DIFFICULTIES OF WORKING IN

THE JUSTICE SYSTEM (CHS)

There are some specific hardships that come along with jobs in law
enforcement. Many of these difficulties are general to all facets of our
justice system, however, the examples used in this presentation come from
those experienced and observed through a practicum placement with the
Calgary Humane Society.
DIFFICULTIES OF WORKING IN
THE JUSTICE SYSTEM (CHS)

I have isolated three challenges that are experienced by

the Calgary Humane Societys Animal Cruelty Investigation Peace
Officers on any given day in the performance of their duties:
mental and emotional fatigue by the macabre nature of the work
they do, discrimination from the public, and uphill motivation battles
(sometimes months of work are channelled into an animal cruelty
charge only to have the entire case dismissed by judges with
predispositions for old school methods of training animals).
DIFFICULTIES OF WORKING IN
THE JUSTICE SYSTEM (CHS)
1. Repeated Exposure to Repulsive Human Behavior

Some extreme ends of humanity

are uncovered when enforcing
animal cruelty legislation. When
you regularly work with people
who hoard pets, physically beat
their pets, sexual assault their
pets, and so on, you are at risk
of becoming emotional fatigued.
Burnout and Posttraumatic Stress
Disorder are real workplace
hazards.
DIFFICULTIES OF WORKING IN
THE JUSTICE SYSTEM (CHS)
1. Repeated Exposure to Repulsive Human Behavior

Burnout: lack of personal accomplishment, emotional exhaustion, negative job

attitudes, and depersonalization/deindividuation and a loss of concern and for
clients (Kanel, 2015, P. 165).

Seeing the same horrific treatment of animals repeat day after

day just with different people can lead to this I dont care
anymore attitude.

Debriefing, and open, supportive communication

following traumatic experiences can protect again burnout.
DIFFICULTIES OF WORKING IN
THE JUSTICE SYSTEM (CHS)
1. Repeated Exposure to Repulsive Human Behavior
In certain circumstances some of the unpleasant situations dealt with can align with
some criminological theories that hint at even more ominous undercurrents.

Ex) I took and wrote up a call for two young girls who were reportedly
beating their cat and hanging it by its tail.

There is a huge link between animal violence and domestic

violence. According to the Social Learning Theory: criminal
behavior is learned in a process of symbolic interaction with
others, mainly in primary or intimate groups (Akers, Sellers,
and Jennings, 2017, P. 84). Also relevant are power and
control theories; you get beat by your parents so you beat you
pets.
DIFFICULTIES OF WORKING IN
THE JUSTICE SYSTEM (CHS)
1. Repeated Exposure to Repulsive Human Behavior

The Social Learning theory would suggest the girls learned their abusive from
someone else; their parents may be abusive towards the pets too, or toward each
other, or towards the kids themselves. By applying a social learning theory it is
possible to uncover even darker circumstances then first thought.
 DIFFICULTIES OF WORKING IN
THE JUSTICE SYSTEM (CHS)
2. Discrimination From the Public
Emotions are usually high when Animal
Cruelty Peace Officers are paying
someone a visit. Many offenders are
not happy to learn they are losing their
pets or being charged under the
Animal Protections Act. This often
equates to personally held stereotypes
being used in vocal assaults. It is
another challenge the officers must
learn to work around; they must know
their triggers and be ready to control
their emotions.
 DIFFICULTIES OF WORKING IN
THE JUSTICE SYSTEM (CHS)
2. Discrimination From the Public
There seem to be two common
stereotypes used to rock the cool of our
officers:
1) Many subjects both vocally, and with
their posture, dismiss female officers
and assume any male officer on
scene is in charge, however, our most
senior field officer is a female. The
repeated misogyny would without a
doubt get on the nerves of our
professional and capable female
officers.
 DIFFICULTIES OF WORKING IN
THE JUSTICE SYSTEM (CHS)
2. Discrimination From the Public
There seem to be two common
stereotypes used to rock the cool of our
officers:

2) Many disgruntled subjects will

vocally assault officers by ridiculing their
station; they imply that peace officers
are simply wannabe cops and have little
real power (untrue; the APA allows for
$20,000 fines and life-time bans on
animal ownership).
DIFFICULTIES OF WORKING IN
THE JUSTICE SYSTEM (CHS)
3. Losing Cases

The third foundational challenge common to all streams

of law enforcement is that sometimes your charges do not
always pan out. You may pour countless hours into
preparing for a trial: gathering evidence, conducting
interviews, arranging for expert witnesses, polishing up
case briefs ext., however, all this effort may only be
disappointingly rewarded by a judicial decision to
dismiss all charges.
DIFFICULTIES OF WORKING IN
THE JUSTICE SYSTEM (CHS)
3. Losing Cases

This is also closely related to the first point of burnout. Preparing for trial,
becoming emotionally attached to a certain case, thinking a conviction is a for sure
thing, and then losing in court can be extremely emotionally and mentally fatiguing.
It happened to one of the CHS officers and it is understandably upsetting; although
there are still high hopes for an appeal.
DIFFICULTIES OF WORKING IN
THE JUSTICE SYSTEM (CHS)
It is important to understand the harsh realities that come along with working in the
criminal justice system. It can be exciting and rewarding, however, it is not without
its challenges. The role of the job, the nature of the people that are dealt with, and
the potential traumatic experiences involved align to produce difficult work. As
discussed, three specific challenges I have witnessed the CHS officers grappling
with are burnout, discrimination from the public, and the inconvenient reality that
sometimes the bad guys get away with their animal cruelty; yet they continue to
perform their job with gusto and care.
 Reference

Akers, R., Sellers, C., & Jennings, W. (2017). Criminological Theories: Introduction,
Evaluation, & Application. New York, NY: Oxford university Press.

Kanel, K. (2015). A Guide To Crisis Intervention: Fifth Edition. Stamford, CT:

Cengage Learning.
 References
Figure 1. Calgary Humane Society logo. [Digital image]. By the Calgary Humane Society, N/D. Retrieved from
https://www.calgaryhumane.ca/.

Figure 2. Calgary Humane Society Peace Officers educating public. [digital image]. By the Calgary Humane Society, June
17, 2017. Retrieved from
https://www.facebook.com/CalgaryHumaneSociety/photos/a.582694425105075.1073741827.124316117609577/161
4030025304838/?type=3&theater

Figure 3. Stressed out law enforcement. [digital image].By unknown, n/d. Retrieved from
http://trauma.blog.yorku.ca/2014/11/officers-with-ptsd-at-greater-risk-for-police-brutality/.

Figure 4. Officers removing animals from extremely dirty hoarder house. [Digital image]. By Darren Makowichuk./Calgary
Sun, May 13, 2014). Retrieved from http://www.calgarysun.com/2014/05/13/calgary-humane-society-seizes-up-to-50-
dogs-from-home-in-acadia.

Figure 5. Domestic violence of child. [Digital image] .By Piers Nye, n/d. Retrieved from
http://chicagopolicyreview.org/2014/10/23/silent-observers-how-children-internalize-witnessing-domestic-violence-in-their-
homes/

Figure 6. Cycle of violence. [Digital image]. By unknown, n/d. Retrieved from

http://www.saievac.org/children/learn/violence-and-thematic-areas/.

Figure 7. Public expressing anger with police. [Digital image]. By unknown, July 27, 2012. Retrieved from
https://www.indybay.org/uploads/2012/07/23/anaheim_unrest.jpg

Figure 8. Justice Robin Camp. By Andrew Balfour/Federal Court of Canada, n/d. Retrieved from
http://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/judge-robin-camp-judicial-inquiry-1.3697014