Policing is a challenging and demanding profession, complicated by societal demands and expectations, the uniqueness of the work environment, and the elevated level of exposure to stress and trauma. In my examination of available literature and research, I learned the overall impact of these factors has been a topic of discussion, however, the study of more specific stressors, such as ineffective leadership, is nascent. I opine that it is important to acknowledge ineffective leadership as a significant stressor that may contribute to police officer moral injury. Moral injury is a response to excessive moral pain resulting in emotional and psychological suffering (Litz and Kerig, 2019; Roth et al., 2022). If left unrecognized, the injury can result in a decline of overall mental health due to the resulting stress, anxiety, and potentially depressive symptoms (Schafer, 2010; Litz and Kerig, 2019; Wolter et al., 2019; Chan and Andersen, 2020; Demou et al., 2020; Roth et al., 2022). Moreover, ineffective leadership, which I argue is morally injurious, can lead to declining mental health and potentially mental illness. In their review, Violanti et al. (2017) demonstrated that police officers may become less resilient due to their disproportionate exposure to operational trauma and stress, so addressing factors within police organizations that can contribute to further psychological suffering is vital.

Organizational stressors, such as limited resources, interpersonal conflict, discrimination, and, significantly, ineffective leadership impact the mental health of police officers, much like operational stressors, which include traumatic incidents, risk of physical injury, and high consequence of error (Schafer, 2010; Wolter et al., 2019; Chan and Andersen, 2020; Demou et al., 2020). Trauma and stress can erode resiliency (Violanti et al., 2014; Andersen et al., 2015; Tabinia and Radecki, 2018; Carlson-Johnson et al., 2020), and when an officer is worn down, coping in a paramilitary police culture (hierarchal, strong discipline, and directed) becomes exceedingly difficult. Once the workforce, and ultimately the organizational police culture, is negatively affected by ineffective leadership, an officer’s ability to cope becomes further compromised. This can lead to a psychological injury which is a psychiatric or psychological condition brought on by traumatic exposures and/or stress (Young et al., 2020).

In this perspective I identify and compare operational and organizational stressors with the intent of demonstrating through the literature how organizational stressors, specifically ineffective leadership, injures police officers. As a police officer, I share my experience of how the drain of police work can leave officers unable to endure in a poorly led command environment. I explain how police culture can create a sense of helplessness for officers and can sustain ineffective leadership. I explore the direct effect this type of leadership has in creating moral injury, and how the specific issue warrants further attention. Recognizing the correlation between ineffective leadership and moral injury allows police leadership and clinicians to be better-informed about this aspect of the officer experience. Society relies on police officers to be in optimal mental health because of the critical decisions and judgments they are required to make in the moment. Understanding the context of police work and police culture is necessary when determining how best to approach their psychological needs.

Canadian researchers McCreary and Thompson (2006) developed scaled measurements of police operational stressors and police organizational stressors (McCreary and Thompson, 2006). Qualitative interviews were conducted with members of the Ontario Provincial Police and the resulting themes informed two 20-item scaled questionnaires, respectively, titled Operational Police Stress Questionnaire (PSQ-Op) and the Organizational Police Stress Questionnaire (PSQ-Org; McCreary and Thompson, 2006). Examples of operational stressors measured are shift work, managing social life outside of work, negative comments from the public, and traumatic events (McCreary and Thompson, 2006, p. 617). Organizational stressors measured include dealing with supervisors, internal investigations, inadequate equipment, and bureaucratic red tape. Existing literature demonstrates the importance of recognizing organizational stressors as potentially detrimental to police officer mental health (Schafer, 2010; McCreary et al., 2017; Wolter et al., 2019; Chan and Andersen, 2020; Demou et al., 2020). Chan and Andersen (2020) suggest that organizational stressors can increase risk to mental health and interfere with recovery for those who have experienced psychological injuries.

Research and empirical evidence are scarce on the topic of moral injury in policing (Papazoglou et al., 2020b). Dedicated attention has mainly been given to military-related contexts (Griffin et al., 2019). Moral injury is the negative impact of moral and ethical challenges faced in the line of duty (Papazoglou and McQuerrey Tuttle, 2018; Litz and Kerig, 2019; Roth et al., 2022). In the world of policing, most often a moral injury is attributed to what an officer has done (officer involved shootings) or what they think they could have done (prevented a death). The experience of moral injury can be overwhelming, affecting how a person thinks, feels, and acts (Griffin et al., 2019). It can result in emotions, such as shame, betrayal, sadness, and anger (Griffin et al., 2019; Litz and Kerig, 2019; Papazoglou et al., 2020a; Roth et al., 2022). Moral injury, if not addressed, can result in other mental health issues or disorders (McEwen et al., 2020). A moral injury is dependent upon the degree of “psychological, social, and spiritual harm and impairment” (Litz and Kerig, 2019, p. 345) along with the frequency of exposure to events that challenge the morality of officers (Litz and Kerig, 2019).

Griffin et al. (2019) suggest moral injury can be evaluated through “the extent to which individuals appraise themselves as victims of another’s transgressive behavior” (p. 355). More specifically, the experience of working under ineffective leadership itself is a potentially morally injurious event (PMIE; McEwen et al., 2020) which can result in a moral injury. Roth et al. (2022) state the betrayal type PMIE, in some cases, can be attributed to breach of trust and a leader’s actions being non-congruent with an officer’s values. Papazoglou et al. (2020b) argued that this type of failure in leadership can be the most morally assaultive, which highlights the significant impact ineffective leadership can have on the mental health of officers.

To fully understand the impact of ineffective police leadership, an understanding of police culture is required. Police culture in Canada has its own identity based on shared values, norms, language, and perspectives grounded in a paramilitary environment. Colonialism provided the foundation of policing based on Eurocentric, male-dominated discourse, and ideals (Drummond-Smith, 2018; Papazoglou and McQuerrey Tuttle, 2018). There is a self-established barrier that separates officers from the rest of society, creating an us-versus-them mentality. It is my experience that the prevalent crime fighter approach to policing sustains this divide. Additionally, barriers can exist within police culture that creates ongoing challenges for women and people of diverse ethnicity. A recent report completed on the culture of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) identified obstacles to a healthy work environment within the RCMP, including sexual harassment and gender or sexual orientation-based discrimination (Bastarache, 2020). Further, systemic racism in policing creates significant barriers in recruiting officers of color (Workman-Stark, 2017), and for those who do serve, the expectation is for them to conform to the pre-existing culture based on Eurocentric ideals (Loftus, 2010). A recent study of the Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) found that over 50% of respondents experienced harassment, bullying, and discrimination (Cunningham et al., 2019). The internal divide sustains the Eurocentric, male-dominated perspectives as police organizations are not typically reflective of the communities they serve.

The power in police culture is held by upper-ranking leadership. Police culture can permit ineffectiveness at the very top to dominate because there are few to hold that leader accountable. Workman-Stark (2017) explained, “Through their words and actions, police executives establish norms about risk taking, health and wellness, employee empowerment, dress and deportment, and the actions that are more favorably viewed in terms of promotions, job assignments, and other types of rewards” (p. 27). Leaders demonstrate what is important by that which they give their attention to and the resulting actions that they take (Workman-Stark, 2017). Leaders set the standard for the workings of an organization, so their ineffectiveness permeates the day-to-day operations, systems, and morale of the membership. Police culture also cultivates the unspoken requirement of rank and status being respected, despite how the officer who holds that rank and status leads, behaves, and/or influences (Drummond-Smith, 2018). This required obedience can create significant stress, insult an officer’s values, and be morally injurious (Drummond-Smith, 2018; Litz and Kerig, 2019; Roth et al., 2022).

The process of assimilating into police culture begins in training and continues throughout an officer’s career. Following rules and regulations becomes unequivocally necessary, despite individual opinion. The context of the police experience is further ingrained when training cadets becomes recruits and begin to work with an officer already established in the field. When this process is complete the individual has been indoctrinated into the collective often defined by scepticism, suspicion, and pessimism (Loftus, 2010; Workman-Stark, 2017). During my career, I have shared the sense of distrusting organizational motivations, not having faith in the morality of the public, being cynical, lack of faith in the justice system, and anticipating negative outcomes. Authoritarianism becomes the framework of an officer’s experience (Workman-Stark, 2017, p. 32).

The uniqueness of this culture also creates an environment of perceived weakness when officers express their emotional challenges, which can be alienating (Papazoglou, 2012; Demou et al., 2020). Police officers themselves have described police culture as cynical and rife with toxic masculinity, where the stigma about mental illness adds another burden to those who are already struggling (Demou et al., 2020). The shame and stigma about declining or poor mental health and mental illness can further traumatize an injured officer (Papazoglou, 2012). Ingram et al. (2013) suggested the “universally shared attitudes, values, and norms” (p. 367) attributed to police culture can aid in coping with the challenges of police work because of the common experience. However, this requires officers to feel safe in disclosing their thoughts, feelings, and emotions. In the 2019 study of the Ontario Provincial Police, only 45% of respondents indicated they felt confident that they would be supported through difficulties with their mental health (Cunningham et al., 2019). While this is only one study, it speaks to the oft-cited shared experience of officers not feeling safe in disclosing mental health challenges at work.

What is lacking in existing literature is not only further research concerning the impacts of organizational stressors on the mental health of police officers, but more specifically the study of moral injuries resulting from police non-operational experiences. For example, what is the impact of an officer risking their life in service of their community while not being supported and valued by their leadership? Although research has advanced beyond simply studying an officer’s work, I believe there is benefit to further the discourse by focusing on an officer’s organizational environment, including leadership. Understanding how moral injuries can result from a perceived incongruence of personal values and leadership actions allows policing advocates to push for improved organizational cultures. The archaic, strongly held tenets of police culture may be influenced by further acknowledgment of how the culture currently breeds leaders who lead operations, not people.

Organizational stressors are becoming more widely known as having tremendous impact on the psychological wellbeing of police officers (Schafer, 2010; McCreary et al., 2017; Wolter et al., 2019; Carleton et al., 2020; Chan and Andersen, 2020; Demou et al., 2020). Exposure to the trauma of some operational stressors can leave officers less resilient to effectively recognize and address the organizational stressor of ineffective leadership. Further, not only are officers less resilient, but their risk of psychological injuries also increases under this type of organizational stress. Ineffective police leadership is characterized by inconsistency, moral ambiguity, lack of support, oppression, and self-serving agendas, as examples. The pervasiveness of ineffective leadership is further experienced in the paramilitary context of police culture where orders and rank are expected to be followed. Communities require police to be well to effectively address public safety. It is critically important that police leadership be aware of what impacts their officers’ mental health while creating and supporting psychologically safe workplaces.

Publicly available datasets were analyzed in this study. This data can be found at: https://doi.org/10.1037/1072-5245.13.4.494.

This manuscript is an edited original version researched and prepared as part of the author’s masters in counselling psychology requirement for program completion. The original manuscript was written under the supervision of HS of the Graduate Centre for Applied Psychology, Athabasca University.

The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest.

All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article, or claim that may be made by its manufacturer, is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.