The Intersections of Trauma in Police Officers and Offenders

Do not ask what is wrong with them; ask what happened to them. This common saying in the public safety personnel community is often stated when a police officer, paramedic, firefighter, or correctional officer is thought to be difficult, angry, or quick to upset. It softens any judgment around why someone acts the way they do after working in a trauma-exposed workplace. Within this statement lies acknowledgment that if we recognize a person’s history and prior trauma, we can understand the causes of their negative behavior and how to best support them. The same can be said of the members of the public that police officers interact with, including offenders. This is not to excuse or justify the behaviors of either but to better understand and humanize each other.