Gazette - Internet child exploitation investigations

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Coping with emotional challenges

By Carolyn Burns

Internet Child Exploitation (ICE) teams around the world not only investigate the rape and torture of innocent children, they often must watch it happen.

As one investigator said, “it’s like standing in front of a window watching it happen and there is nothing you can do to stop it.”

As part of ongoing criminal investigations, members of ICE teams are required to view graphic images depicting the sexual abuse and torture of children in an effort to identify victims and suspects and obtain evidence for eventual prosecution. The content can range from still photographs of young children to explicit video with sound of very young infants being tortured and raped. The amount of time spent viewing these images varies; however, it is a substantial component of the investigation and can have a significantly negative impact on investigators.

In order to understand the impact ICE investigations can have on individuals, a study was conducted with the help of the RCMP ICE team in British Columbia to explore what helps and hinders coping with ICE work. The results, taken from the experiences of ICE investigators, identified some unique and important findings relating to the impact of the work and suggested personal strategies that team members can employ to help them cope more effectively.

Impact of work

Investigators’ personal experiences, coping strategies and the graphic nature of the material they are exposed to all affect the degree to which they are impacted by ICE work. It is common for investigators to feel overwhelmed by the sheer volume of investigations and the level of depravity and harm perpetrated against children and infants. Society, the criminal justice system and policing organizations lack a complete understanding of child exploitation, which frequently creates barriers to investigations and leads to intense frustration.

Have you been “ID’ed” yet?

ICE team members in British Columbia now have access to a support program that helps them understand and cope with the emotional aspects of their work.

The Inoculation/Defusing (ID) program, developed by the RCMP Behavioural Sciences group in B.C., is a voluntary and confidential course available to every new ICE team member, with followup sessions every six months thereafter.

“Group members are shown some short video clips of child exploitation images,” says Teal Maedel, one of the psychologists who developed the program. “The group members discuss their thoughts, feelings and the most ‘gut-wrenching’ part or part they would most like to erase in viewing the images.

“The group then shares what coping strategies have worked for them, and the facilitators (trained psychologists) contribute to this discussion if necessary.” The session closes with each participant sharing “something valuable about the work that they do.”

The sessions also include an educational component, where external psychologists speak about subjects like sexuality, family dynamics, cognitive denial and other coping strategies.

Feedback from B.C. ICE teams has been positive. The Behavioural Sciences group now offers the program to other police departments.— Caroline Ross

In addition, despite the value and necessity of the work, the level of discomfort about the topic of child exploitation in general has made it extremely difficult for team members to share their work and concerns with others, leading to feelings of isolation and stigma.

The physical and emotional reactions to ICE work described by several team members include frequent headaches, fluctuating moods and extreme fatigue, which often prevents them from engaging in their normal outside activities and leaves some feeling like they were not able to fulfil their responsibilities to family and friends.

Those exposed to particularly graphic and traumatic images often experience nightmares, flashbacks, intrusive images, difficulty sleeping and problems concentrating. Compounding the problem, the sheer horror of the images they witnessed prevents team members from discussing or debriefing with others outside of the team, depriving them of a valuable and necessary outlet.

Many found that this work made them far more protective of children. Several described constantly being on guard when they were out, continually watching the behaviour of people around children. Others described having an overwhelming need to teach every parent and child about Internet safety and the inherent dangers of using the Net. Some who were parents also found they were far more restrictive of what their children were allowed to do because of the horrifying knowledge they carry.

Over the three years that this ICE team has been in existence, its members have gained knowledge about what helps and hinders coping with the work and have developed a number of strategies. The strategies outlined below are some of the techniques used by team members to cope with the difficult images and material they are exposed to on a regular basis.

Viewing strategies

A gradual introduction to the images was found to be helpful to those new to the unit. Those who experienced a gradual introduction reported that it helped them prepare for increasingly difficult materials.

The opportunity to prepare mentally before viewing the images helped ICE team members cope with what they were about to see. Several described the importance of getting into the right “head space,” where they could prepare for seeing the worst images imaginable.

Another helpful viewing strategy described by team members was to make a deliberate choice to change how they perceived the images. Some said it helped to pretend they were not real children being victimized; others found they were able to shut down their emotions, which helped them to view more objectively. Not looking the victim in the eyes or making connections between the child victim and another child they knew was also very important.

Several found that being aware of how they were reacting while viewing was critical. Taking a break, going for a run, and talking to others were all described as helpful strategies to assist when they began viewing from an emotional perspective.

Regardless of the difficulty of the content being viewed, remaining analytical and focusing on the evidence within the images was key. By working systematically to gather the investigative information required from the images, individuals were able to remain more objective.

Participants also talked about specific factors that influenced their ability to cope with viewing, including viewing in the morning (to allow several hours for the images to fade before leaving for home and family), limiting the amount of viewing done each day, mixing viewing with other investigative tasks, and not viewing when tired or emotional. Having a private environment, team members to touch base with, and the ability to take breaks and talk to others when viewing particularly horrific images was also helpful.

Personal strategies

In addition to specific approaches used when viewing, team members described a number of personal strategies that helped them to cope with the work.

• Engaging in hobbies that distract the mind
• Regular, often intense, exercise
• Grounding activities such as yoga, taking walks, listening to music
• Putting a limit on viewing each day
• Leaving work at work at the end of the day
• Setting personal boundaries and knowing when it is time to transfer out of the unit and move on to other work
• Being aware of personal limitations

ICE team members can become overwhelmed and develop unrealistic expectations of themselves as they know there are so many child victims who continue to be harmed. Team members must learn that they cannot carry the responsibility for all of those children alone. In order to remain healthy, they must realize they can only do their part, and then give themselves permission to leave the work behind at the end of their day.

Support of supervisors

One of the most significant factors mentioned by team members was having supervisors who understood the impact of ICE work. Such supervisors automatically supported team members in doing what they needed to remain healthy. Having the support to step away, limit viewing, go for a run, or seek out others to laugh or talk to during particularly difficult moments was identified by all as critical to their well-being.

Given the nature of the work and the inability to talk about the images they see to prevent traumatizing others, a great deal of importance is placed on team. Team members described the importance of having a solid team of individuals who work well together and can support one another. Selecting the right individuals in relation to suitability, emotional stability and capacity to handle ICE work was identified as key to the healthy functioning of the entire team.

To better support ICE teams as they conduct these often complex and difficult investigations, it is important that the appropriate information, tools, and resources are made available to them.

Carolyn Burns, M.A., has worked in the field of victim services since 1989 and is a Registered Clinical Counsellor.