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Hindi Short Communication
Compassion Fatigue and Compassion Satisfaction among Police Officers: An Understudied Topic
Judith P. Andersen*, Konstantinos Papazoglou
Assistant Professor, University of Toronto - Mississauga Campus, Deer Field Hall, Mississauga, Ontario, Canada
Abstract
Police officers routinely face critical incidents such as violent offenders, motor vehicle fatalities, and mistreated children (Cross & Ashley, 2004; Karlsson & Christianson, 2003). Police are tasked with keeping the peace and helping traumatized victims. Over time, the effort to alleviate the victims’ suffering may come with a cost. Charles Figley (1995) coined the term “compassion fatigue” (pp. 9) to describe this “cost of caring for those who suffer.” Compassion fatigue (CF) has multiple negative effects on caregiving professionals’ wellbeing and occupational performance.
