Abstract:
Occupational stress is rampant across various professions. The process of
murder case investigation culminates in a plethora of challenges, including mental
health concerns among murder detectives, which can trigger occupational stress.
Stress reduces productivity and is detrimental to a worker’s health and well-being.
This study explored trauma contributing to occupational stress among murder
detectives in the South African Police Service. The study adopted a case study
design and a qualitative approach within the constructivist paradigm. To generate
rich and thick data, participants were purposively selected. Data were collected
using in-depth interviews with eight (n = 8) murder detectives and two (n = 2)
employees from the SAPS’ Employee, Health, and Well-being Services (EHWS)
department. Data were analysed using thematic analysis. The sources of stress
identified were attributed to the nature of police work, namely long work hours and
exposure to traumatic crime scenes. Murder cases involving children and women
were among the most emotionally challenging sources of stress. Further, most
detectives reported resorting to defensive mechanisms in dealing with trauma.
Although most detectives knew EHWS, high workloads were reported to be an insurmountable challenge. The findings have important implications for intervention programmes to improve the mental health and well-being of SAPS murder detectives.
