The Role of Police Training on Mental Health Stigma

Lauren Smallwood*, Barbara Kingsley

Previous research conducted within the United States and Australia (Mclean and Marshall), provides insight into how officers feel about their expanding role in mental health; it was concluded that officers were likely to gain increased knowledge of mental illness from personal experience and on-the-job training, as opposed to police courses. The present study examines how police training, in the Thames Valley area, affects the stigma surrounding mental illness. Five retired police officers were recruited, three male and two females, aged between 52 to 56 years. Five semistructured, one-to-one interviews enabled data collection. The interviews were audio recorded, transcribed and analysed using inductive thematic analysis with open coding: Utilising Braun and Clarke (2006) as a guide. Four themes emerged from the data: Awareness of mental illness, experience of dealing with those with mental health issues, views of police mental health training, and perceptions of mental health. The findings support the work of Mclean and Marshall, suggesting that instead of police training, on-the-job experience and an increasingly accommodating societal attitude, increased the officers’ knowledge and compassion, possibly curtailing the stigma of mental illness. Unexpected findings suggest that stigma continues to surround officers with mental illness, which appears to warrant further research.