Police officers, mental (ill-)health and spoiled identity
| Published date | 01 April 2018 |
| Author | Karen Bullock,Jon Garland |
| Date | 01 April 2018 |
| DOI | 10.1177/1748895817695856 |
| Subject Matter | Articles |
https://doi.org/10.1177/1748895817695856
Criminology & Criminal Justice
2018, Vol. 18(2) 173 –189
© The Author(s) 2017
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DOI: 10.1177/1748895817695856
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Police officers, mental (ill-)
health and spoiled identity
Karen Bullock
University of Surrey, UK
Jon Garland
University of Surrey, UK
Abstract
This article considers the processes through which some police officers with mental ill-health
experience stigmatization in police organizations. Situated in the sociological framework of
Goffman and in modified labelling theory, it draws on the findings of a qualitative study and
examines the sources of stigma embedded in police work, the consequences of stigma for the
labelled officer, the nature of any resistance to the application of the label and approaches to
challenging stigma within the policing context. It suggests that in order to tackle these negative
attitudes constabularies must do more to address the processes of stigmatization associated with
mental ill-health at the individual and institutional levels.
Keywords
labelling, mental health, police occupational cultures, police officers, stigma
Introduction
Research has documented the strains evident in day-to-day police work – some of which
result from exposure to the episodic trauma and critical incidents which are characteristic of
the police role and some of which emit from the bureaucratic attributes of the organization
– which can undermine the psychological well-being of officers (see, for example, Abdollahi,
2002; Brown et al., 1996; Gershon et al., 2009; Hart et al., 1995; Randall and Buys, 2013;
Stinchcomb, 2004; Toch, 2002; Zhao and Lovrich, 2002). Studies have shown that police
officers experience high rates of depression, suicide and post-traumatic reactions compared
Corresponding author:
Karen Bullock, Department of Sociology, University of Surrey, Guildford, GU2 7XH, UK.
Email: k.bullock@surrey.ac.uk
695856CRJ0010.1177/1748895817695856Criminology & Criminal JusticeBullock and Garland
research-article2017
Article
174 Criminology & Criminal Justice 18(2)
with the general population (Royal, 2014) and with other emergency service personnel
(Basinska and Wiciak, 2012). However, police officers are known to be resistant to help-
seeking in the event of experiencing mental ill-health (Evans et al., 1993; Karaffa and Koch,
2016; Royal, 2014; Toch, 2002; Wilson et al., 2016) – something which may come to nega-
tively impact on many areas of an officer’s life including their work performance, relation-
ships and physical health (Abdollahi, 2002; Brown et al., 1996; Gershon et al., 2009; Hart
et al., 1995; Randall and Buys, 2013; Stinchcomb, 2004; Zhao and Lovrich, 2002). The
stigma attached to mental illness is often stated as a reason why officers do not seek the sup-
port that they may need.
Matters to do with the mental (ill-)health of police officers have risen up the political
agenda in many western liberal democracies. However, little research has documented
police officers’ attitudes towards mental health issues (Bell and Eski, 2014) in what
remains a comparatively new field (Royal, 2014). The consequence is that the processes
of stigmatization of mental illnesses within police organizations are little understood.
This has implications for the efficiency of the organization and well-being of officers.
Drawing on interview data, this article considers the processes through which some
police officers with mental ill-health experience stigmatization. It examines the sources
of mental health stigma embedded in the policing environment, the consequences of
stigma for an officer, the nature of any management of, or resistance to, the application
of the label and approaches to addressing stigma at the organizational level. In so doing,
it offers a novel sociological account of how police officers experience mental ill-health
and what it means to live with a ‘spoiled identity’. First we set out the theoretical frame-
work and analytical approach which informed the article.
Theoretical Context and Analytical Approach
Stigma, labelling and mental ill-health
It is widely accepted that mental illness is stigmatized by citizens across western socie-
ties (Corrigan and Matthews, 2003; Penn and Martin, 1998). The consequence is that
people with mental ill-health may suffer from the symptoms of the illness and from the
stereotypes and prejudices that arise from cultural misunderstandings about them. It is
popularly believed that people with mental ill-health, and especially more severe condi-
tions, are responsible for their illnesses, are unlikely to recover from them and are dan-
gerous, unpredictable and incompetent as a result (Bos et al., 2013; Corrigan and Bink,
2016; Thoits, 2011; Yang et al., 2007). These stereotypes create behavioural reactions or
forms of discrimination which compound the problems of sufferers of mental ill-health
through negatively affecting help-seeking and undermining recovery (Bos et al., 2013;
Corrigan and Bink, 2016; Link et al., 1999; Thoits, 2011; Yang et al., 2007).
While important work preceded it, the beginning of serious sociological attention to
the concept of stigma is usually associated with the work of Erving Goffman (1963)
(Pescosolido, 2013). Stigma was defined by Goffman as a special kind of relationship
between an attribute and stereotype; a discrediting attribute which spoils a person’s nor-
mal identity and leads to social rejection, devaluation and discrimination (Goffman,
1963). Stigma is the social consequence of the negative attributions which are attached
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