Silent struggles: The emotional impact of trauma and its role in decision-making and misconduct in UK policing

17th February 2025Lucy Davies, Doctoral Researcher, The Open University

Every day, police officers endure experiences that most people can’t even imagine – violence, tragedy, and life-or-death emotionally fuelled decisions – but what happens when the weight of that trauma becomes too much to bear? PhD researcher Lucy Davies of the Open University’s Centre of Policing Research & Learning (CPRL) explores how unprocessed trauma can quietly erode judgement, fuel emotion dysregulation and, in some cases, lead to the very misconduct that undermines public trust.

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Silent struggles: The emotional impact of trauma and its role in decision-making and misconduct in UK policing

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