A Qualitative Study: Emotional Damage to Police Victims in China

Abstract

This article aims to analyze the emotional injury and behavioral consequences that police officers in China experience after they have been violently attacked (e.g., when police are victims of violent crimes). The analysis was based on self-narration from police officers who were victimized (from here “police victims”). First, the study explored the emotional trauma caused by violent and nonviolent attacks on police victims. Second, this study explored the impact of this violence on the police community. Finally, the study assessed the impact of violent attacks on police enforcement capabilities. Research shows that police in China have become victims of violent attacks that may have caused emotional damage. However, the extent and consequences of this emotional damage are not clear and deserve further discussion. Therefore, this research attempts to contribute to an in-depth discussion of this topic. The research used a focus group format to interview police victims (n = 40). The interviews included questions about emotional damage, occupational hazards, ensuing self-doubt, long-term behaviors, returning to work, and self-protection. The results show that police victims have suffered severe emotional damage, which may affect their ability to continue in law enforcement. It is particularly noteworthy that some police officers received unequal treatment, which led to the breakdown of family and social relationships. Chinese police victims face severe emotional damage. They have suffered great mental pressure and bad social evaluation. A reasonable recovery plan is required to help police victims return to normal life. The recovery plan should aim to improve the lives of police victims, especially by helping them relieve stress.

Keywords

violence alcohol and drugs hate crimes homicide spirituality and violence violence exposure

Police work has always been a high-risk occupation. More specifically, police and other law enforcement personnel are likely to be violently attacked while performing their duties (Chae & Boyle, 2013; Yuan et al., 2011). In fact, on several occasions, police officers have become victims of violent crimes and may suffer severe emotional trauma as a result, which affects their law enforcement capabilities. Research shows that police victims exhibit excessive mental stress, which may further damage their interpersonal and social relationships (Maia et al., 2007). Therefore, police victims may need to receive long-term emotional support and psychological treatment (Tyler et al., 2015).

However, studies show that violent attacks may not be the only cause of emotional injury for police officers. Negative societal views may also cause police victims¹ significant mental pressure (Cockcroft, 2017; Javaid, 2016; Waxman, 2009). In criminal cases, police are generally seen as either saviors or heroes (Critcher, 2012), which has led to the public’s high expectations of the police. Such high expectations may cause excessive mental stress, further exacerbating police victims’ emotional damage (Bishopp et al., 2018). However, previous studies have focused on only the causes of emotional injury to police without delving into the degree of emotional injury or the impact the emotional injury had on the victim’s ability to enforce the law. This study attempts to explore the degree of emotional damage to police victims, as well as the impact that emotional injury has on the police group. Law enforcement capabilities of police victims will also be discussed. To compare the effects of emotional impairment on law enforcement capabilities, the study will discuss behavioral changes seen in police victims.

Although research on police victims and hate crimes has been sufficiently developed, police victims’ emotional damage may require more in-depth research to broaden the understanding of police victims. Even though research on the behavioral consequences of police victims’ emotional injuries has begun in China (in which researchers use the Chinese context), further exploration is still needed. Therefore, this research² attempts to contribute to the knowledge on the consequences of emotional injury to police victims in China. This research is an empirical study on the police victims’ emotional damage to China, including interviews with police victims and assessing police victims’ law enforcement capabilities.

Definition of a “Police Victim”

In criminal cases, police victims have multiple identity characteristics (Walker, 2018). On the one hand, police officers can be victims of attacks and need protection by the judicial system (Boateng & Abess, 2017). This is based on the natural characteristics of the law, which is to protect the lives and property of citizens. On the other hand, law enforcement personnel face more serious dangers than other citizens (Chopko et al., 2016), which is why laws in some countries provide better protection for them. In China for example, protective measures have been taken for the police. Regulations for violent assaults on police officers are found in the Criminal Law Amendment (9), which judges crimes ranging from intentional injury to violent assaults and homicide. Article 21 of this legal provision states that “if a police officer who is performing his duties by the law is violently attacked, the suspect involved will be subject to a heavy penalty”³ (Wang, 2019). More specifically, China has established a principle of rapid handling of cases involving police victimization (Qiu, 2019). When a police victimization case occurs, the prosecutor is involved in the investigation from the beginning to determine the suspect’s motive and evidence as soon as possible, improve the quality of the prosecution’s evidence, and increase the possibility of conviction. This guarantees the security of law enforcement and reduces the possibility of police victimization.

Hate Crimes Against Police Officers

Police victimization cases have the same characteristics as hate crimes—violent assaults usually have a clear target and are inherently aggressive (Mawby & Zempi, 2018). In addition, the criminal acts endanger society and cause personal injury to those performing official duties. The main reason for hate crimes against police may be the “stigmatization” of certain police groups (Soomro & Yanos, 2018). Suspects or associates often use nonviolent means to hinder actions necessary to uphold the law. For example, the suspect may complain to the media that an action violated their privacy and try to mobilize the public to criticize the police. In China, this type of stigmatization is frequent. For example, a suspect may use social media to lie about being beaten by the police to gain social sympathy and put pressure on the police in an attempt to evade law enforcement (Xu, 2017). For this reason, Chinese police set up a department to handle the public opinion, respond to slander, and maintain a positive image of the police. In addition, the media has played a negative role in stigmatizing the police. Especially after increasing importance of accountability in policing, police activities have been scrutinized continuously (Dwyer, 2019). Unfortunately, some police officers may not have adapted to life under a camera and have not fully followed law enforcement procedures (Wallace et al., 2018). This may cause the public to misunderstand the entire police community.

Just as criminals can benefit from certain types of crime, some suspects can profit from attacks on police officers. Unlike suspects, police victims rarely get support from the public (Brunson & Wade, 2019). Moreover, police victims may always be subject to censorship. Even when the police appear to be the victim, they still have to accept public discussion, which may cause extreme psychological pressure or emotional damage (Foley & Massey, 2021; Velazquez & Hernandez, 2019). In addition to facing public opinion, police victims have usually already been questioned by their superiors within the police system—a process which may take dozens of hours. Consider this example: a police officer was injured by a drunk, pregnant woman. Although the surveillance video proved that the officer was the victim, he still had to submit to multiple inquiries from within and face complaints from the woman’s relatives (Yimu, 2020). After the incident was exposed to the public, the officer became the focus of attention and in the end resigned as a result of excessive stress.

Damage to Police Victims

Research has shown that police victimization cases are typified by the rapid changeability of situations and the suddenness of attacks (Ellrich, 2016). In China, police officers handle an average of 35 alarm calls within 24 hours (Ministry of Public Security, 2016). They not only need to deal with cases but also need to be alert for sudden attacks from suspects. Therefore, police officers can be highly nervous, which can easily lead to excessive stress, potentially resulting in emotional damage.

Research shows that some police victims are reluctant to return to work in law enforcement after recovering and are more willing to take civilian jobs (Price, 2017). Although police victims receive psychological treatment and emotional support, the emotional trauma may require more recovery time and returning to a law enforcement post may be difficult (Papazoglou & Tuttle, 2018). However, not all colleagues may understand this choice. Police victims may lose their coworkers’ respect because it is difficult for those who have not experienced an attack to understand the choices victims make. In police culture, this may mean evasive behavior (Deschênes et al., 2018), which can cause police victims to be isolated and excluded by the group, increasing their emotional damage. In fact, empirical evidence shows that police victims suffer the highest level of distress in comparison with other emergency responders, and China is no exception (Fu et al., 2016). But emotional damage has diverse manifestations. Some police victims may show helplessness and fear, but these emotions may not appear in all police victims (Ignatans & Pease, 2019). Some may not have any obvious emotional damage (Gumani, 2019), whereas others express anger about police victimization cases (Zavala, 2017) and become more active in law enforcement to reduce the possibility of more such cases. In addition, how police departments and the government respond is also worthy of attention. These organizations may be angry about the police victimization cases (Kumar, 2018; McDaniel, 2018) because they may now be considered incompetent and negligent, particularly if the assumption is that they did not provide adequate training, professional equipment, or timely criminal intelligence to police officers.

Methodology

Research Questions

The purpose of this study is to use focus groups to investigate the impact of attacks on police officers and the resulting behavioral consequences. The study also explores topics related to police victims, including emotional damage, occupational dangers, ensuing self-doubt, long-term behaviors, returning to the front line, and self-protection.

After synthesizing the above topics, this study explored the following research questions:

How do police victims view and discuss their emotional damage?

How do police victims understand their victimization experience? How does this affect their mental state?

How does the victimization experience affect the police victim’s performance?

Research Design

Focus groups were chosen for this study for several reasons. First, the data collected in this study consists of police victims’ self-representations. It may also be more difficult for police victims to express emotions when colleagues are present. Thus, focus groups enable police victims to discuss their victimization experiences in a relaxed environment, which yields more abundant research data. Second, focus groups enable participants to interpret their own opinions, provide evidence to support these opinions, and explore reasons for disagreeing with other respondents. This makes the answers more authentic and enhances the objectivity of the research. Moreover, focus group analysis of police victims has become an essential research method because officers talk about their injuries, discuss the impact of the attack on their profession and families, and even reflect on their mental state. Although this method is also flawed, a police officer’s self-narration has considerable research value in that it combines their law enforcement experience with feelings, mood swings, and reflection. Unlike real-life observations, a police victim’s recollection of an attack may lead to a change of perspective, which can be more objectively described.

It is undeniable that focus groups may also prevent police victims from sharing their feelings in certain circumstances; for instance, they may not express their true feelings because they do not want to appear vulnerable. To prevent this from happening, the study was explained to the interviewees before the focus group was conducted. Furthermore, to reduce psychological pressure, they were assured that specific locations and personal information would not be published. Additionally, when focus groups were assigned, the researchers avoided placing interviewees from the same policing unit in the same focus group.

Sample Selection Procedure

This study was conducted in northern China for two main reasons. First, there are many police victimization cases in China (Min, 2016). Second, because police work is confidential, only a few police departments were willing to permit interviews. With the help of the head of the police department chosen for this research, invitations were sent to 49 officers in different units. A total of 40 agreed to participate in the study. Among this cohort, 37 had been violently attacked, whereas 3 had experienced nonviolent incidents. The group consisted of participants from the Criminal Investigation Department (n = 10), the Economic Crime Investigation Department (n = 10), the Patrol Department (n = 5), the Special Weapons and Tactics Department (n = 5), the Criminal Intelligence Department, and the Police Academy (n = 10). The researchers selected police officers of different ages. A total of 18 were 20–30 years old, 15 were 30–40 years old, and 7 were 40–50 years old. The researchers chose to distinguish the seniority of the interviewees by police rank, namely eight constables, twenty-five superintendents, and seven supervisors. Therefore, the sample of respondents selected for this study is reliable and representative. Although the sample has limitations in many aspects, such as the lack of female police officers and of criminal intelligence law enforcement personnel, it does represent the general characteristics of local Chinese police forces.

Focus Group Procedures

Focus groups were conducted from July to August 2019, each lasting about 180 minutes. They were held in a police department conference room in China, where there have been numerous serious police victimization cases. The interview guide focused on the prevalence of police victimization crimes, the impact of these cases, particularly on police groups, and how to prevent them from occurring in China. However, the focus groups also encouraged respondents to talk freely about issues that were important to them. The interview guideline referred to the Finnish police occupational risk questionnaire (Andersen et al., 2015) and the incident impact scale (Christianson & Marren, 2012) and was modified according to the characteristics of police victims (See Appendix).

During the focus group process, researchers used the following procedures:

They entered the room where the focus group was located and introduced themselves. They explained the purpose and significance of the study and how the data would be processed. The interviewees were informed that the study was voluntary and that they had the right to withdraw at any time. The researchers explained the guidelines to the interviewees.

The researchers began by moderating the focus group discussions and asking questions based on the interview guidelines. The respondents were encouraged to answer and discuss the questions.

After completing the focus group discussions, the researchers thanked the interviewees and gave them chocolates as a gift for participating in the study.

All discussions were recorded and manually transcribed. Modal particles in these written records were then deleted. The data collected uses the thematic analysis method of interpretation. Interview transcripts were then translated into English. To ensure the validity of the translated questionnaire, researchers who are proficient in English and Chinese performed the translation work. In addition, no personal or identifiable information was included in the interview records.

Emotional Damage to Police Victims

Police victims usually suffer a series of emotional injuries and psychological crises after participating in dangerous law enforcement operations. Those who participated in the study showed many symptoms to this effect. The interviewees discussed this thoroughly in the focus group by elaborating on related impacts on themselves, and their colleagues and groups. Emotional damage was persistent and manifested as sadness, depression, anger, and confusion, often simultaneously. This was also reflected in the occupational experience of the respondents, who have doubts about how they can carry out their duties and experience a diminished sense of self-worth.

In the process of law enforcement, I often think that I must exercise restraint. Being beaten by a suspect has consequences, the leader will not help me, and the consequences can only be borne by myself. I also have a family; what should my parents do? I’d rather get hurt myself. I’m wronged a bit, and I’ve put things down. There is really no way. (Officer Li)

After this incident (the police victimization), he basically fell into a state of self-destruction, and did not want to deal with any cases. He felt that he had suffered enough. He was affected in a variety of ways, […which] caused particularly great psychological pressure. (Officer Zhao)

Throughout the focus group, from which the aforementioned quotations are taken, most of the interviewees expressed fear, resulting in increasing measures of self-protection, which they achieved in two ways. Some wanted to protect themselves with better equipment, such as camcorders, more durable handcuffs, and more powerful weapons, whereas others felt they needed to protect themselves by changing the law in favor of more stringent penalties for police victimization cases, thereby deterring potential attackers.

That is to say, there are dangers. But we should prepare well beforehand. Just like [the] kind of police situation that involves brawls or drunks, we should pay attention to staffing when we go out, make reasonable police force arrangements in advance, and then prepare single police equipment. (Officer Qian)

For example, drunk suspects clashed with police officers and [were] finally prosecuted for crimes against public service. After the prosecution was completed, it seemed that the sentence was quite low, or the suspect was sentenced to probation. (Officer Sun)

In addition, one interviewee believed that false criminal intelligence could lead to serious casualties.

Criminal intelligence is not equal to what we know. It is not equal to what we know. Once I remember we went to a supermarket to handle [a] case, and the witness said that […] two children were fighting […]. We thought it might be very simple, and then […] two 20–30-year-olds were fighting and the witness was an old lady over 60. […S]he said that the two suspects could be children, but this is completely different from what we know. Then we went to a group of people, then the two suspects were particularly strong. [T]hen we had a hard time arresting them, and then we called the support people. In fact, this situation is particularly dangerous. (Officer Zhao)

Negative propaganda circulating in the media concerning police is prevalent and may increase public hostility. Many interviewees said these negative portrayals had made their working conditions more difficult.

In terms of media opinion orientation, there are two extremes. I think now that we watch [sic.] a video about firefighters in Douyin, everyone is now praising the firefighters. But everyone is dismissive of the police. There are really two extremes. (Officer Li)

I think the overall image of the Chinese police now requires a long period of publicity to change it. As far as I know, among all law enforcement departments in […] society, the city management department has the worst impression, followed by the image of the police. Because of the mention of the police, both the Chinese media and foreign media have a very negative image of the police. (Officer Zhou)

Officer Zhou’s statement further shows that China’s view of the police is different from the way Europe sees them: China is more critical when examining police behavior. This may also explain the fact that victimization is regarded as a weakness and a flaw of the police in China. The interviewees not only discussed this phenomenon but also analyzed what measures should be taken to change how police are viewed. From a practical standpoint, these measures would take a long time to work, and they would not necessarily guarantee changes to the image of the police.

Oriental TV has a police record. This show will show some cases to the public. What is a dangerous situation? Which one should the police do? Which one should the police not control? And how they handled the case—this show has a very real response. (Officer Wu)

Just like the Hong Kong Police Force was the darkest in 1978. It took them 20 to 30 years to promote the Hong Kong Police Force. The Hong Kong Police Force is now a world-class police force. (Officer Zheng)

The interviewees had suffered emotional damage, which manifested in their psychological state and law enforcement experience. Emotional damage creates stress and destroys healthy lives, but it can have a particularly devastating impact on careers. Therefore, sufferers have become more cautious in their demands for help. For the entire police community, police victims may not abide by law enforcement procedures and may instead use more violent methods to treat suspects. It is also difficult to have a sense of honor in the profession. In summary, this type of police victimization has had a profound negative impact on police victims and police groups.

Occupational Dangers for Police Victims

During the police enforcement process, the suspect did not obey the police’s instructions and attempted to attack the police. This development has occurred in both time and space. Police officers must carry […] recorders when they go out so that they can objectively show the entire process of the police intervention, provide objective reference for […] the police situation, and let the police be used to law enforcement under the camera. (Officer Wang)

Let me just say that before, we were dealing with police assault cases. It is better to have videos during law enforcement. When we went to law enforcement, the most basic requirement was that we could not subdue the suspect. But what can we do when the suspect beats us? (Officer Feng)

Officer Chen further analyzed the complex community environment facing law enforcement officers. Police victims are often required to deal with emergencies related to spatiotemporal aspects:

In the case of police victimization, most of the cases occurred at midnight or after drinking. The suspect provoked unnecessary incidents. The two sides quarreled. After the quarrel, the police officer arrived at the scene to deal with it. The suspect transferred all the targets to the police officer, which was often the case. One more area where crimes occur is the urban–rural integration area (slum area). Because the quality of personnel in this urban–rural integration area is uneven, it is difficult to help them. (Officer Chen)

Particularly among police victims, the police officer’s perceptions were very diversified. They generally face multiple risks of being victimized, which may not be limited to violent attacks and subsequent emotional damage. Some interviewees said they had suffered trauma because of psychological harassment by suspects, reflected explicitly in occupational exposure and complaint disputes, as a result of which interviewees have suffered long-term harm.

Another one is occupational exposure. We have arrested a lot of people. Suspects have various infectious diseases or skin diseases, but in the process of law enforcement, you have no control at all. You do not know what infectious diseases suspects have, but sometimes it is difficult to avoid being infected. (Officer Chu)

At the time in the summer, I remember that I was wearing short sleeves and […] we were ready to carry the suspect out. But we carried the suspect to the car, and I noticed several wounds on my arm. [But] I didn’t feel any pain at the time. When the suspect scratched me with [their] nails, I suspected [a] mentality of revenge was present. This may cause me a lot of psychological pressure. (Officer Wei)

There is a [sentiment that] the policemen who are complained [about] are not good policemen because the policemen will not be complained [about] if they do not do anything. So here comes a rather subtle idea. Should the police do or not? Can someone help the police withstand these pressures? (Officer Jiang)

In this focus group discussion, three police officers explained their views of occupational risk. They believed they had experienced occupational exposure in the process of law enforcement, and this has caused them tremendous psychological strain. This uncontrollable risk threatens police victims even more than violent attacks. Although police victims can take various measures to improve their ability to protect themselves, the dangerous nature of the profession itself implies that police officers are still part of a high-risk group. Moreover, occupational exposure can lead to infectious and other diseases, further affecting the health of police families. In addition, complaint disputes can put police victims in risky situations. Police departments must go through lengthy and complicated investigation procedures to justify the actions of police officers, and in the process the victims must endure multiple inquiries and complete complex reports, increasing stress levels even further.

Self-doubt

It is well known that victims of most crimes develop some level of self-doubt (Youstin & Siddique, 2019). This was without exception evident among all the participants. This self-doubt was not limited to their behavior but also extended to uncertainty about the law and justice.

Another thing is, I work for a long time, I have a lot of stress, and then I can’t control my emotions, and then I affect my family when I return home, causing my family to break down. (Officer Shen)

As a police officer, if I can do it, I can solve any problems with ordinary people, what criminal cases, law and order cases. If I can’t handle it well, I can responsibly say that if I don’t have this ability, I will not be a police officer. Because I can handle all these things, I don’t have to be a police officer. I can do anything. (Officer Han)

When I was a police officer, I felt it was because at the time I was working, I didn’t have a sense of belonging to the profession, and I didn’t realize that wearing uniforms meant responsibility. (Officer Yang)

In the thematic analysis of this focus group, Officer Han’s point of view is the most direct. He questioned not only current police duties but also his current law enforcement work. It is evident that these interviewees had developed self-doubt, which ultimately might negatively affect their professional experience and even their family relationships.

What we do is always offending people. The public does not understand us, we cannot find a sense of belonging, and no place can give us a safe haven. Then our treatment is not [good], and we always say that it is slightly lower than the military. But we never felt this. (Officer Zhu)

The recordings suggest that the interviewees developed a deep sense of loneliness after a period of self-doubt. Officer Zhu, for instance, believed that society was excluding the police. This negative impression of the police has long-term social consequences. First, low legal awareness by the police has caused conflicts with the public and thus painted an unfair image of law enforcement. Second, police officers position themselves as social managers, thereby causing misunderstandings and estrangements between themselves and the public. This has resulted in police being “evicted” from society. Third, the low quality of police recruits has led to frequent violations of regulations and discipline, which seriously threatens public safety. The combination of these factors has led to a long-term negative image of the police. The general public does not see the price police victims pay and does not provide acceptance for the police community. The participants responded very strongly in this regard. In addition, unequal treatment is of concern to Police Officer Zhu, who believes his current salary does not match his job. Other respondents had similar views.

My wife also told me that you do 20 to 20 hours of work every day and you earn less than me. In fact, my wife may earn 20 yuan an hour, and I may only be a few yuan’s more per hour than her. (Officer Qin)

In general, self-doubt was prevalent among the respondents, manifesting in social recognition, family relationships, and treatment levels. As the interviews progressed from initial questioning about professional competence to professional significance, the self-doubt gradually deepened. The respondents realized their sense of responsibility for their work was declining and they talked about the painful process of self-doubt. In such cases, they need to recognize self-doubt caused by emotional damage because not only can it harm the work environment within the police community and the reliability of law enforcement results, but it can also maneuver victims in a difficult situation and cause holistic emotional damage.

Impact on Police Victim Behavior

Most respondents expressed that they should change their behavior to avoid harm. This change in thought process usually occurs after encountering police victimization situations or hearing about specific attacks on police officers. After experiencing or witnessing these cases, the psychological state of police victims becomes more sensitive, which changes their behavior.

Another thing is, I just said that the use of video equipment is to protect myself. I try not to be beaten by the suspect. I can’t fight back. I can only go to the video and use the video as evidence. (Officer You)

Another thing, when facing this situation, I want to keep a safe distance [from the suspect]; this distance is very important. You (the suspect) don’t approach me because the closer the suspect is to me, if he takes some aggressive behavior, it will give me a very short response time. (Officer Xu)

According to Officer Xu, his behavior changed radically and became more self-protective because he understood that he was a “high-value” target for attack. This behavioral change took the form of leaving far more distance between himself and a suspect to prevent an attack.

At present, we are investigating cases mainly by two people; at least in terms of numbers, we cannot be absolutely disadvantaged. Secondly, we should be equipped with certain weapons. Although we are not equipped with firearms, our current equipment is [a] baton and [a] flashlight. This is far from enough. (Officer He)

Officer He’s view further described the fear experienced by this cohort—to the extent that they increased the number of officers who deal with an incident to try to reduce the chances of being attacked. It is worth noting here that even the police victims feel the general public should be held responsible for police victimization. Moreover, they do not think the police should be held accountable for injuries caused by risky and unprotected enforcement methods. In addition, interviewees discussed how to avoid complaint disputes.

There was a taxi driver two days ago. I was patrolling behind him. He braked […] in the middle of the road. As soon as I saw it, I [spoke to him and] said, “[Why did] you stop in the middle of the road?” He said, “you’re insulting me!” As soon as I heard this, I got off the bus. I said that today I must have a good discussion with us. I have a law enforcement recorder, and all my driving records are there. (Officer Lv)

Investigating complaints is what we should do. However, I have encountered some bad complaints from this kind of work. Actually, I think this kind of complaint is also a kind of psychological harm to the police. [… ]This kind of injury will affect the mood of the police for a long time. (Officer Zhang)

In the focus group discussions, the interviewees stated that because of the impact of police victimization cases, they need to take a more rigorous approach to law enforcement. In short, they believe they need to change how they go about their daily routines, primarily by increasing access to video evidence, thus helping avoid any possible complaints.

Impact of PVC on Police Victims Returning to Law Enforcement Positions

The officers’ views about returning to law enforcement positions were generally represented by reluctance.

The more cases I investigate, the more dangers I face, which is not fair. There is a proper term for this, which is called the fault tolerance rate. The more I do, the greater my chance of error. If I don’t do anything, then I’m a good person, who will hit me? Why the police are so dangerous because we do the most. (Officer Kong)

Because [of] the pressure of public opinion, including [government leaders], our leaders at all levels now attach great importance to this public opinion, including letters and visits. It is required that you must control the grassroots units and not influence [them]. You have to digest it, and we’ll be honest. (Officer Cao)

As a result, these police victims have become suspicious, sensitive, and more “fragile” than those who have not experienced or heard about police victimization cases. Generally speaking, most interviewees said that although they knew they were facing extraordinary risks and severe costs, they would still carry on with their jobs.

In fact, our requirements are very simple—we are paid too low for work. One is our wages and benefits—benefits must not be [so] low! Second, we [want] an annual [vacation], and we don’t want anything else. There are no vacations. Still can’t rest because the police force is insufficient. We want to rest. (Officer Yan)

To be honest, the police are right for the masses. But the police are human. Not everything can be handled well. You have a premise for the masses. We can handle [things] within our scope of responsibility, [but] we have own feelings, we may [make] mistakes. But this is not what we are subjective. (Officer Hua)

In this thematic analysis of the focus group discussions, the difficulty police victims have returning to law enforcement positions is obvious. This is detrimental to long-term career development, and it also affects reliability and accountability. The return of police victims to their positions can be a long process.

Self-Protection

Based on the analysis of the previous five topics, various types of emotional injuries of police victims can be discerned. In a focus group discussion on this subject, police analyzed how they can protect themselves through initiatives such as training.

That is to say, for the police, the probability of danger is higher than that of other agencies. Other civil servants will not face it [they] do not go out, but we are in danger every day. The probability that we law enforcement face because of this risk is significantly higher than other occupations. (Officer Jin)

In terms of police training, I can provide a lot of ideas because before I was a special police officer, in terms of police training, I felt [like] I had trained for at least five years. At least personally, I learned a lot. And indeed, in our daily law enforcement, at least I know how to protect myself. (Officer Tao)

These self-protection measures protect police victims to a certain extent and increase their sense of security. Like the casualties of other crimes, police victims must make their voices heard so society pays attention and those wronged can get better support.

Discussion and Conclusion

According to the statements of these police victims, victimization has caused emotional damage and severely affected their ability to live. It is important to note that police victims expressed negative emotions, including anger, frustration, fear, and sadness. Some of the police victims also suffered great mental stress. In addition, the experience of victimization has had a negative impact on their family and interpersonal relationships. Although some police victims choose to continue working in law enforcement, they pay more attention to self-protection, which may lead to confrontations and conflicts between police victims and suspects. Interestingly, most police victims believe the current police system needs reform to provide a safer environment and welfare guarantees. The victims said the police accountability system further negatively affected them because they were interrogated from within the police department and were also subject to excessive public discussion.

Furthermore, the behavior of police victims at work and at home has changed as a result of the attack. Some police victims have adopted an evasive attitude toward participating in law enforcement to avoid additional harm. For the police respondents interviewed here, attacks targeting the police may cause group panic. The emotional injury of police victims has had a significant negative impact on their behavior and has further damaged their mental state. Police victims also expressed their dissatisfaction with the media and articulated the belief that there were not enough opportunities for them to express their views. Police victims feel as if society is hostile to them. In general, police victims who have suffered violent or nonviolent attacks may face tremendous mental stress, which has a negative impact on their behavior. Many police victims no longer wish to return to law enforcement agencies. Some police victims also showed severe symptoms of self-doubt—believing that the public does not respect them or thinking their work is meaningless.

The breakthrough of this research is to determine the degree of emotional damage caused by police victimization and explore the process of restoring law enforcement capabilities. In addition, research may assist in the treatment and recovery of police victims’ emotional injuries and may provide opportunities to heal police victims’ family and interpersonal relationships. During the interview process of the study, some police victims discussed their inner experiences in depth and made constructive suggestions for the study. Like a police victim’s evaluation of this research, they want to give their voice to the academic world and society. This research is honored to assume this carrier and contribute to the knowledge system of police victimization.

Undeniably, this study has certain limitations. The study has made it clear that police victims will suffer emotional damage for a long time and adversely affect their social and family relationships. However, because only data on emotional damage of police victims were obtained and analyzed, this study has not fully explored the process of emotional damage leading to the deterioration of police victims’ social and family relationships. Lack of understanding of this process may lead to limitations in understanding the results of emotional damage. It is difficult to clarify the impact of police victims’ emotional damage on their close relatives. This may reflect that data collection method may need to be further improved to support police victimization’s continued in-depth study.

Besides, the research was conducted in a city in China, so the research experience may only be used as a reference. If the research experience of this study is to be applied to police victim groups in other cities or countries, it needs to be applied in combination with the actual local conditions. There is a lack of female police officers as a research sample among the interviewees. However, in the current situation of policing work in China, female police officers account for a small proportion of actual law enforcement work (Chen, 2016; Kim & Gerber, 2019). However, as research on the police victim group’s emotional damage, female police officers and female police victims should also be included in the research sample. Considering the lack of female samples in this study, the research experience gained may be gender-biased and may not apply to female police victims.

Police victimization cases may have occurred many times in police victims’ careers, causing repeated psychological stimulation to police victims. Therefore, researchers can conduct further research to explore the psychological state and emotional performance of police victims after being repeatedly stimulated. It is similar to the research on police victims’ emotional damage to understand how these police victimization cases affect the psychological state of police victims and analyze the influence process. This study also believes that the research on police victims’ emotional damage should try to conduct cross-domain research, exploration ship between police victims’ emotional damage and domestic violence, and explore whether emotional damage may lead to police victims’ violent law enforcement behavior.

Supplemental Material

Supplemental material for this article available online.

Supplemental Material for A Qualitative Study: Emotional Damage to Police Victims in China by Haoran Xu, in Journal of Interpersonal Violence

Footnotes

Acknowledgments

The author is very grateful to Professor Antoinette Verhage and Professor Christophe Vandeviver as promoters for their guidance and help for this manuscript and PhD project. The author is also very thankful to the interviewees for their willingness to provide data for this study.

Declaration of Conflicting Interests

Funding

The author(s) received no financial support for the research, authorship and/or publication of this article.

Notes

ORCID iD

Haoran Xu

Author Biography

Haoran Xu, is a PhD candidate in the Criminology Department of Ghent University. His research interests include police victimization prevention and modern police policy. He focused on the spatiotemporal description and behavior analysis of police officers’ victimization process and tried to provide exploratory methods for police victimization prevention.

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