PR 278: NEW RESEARCH HIGHLIGHTS CONCERNS ABOUT POST TRAUMATIC STRESS AMONGST PRISON OFFICERS

“Urgent action is required to support Prison Officers who have an increased vulnerability to Post Traumatic Stress” a Union Leader has said, following the publication of a new report. 

Recent statistics from the Prison Reform Trust Bromley Briefings show how prison safety has declined significantly over the last decade, with self-harm rates remaining at historically high levels and violence against both staff and prisoners continuing to rise.

The report published by Trainee Forensic Psychologist Laura Wright and supervised by Dr Michael Lewis ‘suggests that prison officers face increased vulnerability of being exposed to critical incidents that may contribute to developing symptoms of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder’.

Researchers were motivated to undertake their study by a lack of published research exploring the current prevalence of PTSD among UK Prison Officers.

The study set out to identify risk and protective factors contributing to the development of PTSD symptoms in Prison Officers who have experienced critical incidents in the course of their work and explored the influence of different factors, such as workplace environment, access to support systems, self-esteem and resilience.

The research findings are based on one to one interviews, and a survey of over 400 Prison Officers. 

The results show that 51.7% of the sample met the criteria for clinically significant symptoms of PTSD, based on their self-report.

There were no significant differences in PTSD symptom scores based on demographic factors such as gender, ethnicity, staff grade, prison category, or assignment location. This suggests that traumatic stress can affect any staff member regardless of their background or work location. This highlights the need for support to be available to all employees, rather than just those in ‘high risk’ roles.

Many Prison Officers who took part in the research described frequent exposure to extreme situations, including severe self-harm, suicide, extreme violence, and other life-threatening scenarios. Some felt unprepared by their initial training for handling complex mental health and medical emergencies, and that they lacked the knowledge and skills needed for the unpredictable and extreme situations they have to deal with.

Officers reported experiences of symptoms consistent with PTSD, including flashbacks, nightmares, avoidance, negative changes to their thoughts and mood, heightened anxiety, and hypervigilance and recalled how traumatic incidents continued to affect them long after the event, including experiencing changes to their working behaviours and impacting on personal relationships. 

Others described a sense of emotional numbness or detachment as a coping mechanism, needing to suppress emotions to be able to function in their work and said they relied on dark humour and camaraderie with colleagues to manage stress and normalise their experiences. 

While support services like Trauma Risk Management (TRiM) are provided by His Majesty’s Prison and Probation Service, some officers reported inconsistent access to them and were sceptical of their effectiveness believing them to be a ‘tick box exercise’ rather than a genuine effort to address their needs. 

Responding to the report, Steve Gillan, General Secretary of the Prison Officers’ Association said:

“This is a very important piece of research. It shows how urgent action is required to support Prison Officers who are at risk of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. 

“Prison safety has declined significantly over the last decade, with self-harm rates remaining at historically high levels and violence against both staff and prisoners continuing to rise.”

“Every day POA members work in this environment; they are vulnerable to developing PTSD following exposure to deeply traumatic situations.” 

This report has made a series of recommendations that we believe should be implemented urgently by HMPPS.”

The recommendations of this report, if implemented, would raise awareness of PTSD, greatly improve support for those affected, increase the accountability of managers and leaders in positions of responsibility and evaluate existing services to see if they are fit for purpose.  

Together these actions could make a very significant difference to the everyday experience of the Prison Officers and significantly help their mental health and well being.

Laura Wright, lead researcher added: 

“Through this research we have found valuable insights into the prevalence, risk and protective factors associated with the risk of developing post-traumatic stress among UK prison officers, an area that has previously been under-researched. This underlines the importance of further research to continue to explore the challenges faced by this staff group and ensure we are offering effective interventions.” 

 

ENDS

 

For further information, contact:

POA Press Office                                                020 8803 0255 Option 7

 

 

 

ENCLOSURE

Attachments

• CriticalIncidentsPTSresearchApr25.pdf

  0.34 Mb, pdf