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Studies of policing and their wellbeing often focus on critical incidents. These would be the officer-involved shooting incidents, or if they have to deal with some graphic crime scene. But what might surprise some listeners is that an officer will also deal with organizational stressors that can be equally or even more harmful than a traumatic event. Joining the podcast today is Dr. Susannah Hickie, who specializes in trauma, mental health, and organizational stress in high‑risk and security‑sensitive occupations, particularly within policing and defense. She completed her PhD at the University of Cambridge’s Institute of Criminology, where she conducted extensive qualitative research on PTSD, trauma, mental health, and organizational stress among police officers in Northern Ireland. Her recent study is “‘The enemies are now inside the station’: trauma, organizational stress and institutional support in frontline policing.”

Main Topics

• Officers in the Police Service of Northern Ireland avoid seeking mental health services because of barriers inherent to the organization.
• There is a sense of moral injury based on the agency’s leadership.
• Blue Lights is, unfortunately, accurate.

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You can also contact me at: Bluesky: @policeinservice.bsky.social

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How good are the crime analysis centers that are a growing part of policing? I've heard a lot of stories about how analysts have made major contributions to solving crimes and tracked wanted criminals, but those are similar to the war stories police officers tell each other. They are true, but rare. So, how effective are crime analysis centers? Dr. Bradley O’Guinn, Assistant Professor in the Department of Criminology and Criminal Justice at Florida International University, joins the podcast to discuss his research titled, “Current trends in crime analysis in the state of Ohio: evaluating law enforcement agencies’ ability to adopt evidence-based policing strategies” (coauthored by Cory Haberman).

Main Topics

• Crime analysis is intended to provide systematic inquiry of data for good decision making.
• In Ohio, 67% of police agencies had no crime analysis functions.
• Improvements in analysts abilities required funding for training and standardized qualifications.

Don't forget to like, FOLLOW, and share. Sharing this podcast or an episode is one of the best complements I can receive, which will help grow the show.

And don't forget to provide a review. Giving five stars is never a bad idea.

Feel free to email me your comments using the "send us a text" option (above), or at the following email address: policeinservicetrainingpodcast@gmail.com

You can also contact me at: Bluesky: @policeinservice.bsky.social

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The leader of an organization has a difficult task. Anyone coming up the chain in any police agency would appreciate the issues and problems of that agency. While the leadership issues of a large PD would dwarf those of a smaller department, both would have features unique to their size and location. Regardless of whether an agency is large, medium, or small, the difficulties of leadership can often get to a point that the leader pulls the plug. If this happens frequently, I would suspect that this creates its own problems for the organization itself. But I’ve been wrong before. Today we're going to talk with Dr. Tarah Hodgkinson from the Department of Criminology at Wilfrid Laurier University in Brandford, Ontario about her recent article, Churn a the top: Understanding predictors of turnover in police leadership in Canada (coauthored by Vanessa Currado).

Main Topics

• There are both plusses and minuses to police chief turnover.
• Externally hired chiefs can offer fresh eyes and new perspectives for an agency.
• Police chiefs tend to leave when they’re older, MORE educated, and when they are an internal hire.
• Chiefs tend to stick around when the population is larger and there are more females on the force.

Don't forget to like, FOLLOW, and share. Sharing this podcast or an episode is one of the best complements I can receive, which will help grow the show.

And don't forget to provide a review. Giving five stars is never a bad idea.

Feel free to email me your comments using the "send us a text" option (above), or at the following email address: policeinservicetrainingpodcast@gmail.com

You can also contact me at: Bluesky: @policeinservice.bsky.social