"I can't unsee the things I've seen": Exploring Police Prosecutors' Experiences of Engaging with Potentially Traumatic Materials

There is increased recognition of the impacts of secondary trauma exposure for those working in “back-office” roles of the Criminal Justice System (CJS), such as legal professionals. Police prosecutors are a unique group within the New Zealand (NZ) CJS, where staff consist of both non-constabulary qualified lawyers and police officers. Police prosecutors act as the primary criminal prosecutorial authority within the District Court of NZ, and as such encounter stressors such as a high workload and regular exposure to potentially traumatic materials (PTM). Using grounded theory, the current study qualitatively explored the experience of engaging with PTM for NZ police prosecutors, including the different ways they are exposed to PTM, the influence of previous frontline experiences and the impact PTM exposure has on their wellbeing. It also identified factors that exacerbate and alleviate the impacts of PTM exposure and help-seeking for wellbeing. Fifteen police prosecutors were recruited from across NZ. A descriptive model was developed which described police prosecutors’ experiences of working with PTM and comprised of four phases: preparation for the role, challenges of the working environment, nature and impacts of PTM exposure and strategies for managing wellbeing in the role. The research findings contribute to our understanding of the process of engaging with PTM for legal professionals and provide a rare insight into the role and experiences of police prosecutors. The need for further research, as well as suggestions for policy and practice changes to better support police prosecutors working with PTM are discussed.