Workplace Trauma in a Digital Age: The Impact of Video Evidence of Violent Crime on Criminal Justice Professionals

High-quality video and audio recordings of violent crimes, captured using now ubiquitous digital technologies, play an increasingly important role in the administration of justice. However, the effects of exposure to gruesome material presented in this form on criminal justice professionals who analyze, evaluate, and use this potentially traumatic content in the context of their work, are largely unknown. Using long interviews and constructivist grounded theory, this qualitative study sought to explore experiences of exposure to video evidence of violent crime among Canadian criminal justice professionals. Sixteen individuals including police, lawyers, judges, psychiatrists, law clerks, and court reporters volunteered to participate in qualitative long interviews asking about workplace exposures to violent videos. Themes identified address the ubiquity of video evidence of violent crime; proximity to violence through video; being blindsided through lack of preparedness for violent content; repeated exposures through multiple and protracted viewings; insufficient customary methods for self-protection; and the enduring impact of exposure to videoed violence. We determine that criminal justice professionals are increasingly and repeatedly presented with deeply disturbing imagery that was once imperceptible or unknowable and thus previously held at a greater distance. Elements of what is newly visible and audible in video evidence of violent crime create a new emotional proximity to violence that potentially increases the risks of secondary trauma and underscores the need for improved safety measures

Technology facilitated re-victimization: How video evidence of sexual violence contributes to mediated cycles of abuse

With the ubiquity of technological devices producing video and audio recordings, violent crimes are increasingly captured digitally and used as evidence in the criminal justice process. This paper presents the results of a qualitative study involving Canadian criminal justice professionals, and asks questions surrounding the treatment of video evidence and the rights of victims captured within such images. We argue that loss of control over personal images and narratives can re-traumatize survivors of sexual violence, creating technologically-facilitated cycles of abuse that are perpetuated each time images are viewed. We find that the justice system has little to no consistent policy or procedure for handling video evidence, or for ameliorating the impact of these digital records on survivors. Subsequently, we assert that the need for a victim-centred evidence-based understanding of mediated evidence has never been greater

Using Visual Observations to Compare the Behavior of Previously Immobilized and Non-Immobilized Wild Polar Bears

During 17 field seasons between 1973 and 1999, we conducted a long-term study of the behavior of undisturbed wild polar bears in Radstock Bay, southwest Devon Island, Nunavut. In a subset of 11 seasons (6 spring and 5 summer) between 1975 and 1997, we used three different drug combinations to chemically immobilize a small number of adult and subadult polar bears on an opportunistic basis and applied a temporary dye mark so that individual bears could be visually reidentified. We then used multinomial logistic regression to compare the behavior of 35 previously immobilized bears of five different demographic classes (sex, age, and reproductive status) to the behavior of non-immobilized bears of the same demographic classes in the same years and seasons. During the first two days after immobilization, bears slept significantly more and spent less time hunting than did bears that had not been immobilized. However, previously immobilized bears returned to the same behavioral patterns and proportion of total time spent hunting as non-immobilized bears within two days and no further negative behavioral effects were detected in the following 21 d. We visually confirmed successful hunting by three adult bears within 0.4 to 2.1 d of being immobilized, all of which went on to make additional kills within the following 24 h. The return to normal behavior patterns, including the ability to hunt successfully, within 48 h of immobilization appears consistent with the hypothesis that polar bears do not experience longer-term behavioral effects following brief chemical immobilization for conservation and management purposes. Durant 17 saisons de recherche, entre 1973 et 1999, nous avons effectué l’étude à long terme du comportement d’ours polaires sauvages non perturbés à la baie Radstock, dans le sud-ouest de l’île Devon, au Nunavut. Dans un sous-ensemble de 11 saisons (six printemps et cinq étés) échelonnées de 1975 à 1997, nous avons utilisé trois combinaisons de drogues différentes pour immobiliser chimiquement un petit nombre d’ours polaires adultes et d’ours polaires immatures de manière opportuniste, puis nous avons appliqué une marque de colorant temporaire sur les ours afin de pouvoir les réidentifier individuellement. Ensuite, nous avons recouru à la régression logistique multinomiale pour comparer le comportement de 35 ours précédemment immobilisés faisant partie de cinq catégories démographiques différentes (sexe, âge et état reproducteur) au comportement d’ours non immobilisés faisant partie des mêmes catégories démographiques pour les mêmes années et les mêmes saisons. Au cours des deux premières journées suivant l’immobilisation, les ours dormaient beaucoup plus et consacraient moins de temps à la chasse que les ours qui n’avaient pas été immobilisés. Cependant, les ours qui avaient été immobilisés ont repris les mêmes habitudes de comportement et consacré le même temps à la chasse que les ours non immobilisés en dedans de deux jours, et aucun autre effet négatif sur leur comportement n’a été décelé au cours des 21 jours qui ont suivi. Nous avons eu la confirmation visuelle d’une chasse réussie par trois ours adultes dans la période de 0,4 à 2,1 jours suivant l’immobilisation, tous trois ayant réussi à faire d’autres prises dans les 24 heures qui ont suivi. Le retour aux habitudes de comportement normales, y compris l’aptitude à faire une chasse réussie, dans les 48 heures suivant l’immobilisation semble cadrer avec l’hypothèse selon laquelle les ours polaires ne subissent pas d’effets comportementaux de longue haleine après une brève immobilisation chimique à des fins de conservation et de gestion.

Let Them Satisfy Their Lust on Thee: Titus Andronicus as a Window into Societal Understanding of PTSD

Titus Andronicus in which the young Lavinia is raped and then brutally mutilated, is arguably Shakespeare’s most explicit and complex play involving rape. A range of theatrical, feminist, and performance literature examines the character of Lavinia and the representation of her assault. Yet, the representation of rape, like rape itself, is socially and historically constructed. This article reviews societal, legal, and medical views of rape from Shakespeare’s late 16th-century London to the present. By applying a temporal lens to productions of Titus Andronicus staged in varying time periods, performance can be seen to explicate historical stages in the understanding of rape victims and their subsequent trauma. Thus, a 400-year-old play continues to reflect modern reality by depicting a contemporary understanding of rape and trauma, shaped by social mores, legal structures, and scientific knowledge

Murder at the Dinner Table: Family Narratives of Forensic Professionals

Stemming from work on emergency professionals directly affected by trauma exposure, attention has turned to the impact of work-related trauma on their families, including media and public scrutiny, trauma contagion, marital discord, and overprotective parenting. More recently, colleagues in forensic mental health are speaking anecdotally not only about the personal impact of exposure to violence, but also the impact on their families. This study uses a narrative approach to elicit stories from adult children of forensic psychiatrists to explore the extent of exposure to disturbing material, the impact of exposure, and mechanisms employed by parents to mitigate risk and exposure

Traumatic residue, mediated remembering and video evidence of sexual violence: A case study

This qualitative case study examines the impact of video evidence of violent crime in the tragic Canadian case of serial killers Paul Bernardo and Karla Homolka. Through in-depth interviews with those centrally involved in the case, interviews with criminal justice professionals currently working with video evidence of violent crime, and review of official documents and media reports, we explore the complex role video evidence played in this case and the legacy it continues to have in society, the justice system, and in the individual lives of those involved twenty-five years later. Two primary sources of harm arose in our analysis: critogenic harm related to the use of video evidence in the justice process; and harm arising from the media publicity surrounding the video evidence. Both of these sources of harm intensified the trauma for victims and their families, and contributed to distress and trauma reactions of criminal justice professionals and members of the jury. Given the global increase in the use of video-evidence in criminal justice processes, it is imperative that continuing harms to those involved in the process are considered and mitigated

The Development of an Online Practice-Based Evaluation Tool for Social Work

Objective: This paper describes the development of a practice-based evaluation (PBE) tool that allows instructors to represent their student’s clinical performance in a way that is sufficiently authentic to resonate with both instructors and students, is psychometrically sound, and is feasible in the context of real practice. Method: A new online evaluation tool was designed to address several of the problems associated with previous methods of evaluation, and was tested on 190 field instructor—student pairs. Results: Results demonstrated feasibility of the tool, high acceptability from students and faculty, high internal consistency, and clearly reduced ceiling effect, when compared with a traditional competency-based evaluation (CBE) tool. It did, however, continue to result in a strong skew toward positive evaluation and did not increase the identification of students at risk. Conclusions: The online PBE tool demonstrates promise in redressing some of the evaluation issues posed by the previous CBE model of evaluation.This research was generously supported by a grant from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada

Intersections Between Grief and Trauma: Toward an Empirically Based Model for Treating Traumatic Grief

Two divergent areas of study have focused on the experiences of grief, i.e., bereavement, and on trauma and its aftermath. The grief literature has its foundations in psychodynamic and relational theories, and thus treatment modalities have focused on resolving relationship issues through reminiscence and developing a new sense of the relationship and of the self, independent of the lost loved one. The trauma literature, while having some psychodynamic roots, has been founded primarily on biological and cognitive formulations. Again, while many different treatments are discussed, cognitive-behavioral approaches based on cognitive restructuring and symptom management dominate the practice efficacy literature. But trauma and bereavement/loss are not mutually exclusive, and when a practitioner is faced with a client suffering from both, it is necessary to attempt to integrate these divergent theories and at times antithetical treatment approaches. This paper therefore seeks to address the issue of treatment efficacy in traumatic loss and develop guidelines for evidence-based approaches to practice

Troubling Records : Managing and Conserving Mediated Artifacts of Violent Crime

Video records created by perpetrators and witnesses of violent crime are increasingly used as evidence in criminal investigations and court proceedings. When these records include the sexual assault, torture, and murder of individuals, they carry significant power to harm those exposed to them, but most importantly, through repeated viewing, they continue to harm those individuals whose suffering is immortalized therein. Using case study methods, including in-depth interviews with those centrally involved in the case, interviews with criminal justice professionals currently working with video evidence of violent crime, and a review of official documents and media reports, this article examines the tragic Canadian case of serial killers Paul Bernardo and Karla Homolka and the videos they recorded of their crimes. We observe that challenging decisions regarding the handling of video records of violent crime during the investigation process, the viewing of such records in court, and access to them by the public and press during the criminal justice process continue to be areas of concern and contestation, pitting principles of open justice against those of victim dignity and privacy. However, challenges regarding access to video records do not end with a trial and an ultimate verdict of guilt or innocence; rather, decisions continue to be made about the preservation or destruction, the storing and cataloguing, and access to archived material. In examining questions regarding the preservation and continued use of the records, we conclude that a responsible and ethical approach to these challenges is best achieved through what Caswell called a survivor-centred approach. We suggest that this approach should include recognizing the traumatic potentiality of records, providing safety and support to those affected, recognizing the potential of records to produce and perpetuate injustice, respecting the autonomy and decisions of survivors, and accepting and facilitating the right to be forgotten.Des vidéos créés par des auteurs et des témoins de crimes violents sont de plus en plus utilisés comme preuves dans des enquêtes criminelles et procédures judiciaires. Quand ces vidéos contiennent des agressions sexuelles, de la torture et des meurtres, ils détiennent un pouvoir significatif qui peut nuire aux gens exposés à ces vidéos. De plus, le visionnement répété de ces vidéos peut contribuer à continuer à faire du tort aux personnes dont la souffrance est immortalisée. Utilisant des études de cas, qui comprennent des entretiens en profondeur avec des personnes directement impliquées dans les cas, et avec des professionnels de la justice criminelle travaillant à partir de preuves provenant d’enregistrements vidéo, en plus d’analyser de la documentation officielle et des rapports des médias, cet article étudie les cas tragiques des procès des tueurs en série canadiens Paul Bernardo et Karla Homolka, incluant les vidéos de leurs crimes qu’ils ont eux-mêmes enregistrés. Nous observons que la confrontation des décisions concernant la manipulation des enregistrements vidéo de crimes violents pendant les processus d’enquête, le visionnement des enregistrements en court et l’accès à ceux-ci par le public et les médias pendant les procédures judiciaires continuent d’être des sujets de préoccupation et de contestation, opposant les principes de justice ouverte avec la vie privée et la dignité des victimes. Les interrogations associées à l’accès aux vidéos ne s’arrêtent pas lorsqu’il y a procès et lorsqu’un verdict ultime de culpabilité ou d’innocence est prononcé. Des décisions continuent d’être prises concernant la préservation ou la destruction des documents, ainsi qu’en rapport à l’hébergement, à la mise en archives et l’accès subséquent au matériel. En évaluant des questions clés associées à la préservation et l’utilisation continue des documents, nous affirmons qu’une approche responsable et éthique face à ces enjeux est mieux servie par ce que Caswell définit comme une approche centrée sur les survivants. Nous suggérons que cette approche doit inclure la reconnaissance du potentiel traumatique des documents, tout en offrant du soutien et un environnement sécuritaire aux personnes affectées. De plus, nous affirmons l’importance de reconnaître le potentiel des documents de produire et perpétuer des injustices, en plus de respecter l’autonomie et les décisions des survivants, tout en acceptant et en facilitant le droit d’être oublié