Profiling the Occupational Injuries Sustained by Custody Officers: A Systematic Review

Custody officers (CO) are often exposed to workplace hazards when monitoring prisoners, managing prisoners' recreational time, or searching for contraband, yet research into their injuries is limited. This review aimed to identify, appraise, and synthesise research investigating injuries in CO.

Following the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses protocol and registration with the Open Science Framework, a systematic search of five databases (PubMed, ProQuest, Embase, CINAHL and SportDiscus) using key search terms was conducted. The identified studies were considered against eligibility criteria, with the remaining studies critically appraised using the appropriate Joanna Briggs Institute checklist.

From the 975 identified studies, eight studies (mean critical appraisal score = 69 ± 25%) remained to inform the review. The incidence of fatal injuries ranged from 0.027 to 0.03 per 1000 full-time employees (FTE), whereas that of non-fatal injuries ranged from 15.9 to 44.0 per 1000 FTE. CO aged 31+ years were the most likely to experience injuries (22-44%). Male CO were more commonly injured than female CO in both fatal injuries (male = 89%, female = 11%) and non-fatal injuries (male = 73-74%, female = 26-27%). Assaults (11.5-38%) and slips/trips/falls (23.2-25%) were found to be the most common causes of injuries. The upper extremity was the most commonly injured body part (26-30%), with musculoskeletal sprains and strains (30-60.2%) the most common types of injury.

CO injury profiles are similar to those reported in general-duty police officers. As such, musculoskeletal conditioning, reconditioning, and fall prevention practices employed in law enforcement may serve as an initial approach to risk mitigation in this population.