People are saying this is amazing work, yadda yadda, but it's only amazing if sufficient following-up is done and arrests are made etc. I could see this being a sort of "Oh look at us, we're busy categorising all these videos.. don't ask too many questions.." Perhaps one answer to your problem is to be more of a follow-up guy. Maybe others are happy to do the categorising, while you could do more of the "detective" work. I dunno.
Ok so here goes, you are being exposed to material that is by law "Illegal," why is there no support in place, i am curious where you are located? I deal with death often and there are programs in place for employees here to process what we come across.
If the visualization of imagery is affecting you personal life, you should look for support if not from your employer, then definitely from organizations in your area that focus on sexual victimization. Many have free counseling available. Even though you may not be the direct victim of abuse, you are being exposed to damaging material.
I think on another thread (or was it a podcast) it said someone at Microsoft who investigated claims sites that had claims of child porn eventually had a mental breakdown. Sounds like your employers are really bad. Maybe you ask for a transfer.
@officerD I would strongly recommend talking to someone about it. I know the Police Services are not great for being "touchy-feely" (my dad works for a Service in Ontario), but it is likely that if your Sergeant doesn't already know some of the stresses that come with the job, someone at your Service knows social workers who work with victims of sexual violence and/or PTSD who would better know who you should talk to. CP presents greater stresses in police, and if you bear it alone I fear it will crush you. Asking for support in it is a sign of strength and proof that you value yourself. External and peer support will enable to do your job more effectively. In a quick google search I was able to find this report (pdf), the number for COPline - 1-800-267-5463 - which would have good access to resources and likely be able to direct you to people near you, and there's a thing called The Counseling and Critical Incident Debriefing Center in Jersey. Two quick thoughts on this: 1) Not when it comes to children, if a psychologist thought sexualizing children was normal...you'd probably be looking at his computer. 2) If I am hearing you right, one of your main concerns is that the amount of pornography you witness will have a dehumanizing impact on your perception of people, sex, and sexuality. There should be more police with that concern! What a great thing to fight for, and I think, even if a counsellor or therapist believes some porn or masturbation is normal or healthy, they should see that recognising the humanity of others, especially for the victims of sexual abuse or for the people who go after their aggressors, is something to be protected. I hope this gives you a good starting point. Let me know if you have any other questions, I may even be able to make some discreet inquiries if you'd like.
