“Brutal murder scenes are traumatising, and they’re mostly indelible” : occupational stressors and mental health among South African police service murder detectives at a selected station in Durban, South Africa

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.