Background Public safety communicators (PSCs, 911 call-takers, dispatchers, and others) play a critical role in Canada's emergency response system, yet they remain largely understudied compared with other public safety professionals (PSP). Although PSCs do not intervene directly at emergency scenes, they are routinely exposed to potentially psychologically traumatic events and high operational stress during calls, placing them at elevated risk for post-traumatic stress injuries (PTSIs). This study aimed to (1) estimate the prevalence of various PTSIs and suicidal behaviors among Canadian PSCs, (2) compare the prevalence with those reported for other Canadian PSP, and (3) identify associated sociodemographic factors. Methods The final analytic sample included 508 PSCs. Participants completed validated screening measures assessing symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder, major depressive disorder, generalized anxiety disorder, panic disorder, and alcohol use disorder, along with questions regarding suicidal behaviors. Results Nearly half of PSCs (48.6%) screened positive for at least 1 PTSI, exceeding the prevalence observed among other Canadian PSP. Symptoms of PTSD, depression, anxiety, and panic disorder were significantly higher, while alcohol abuse disorder symptoms were comparable to levels observed among other PSP. Suicide attempts were also significantly more frequent in our sample. Being female emerged as the strongest predictor of screening positive for a PTSI, whereas higher educational attainment was associated with reduced odds of both PTSI symptoms and suicidal ideation. Conclusions These findings highlight PSCs as a high-risk and overlooked subgroup within public safety. Trauma-informed training, targeted organizational adjustments, and profession-specific support resources are essential to mitigate the significant psychological burden on this workforce and foster long-term occupational well-being.

Canada's federal correctional service has, since the 1970s, undertaken a variety of initiatives intended to redress the overrepresentation of people who identify as Indigenous within the criminal justice system. While researchers examine such policies and programs, the voices of those responsible for delivering “on-the-ground” interventions are largely absent. The current article addresses this gap by analyzing the occupational experience of Indigenous Correctional Program Officers (ICPOs), who deliver mandated correctional programming to incarcerated individuals identifying as Indigenous. We present and analyze three themes emerging from interviews with 28 ICPOs: the emotional toll of delivering Indigenous programs given their personal connection to the materials; understaffing, particularly the limited availability of required Elder co-facilitators; and a lack of support for or understanding of Indigenous programming within the service. Like other workers in “caring professions,” ICPOs experience additional stresses due to the empathetic nature of their work; for ICPOs, these stresses are compounded by personal histories, Indigenous identities, and organizational factors. Moreover, ICPOs embody the tensions between the prison as a harmful space of control and the possibility for Indigenous programs to be meaningful opportunities for cultural expression and healing. We conclude by offering several suggestions for redressing the stresses experienced by ICPOs.

We study how Canadian federal correctional officer recruits identifying as men interpret and experience their masculinities during training. We recognize the correctional officer occupation remains male dominated, despite widespread efforts by governments, organizations, and stakeholders to increase equity, diversity, and inclusion in employment practices—and the need to recruit more women given the recruitment crisis in correctional services internationally. We examine the gendered interpretations that underpin discussions of training, for instance, if the emphasis is on activities and practices that are culturally read as hyper-masculine or, instead, traits such as communication skills, which are often culturally thought to be more feminine—or that fall more comfortably within the notion of inclusive masculinities. Drawing on 76 interviews with correctional officer trainees, we examine how men experience their masculinities during their training through strategic presentation of masculinities that inform and shape but are also shaped by and informed by the training. We demonstrate how inclusive masculinities are performed within the correctional officer training academy and remain part of a contested terrain exploring if they contradict efforts to include women in correctional work or reaffirm a hegemonic ideal advancing elements more traditional understood as masculine.

ABSTRACT Discourses of ‘brotherhoods’ prevail in public safety sectors and remain empirically limited regarding correctional officers (COs). We nuance the CO ‘brotherhood’, referred to as the CO collectivity, to avoid the gender‐exclusion of the term ‘brotherhood’, specifically to interpret the solidarity (or lack thereof) shaping relationships between COs. Drawing on qualitative interviews with federally employed COs in Canada ( n = 62), we focus on nuancing the definition of the CO collectivity, explaining how the collectivity is constructed, and what constitutes inclusion. By interpreting the boundaries of inclusion in the CO collectivity, we show how officers, of all genders, feel obliged to perform to varying degrees the conventions of the collectivity that strengthen the likelihood of their inclusion. We show how CO embodiment of gendered traits must be in flux within prison and strategically reconstructed based on occupational challenges. We conclude by putting forth considerations for increasing inclusivity, safety, and pro‐social comradery within CO and prison workspaces.

This study explores how correctional officer (CO) orientations evolve during the first year of employment and the role of trauma in shaping these shifts. Drawing on interviews with 47 Canadian federal recruits from the Correctional Workers Well-Being, Organizations, Roles, and Knowledge (CCWORK) project, we thematically coded narratives and analyzed orientation trajectories with descriptive statistics, Sankey diagrams, and chi-square tests. Results showed sharp declines in rehabilitative views, modest decreases in punitive views, and rising custodial perspectives. Trauma exposure (68%) significantly predicted erosion of rehabilitative orientations. Findings underscore trauma as a key driver of ideological change and the need for trauma-informed support.

Effective training is critical for preparing correctional officers (COs) for the realities of prison work. Drawing on semi-structured interviews with 128 COs employed in Canada's federal correctional system, this study examines perceptions of the Correctional Training Program (CTP), including its adequacy, limitations, and implications for job performance, safety, and well-being. Nearly half of participants reported that the CTP was of limited practical value, citing a lack of realism and insufficient alignment with day-to-day correctional duties. Communication skills and mental health training-both essential components of contemporary correctional work-were identified as key gaps. Participants recommended greater use of scenario-based learning, security-level-specific content, and program restructuring to better prepare officers for operational realities and evolving correctional priorities.

The work of the Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS) is mysterious and obscure to those outside the service. There is little documentation of CSIS employees' work experiences in the extant literature, for good reason, as confidentiality-keeping is paramount to intelligence and security work. Employees of CSIS perform high-pressure, high-necessity work that is vital to the safety and national security of Canadians, despite their roles being essentially invisible to the public. Through semi-structured interviews conducted with CSIS employees (n = 38), we explored how CSIS work and public/employer perceptions shape their understandings of respect and recognition, or lack thereof and what implications these constructs are thought to have on staff mental health and well-being. We found participants felt, to varying and sometimes conflicting degrees, undervalued and unappreciated by CSIS and/or the public for their service and described the pains and deprivation of recognition for their efforts being redirected to other public safety professionals. Findings are discussed through a lens of diagnostic and prognostic 'frames' and situated alongside considerations aimed at improving employee mental health and well-being for CSIS employees, enhancing staff morale and demystifying how respect and recognition can be achieved in the intelligence sector.

Building on prior research into the military-to-civilian transition and employment pathways within correctional services, this study examines the experiences of former military personnel employed in the Canadian prison system. While previous research has suggested prison work may be a common career route for Armed Forces leavers, the lived experiences of veterans working as correctional staff remain underexplored. This study provides the first empirical investigation into the career trajectories of former military personnel within Canadian prisons, examining profiles and motivations of veterans to work in the prison system and assessing their transition into prison work. Findings reveal most respondents reporting a relatively smooth transition into correctional employment, although few had explicitly intended a career in prison work. The implications of these trajectories are considered in relation to the broader military-civilian transition, job performance, and the organisational dynamics within Canadian prisons.

Correctional officers (COs) in Canada experience a high prevalence of mental disorders, suicidal behaviors, and trauma exposure. However, recruits entering the Correctional Service of Canada tend to show lower prevalence than the general population, likely influenced by mandatory pre-employment mental health screening. We report self-report survey data from 792 CO recruits between 2018 and 2024, assessing mental health, suicidal behaviors, and trauma exposure before training. Recruits appeared generally mentally healthy: 7.2% screened positive for any disorder (1.6% posttraumatic stress disorder, 1.6% major depressive disorder, 1.8% GAD), and suicidal behaviors were rare (1.0% ideation, 0.2% attempts). Although most recruits reported multiple potentially traumatic events, specific high-impact trauma types, rather than cumulative trauma, were more strongly associated with positive screens. Recruits from certain occupational backgrounds showed elevated risk. Findings suggest robust baseline mental health despite trauma exposure and highlight the need for longitudinal research to understand how trauma type and preservice experiences shape mental health over time.

Posttraumatic stress disorder and substance use disorder (SUD) are highly prevalent among public safety professionals (PSP), including first responders and active/retired military members, due to the trauma-laden nature of their work and associated challenges. This interview study explores the perspectives of 30 PSP who received inpatient treatment at a trauma and SUD recovery facility in Ontario, Canada, analyzing interactions with staff and the impact on their journey to recovery. We employed a semi-structured approach to interviewing and a qualitative approach to content analysis. Findings revealed three themes: (1) “professionals treating professionals,” highlighting the importance of staff treating PSP with respect and recognizing their professional identities; (2) “controlled freedom,” emphasizing the value of flexibility and trust in fostering autonomy; and (3) “kindness goes a long way,” illustrating how care and empathy from staff contributed to emotional safety and healing. By incorporating service user perspectives into inpatient care practices and beyond, facilities can optimize therapeutic outcomes, create environments conducive to psychological healing, and foster a strong therapeutic alliance. This study underscores the necessity of trauma-informed, person-centred care tailored to the unique needs of PSP and offers healthcare providers guidance on how to operationalize the therapeutic alliance in this occupational population.

Safe, orderly, and efficient correctional operations are not possible without healthy correctional leaders. Except for a handful of studies, limited academic attention has been paid to the mental health of these crucial workforce members. Drawing on questionnaire data from a national sample of Canadian institutional (n = 576) and community (n = 207) correctional leaders (N = 783), this short report estimated mental disorder prevalence for both groups, while also identifying bivariate correlates of these conditions. Institutional leaders registered higher mean prevalence for PTSD and depressive symptoms—a finding upheld in the zero-order correlations matrix. Other significant correlates of symptoms of compromised mental health included occupational, interpersonal, and organizational stressors, along with exposure to critical incidents such as physical assaults. Wellness interventions intended to address the strain associated with leadership roles are needed to sustain the health of these important personnel.

For many correctional officers (COs), working in a prison will include exposure to multiple job stressors and potentially traumatic events (PTEs), which can contribute to employee experiences of job stress over time. Researchers examining CO job stress have yet to investigate pre-employment experiences with acute stress. Additionally, job stress has been broadly conceptualized and measured in correctional research and as such the core features and implications of this acute experience are not well understood. Thus, in the current study, we use phenomenology to explore how correctional officer recruits (CORs; those individuals beginning their careers as COs) experienced states of overwhelm (i.e., acute stress) thereby revealing the essential features of this experience. We review concepts from neuroscience, stress physiology, and correctional employee psychological well-being research. Specifically, the window of tolerance and stress response cycle are concepts we apply to understand and contextualize COR descriptions of overwhelm. The results reveal overwhelm is physiologically, emotionally, and cognitively dysregulating and the dysregulation is not experienced as a singular moment. In addition to the dysregulation experienced while the stressor is present, many CORs spoke of a recovery phase during which they made efforts to metabolize their internal stress experience, and the emotional or relational consequences of having been in a state of overwhelm. In the face of dysregulation, many CORs describe a capacity for, and the importance of, resolving the stressor. We discuss the implications of these findings for CORs as they enter the correctional workforce.

PURPOSE:Sworn and civilian members of any police service are exposed to incidents that increase their risk for mental and/or physical injuries, which may require leave from work. Any leave requires reintegration back into their work environment and occupational responsibilities, yet the literature on the return-to-work (RTW) process is sparse, particularly in policing, revealing a pressing need to identify how RTW can be done successfully. METHODS:Thus, using semi-structured interviews, we explored the RTW experiences, thoughts, and recommendations of 128 sworn and civilian police members. Coded data were analyzed to focus on common as well as root causes of contradictory experiences and interpretations, all emergent from the data. RESULTS:Findings revealed how most participants who took a leave of absence were off for an extended period and had a negative experience due to a lack of organizational support, stigma, and poor communication. Those on leave for a shorter time had more positive experiences due to feelings of organizational support, including incorporating a gradual and task-modified return. Participants felt their leave and RTW processes could be improved with a reintegration strategy that included organizational support, effective communication, and modified duties. CONCLUSION:We suggest processes for re-entry should be individual-specific, meaningful, and flexible, including check-ins and accommodations upon their return.

Correctional workers are exposed to operational and organizational stresses when fulfilling their occupational responsibilities, which increasingly appear to be associated with mental health symptoms and disorders. Yet, research continues to find correctional workers are hesitant to seek treatment because of struggles with mental health related stigma. In the current study, we examined correctional worker (N = 3,740) mental health knowledge, service use intention, and the related stigma comparatively by their demographics, occupational group, or historical diagnosis of a mental health disorder(s) across every provincial and territorial correctional service in Canada. Females reported significantly higher mental health knowledge and service use intentions and lower stigma than males (all p < 0.001; knowledge d = –0.31, stigma d = 0.44, service use d = –0.23). Younger workers showed lower stigma, and those aged 21–29 reported lower service use intentions than older groups (all p < 0.01; stigma η2 = 0.013, service use η2 = 0.009). Higher education was associated with greater mental health knowledge and lower stigma (p < 0.001; knowledge η2 = 0.028, stigma η2 = 0.026), and workers with fewer years of service reported lower stigma (p < 0.001; η2 = 0.007). Mental health knowledge was positively associated with service use intentions, and stigma was inversely associated with both outcomes (all p < 0.001). Significant provincial/territorial and occupational differences were also observed. Despite education and awareness, mental health remains stigmatized; thus we discuss why, reflecting on our findings, to suggest possible components of solutions.

In response to inherent occupational and operational stress in public safety personnel (PSP), multiple policies and interventions have been implemented, often with sparse or low-quality research. The National Standard of Canada for Psychological Health and Safety in the Workplace (the Standard) is a comprehensive framework aimed at promoting mental health and preventing psychological harm in Canadian workplaces. This longitudinal multiple-cohort implementation science project describes mental health strategies implemented and associated organizational outcomes across five PSP organizations implementing change within the standard framework. Data were collected at two levels over a three-year span from the five public safety organizations that identified priority areas for improvement within the Standard based on local data and consultations. The organization selected and implemented a range of proactive mental health interventions, including resiliency training. Individual pre-post surveys assessed a variety of mental health disorders and work-related items. Annual organizational data included sick leave hours and extended health benefits for psychological services. Survey responses were aggregated at the organizational level. Rank-based correlation analyses (Kendall's tau) described associations among occupational stress, work engagement, stigma, and organizational indicators. Organizations demonstrated multiple indicators of progress in meeting the Standard. Post-mental health symptom scores were positively correlated with extended health costs. Higher organizational stress scores were associated with higher extended health costs (psychological) (τ = 1.0 at pre-intervention; 0.67 post-intervention). Positive changes in organizational stress scores and higher engagement scores over the implementation process were both associated with lower average extended health costs (τ = 1.0/-1.0 respectively). Resilience scores were inversely related to health costs (τ = -0.67), consistent with the protective role of resilience. The Standard can serve as a framework for improving workplace health and safety when integrated with multi-modal action plans and structured resilience programs.

PurposeWe use the lens of operational stressors (those inherent to the job) and organizational stressors (those emerging from broader factors in their workplace) to unpack the occupational experiences of Detachment Services Assistants, who are non-sworn public servants employed in the Royal Canadian Mounted Police.Design/methodology/approachAfter acquiring ethics from a university and organization committee, we conducted semi-structured interview with 54 Detachment Services Assistants. We asked open-ended questions about participants' occupational responsibilities and how each impacted their well-being. We also probed responses using follow-up questions. Interviews were transcribed verbatim and coded, then axial coding, where researchers collaboratively identified and refined codes as new themes emerged. Analyses were led by data, organized by code and unpacked in orientation toward underpinning realities with divergent outcomes.FindingsDetachment Services Assistants' duties involve the operational stress of vicarious exposure to potentially traumatic events or materials, and they experience a diversity of organizational stressors, such as role demands, workload and perceptions of being lower-status or less-than sworn personnel. These operational and organizational stressors intersect to affect the mental health and well-being of DSAs.Originality/valueMuch research analyses the stresses experienced by police officers, yet less is known about non-sworn personnel (i.e. civilian/support staff working in police services) whose work is to support police operations. The current article offers novel insight into occupational realities of non-sworn personnel - an understudied group who play a vital role in public safety - and the impacts of stressors on their health and well-being.

While women are increasingly represented in policing, they remain a minority in quantity and continue to face barriers to equal and equitable treatment. Ambivalent Sexism Theory posits hostile sexism (antagonistic behaviors and attitudes towards women), and benevolent sexism (seemingly positive attitudes that perpetuate traditional gender roles), work together to uphold male-dominated, patriarchal, hierarchies. Existing research has primarily examined hostile and benevolent sexism in isolation, and there is a need to examine both constructs to holistically understand how sexism manifests in policing. We conducted semi-structured interviews with 19 Canadian active-duty officers (9 women, 10 men) to explore their perceptions of gender-based treatment. Analysis of data-driven codes reveal distinct themes: Hostile Sexism, Benevolent Sexism, and Responding to Ambivalent Sexism. Officers shared observations and experiences of ambivalent sexism throughout their careers, and how policewomen navigated ambivalent sexism from colleagues, superiors, and members of the public. Our findings reveal that although advances have been made in the representation of women police officers in Canada, hostile and benevolent sexism remain.

Through semi-structured interviews conducted with 38 Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS) employees, the present study analyses how intelligence workers navigate confidentiality keeping and the consequences of secrecy at work and beyond. Through a lens of moral harm, we identify how engaging in secrecy can be morally harmful and how these harms intertwine with psychological, social, and interpersonal harms, with lasting effects on CSIS employees and their relationships with families, friends, colleagues, and the public. We put forth considerations for CSIS in response to their employees’ work experiences, which can prompt moral frustration, distress, harm, and injury. These considerations are situated within the unique circumstances of CSIS employment and its ensuing implications, alongside suggestions for an integration of secrecy in moral injury knowledge, to shape future theorization and new empirical directions.

Objectives Mental health service users are responsible and autonomous individuals who can comprehend their own illness and recovery and therefore engage healthcare professionals in their care. Studies have demonstrated how service users feel more dignified, safe, and respected during mental health treatment when they are listened to by their caregivers and included in treatment decision-making. The physical space and design of mental health facilities, as well as the approach to care and treatment, have been found to have positive implications for service users' treatment and recovery, both in contemporary and historical settings. Thus, understanding service user perspectives is necessary because these experiences may shed light on best treatment practices.Methods The current study engages interview data produced by public safety professionals-who are often exposed throughout the course of their service and duties to potentially psychologically traumatic events-who were receiving inpatient care for trauma and, in some circumstances, substance misuse at Edgewood Health Network's Guardians Gateway facility. Framed through the sociology of mental health literature, we qualitatively explore how these service users experienced the physical and psychological aspects of the treatment space.Results We found their experiences of recovery at this facility led to new conceptions of mental health treatment, including overcoming stigma, personal growth, and encouragement to try new activities and programs tailored to their individualized mental health needs.Conclusion We discuss how their lived experiences provide novel insights into best care practices for public safety personnel in Canada.