Submission to the NSW Legislative Standing Committee on Social Issues Inquiry into Assaults on Members of NSW Police Force

Abstract

The vulnerability of certain groups within the criminal justice system has become a critical issue for policing organisations. Stanford (2012, p.20) observes that in terms of vulnerability, individuals “are at risk in some way” due to personal, experiential or environmental factors. Regarding police, it is argued that they themselves are vulnerable and in terms of the occupational environment, it has long been recognised that many factors associated with the policing role can impact adversely upon police levels of stress, attitudes and subsequent work performance. Such occupational factors include; attending critical incidents (Paton, 2006); attending domestic disturbances (Korre, Farioli, Varvarigou, Dato & Kales, 2014); interactions with suspects and offenders (Prenzler, 1997); performing duties within socially disorganised communities (Lee, Jang, Yun, Lim & Tushaus, 2010) as well as a range of organisational issues including working conditions, levels of support, lack of trust, and perceived risk of a work-related injury or illness (Jakubauskas & Wright, 2012)