The study of police officers’ trauma through the police culture perspective reveals a unique form of trauma with biological, psychological, and sociocultural implications. The author presents an inclusive and dimensional theoretical conceptualization of police trauma, termed Police Complex Spiral Trauma (PCST), which constitutes a symbolic representation of the cumulative and complex form of police trauma that often expands as a unified process and form through time, tension, and frequency of police officers’ multiple and potentially traumatic exposure during their life-long career. This perspective of police trauma will help us better understand its distinct nature, inspire the formulation of research questions for an exploration of multifaceted evidence-based treatments that correspond to the challenges of police work, and develop relevant curricula for police trainees and preventive intervention policy programs.
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