Post Traumatic Stress in Law Enforcement

Editor's Note: The PTSD issues seem relevent to the military.

Police-Writers.com is a website dedicated to researching and listing state and local police officers who have written books. The website now hosts 560 police officers (representing 234 police departments) and their 1179 books in six categories. The website also researches and lists separately, federal law enforcement writers, civilian police personnel and international law enforcement officers. The website added a new international police writer from Australia, Esther Mckay.

Esther McKay served in the New South Wales (NSW) Police Force (Australia) for seventeen years, attaining the rank of Detective (technical) Senior Constable. She worked in Forensic Services for fifteen years, specializing in crime-scene examination and vehicle identification. She has a Diploma of Applied Science in Forensic Investigation (NSW Police) and was awarded the National Medal of service in 2001. Esther Mckay retired in 2001 after becoming medically unfit with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD).

Esther Mckay is the president of the Police Post Trauma Support group; and, a strong advocate for improving the mental health conditions for both active and retired law enforcement officials. She is the author of the Australian bestseller Crime Scene.

Esther Mckay said of Crime Scene, “it is an autobiographical account of my work as a Crime Scene Examiner and the gradual onset of PTSD due to the constant exposure to trauma. Day after day my life was consumed by killings, distress and gruesome sites, each one adding another piece to an ever-growing mosaic that seemed to be made up of bloodied disposable gloves, plastic bags and human waste.”

According to the book description, “When Esther McKay, an idealistic young constable with the NSW police, entered the tough, male-dominated world of forensic investigation; she was determined to hold her own. She soon found herself at deeply confronting crime scenes, often working alone and without supervision. After years of long, lonely, exhausting days and nights, and following a particularly harrowing high-profile case involving the disappearance of two young boys, Esther had a break-down and was diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder. This is Esther's story. Powerful, moving and unforgettable, Crime Scene takes us inside the life of a forensic investigator, and reveals as never before the extraordinary demands and dangers of forensic work.”

The New South Wales (NSW) Police Force was established by the Police Regulation Act 1862, which was replaced by the Police Regulation Act 1899. In June 1987, the NSW Police Force (operations) and the NSW Police Department (policy and administrative support) were combined.

The NSW Police Force is Australia's oldest and largest police organization and one of the biggest in the English speaking world. It has 17,000 employees, including more than 13,300 police officers. The police officers serve a population of seven million in the state of New South Wales, an 801,600 square kilometer area comparable in size to Texas, and double the combined geographic areas of England, Scotland and Wales. The New South Wales Police Force operates on land, sea and from the air; and, provides community based policing from more than 500 police stations to a wide range of ethnic communities speaking more than 30 languages.