A Study of Police Suicide in 2008-2009

NEW--2009 POLICE SUICIDE NUMBERS

We have just released our preliminary 2009 police suicide statistics. There were 143 police suicides in 2009, an increase from 2008 police suicides of 141.

Final figures will be released as soon as practicable, providing additional details and profile information of use to researchers.

POLICE SUICIDE – A COMPREHENSIVE STUDY

OF 2008 NATIONAL DATA

Published in the International Journal of Emergency Mental Health

Andrew F. O'Hara, Badge of Life

John Violanti, PhD.

A source of considerable confusion in the law enforcement community has been the question of “how many” police suicides occur in a given calendar year. Attempts to fill this gap have given rise to a variety of speculative, often wildly exaggerated figures, none based on verifiable research or gathered in an organized, useful manner. Attempts to obtain a verifiable sampling of this data or even the most rudimentary validation have been futile, however.

Such figures have then been translated into wildly varying “rates” and “profiles” that, because they lack any basis in fact, do little to help and much to impede the meaningful development of programs that can address the problems of police stress, trauma, posttraumatic stress, suicide and the promotion of improved general health in the law enforcement community.

The National Surveillance of Police Suicide Study (NSOPS) was the first of its kind to study actual suicides on a daily basis across all 50 states for an entire year. This exhaustive study took place from January 1, 2008 until December 31, 2008, inclusive. The information gathered in the study goes beyond mere numbers and encompasses a range of other serious questions surrounding each suicide, including:

Date

Location

Department

Age

Rank

Time on the job

Means of suicide

Circumstances leading to the suicide

Emotional state of the officer prior to the event

Known trauma prior to the event

Statements by departments and medical examiners.

We established that 141 police suicides occurred during 2008. This figure is, not surprisingly, in concert with CDC/NOMS data, current research, and comparisons with groups such as the United States Army.

Highlights that you will find included in the study include:

Ages 35 - 39 are at highest risk of suicide.

Service time at highest risk was 10 - 14 years.

64% of suicides were "a surprise."

The NSOPS study includes state-by-state figures and information on each, the reasons potential suicides will continue to elude prevention/awareness programs, and the need for a re-focusing of efforts to self care rather than on the surveillance of others, such as occurs in QPR programs.

A copy of this study can be obtained from the International Journal of Emergency Mental Health.

For questions or a law enforcement copy of the study, contact us at BadgeOfLife@yahoo.com

A full listing of all police suicides in the United States by date,

circumstances and location during

2008 is available upon request for purpose of study

verification and research. Contact us in the event

a copy would be of value to you.

THE "WHY" QUESTION

by Andy O'Hara

Badge of Life

With the NSOPS study, we demonstrated that determining a reliable, verifiable number of police suicides each year (130 - 150) is achievable. The most important question remains "WHY?" Not a single suicide in 2008 was attributed to the stresses and traumas of the job--even though officers and administrators are unanimous in saying it's a stressful and traumatic job.

Not one.

We talk about what a truamatic and stressful job law enforcement is. If an officer is holding a gun to his head and has a history of work-related trauma, we retire him on a disability pension. If that same officer pulls the trigger, we shame him and his family and leave them with nothing. We call him a coward.

The only things being blamed after a suicide are families, personal problems, and "amazement" that it even happened.

We have elected to simplify the task and, instead, put the onus on police agencies--in a positive manner. We have put a new category of law enforcement death into the arena, called "Line of Duty Suicides." This is the first step in recognizing that some (not all) suicides are due to the stresses and traumas of the job.

Our continued tracking of police suicides into 2010 will focus on the question of how many suicides departments will acknowledge as work related. If police work is so stressful and traumatic, surely there is one case of suicide that is work related. Perhaps it is impossible for police work to lead someone to suicide. We will be watching.

www.BadgeOfLife.com

(916) 993-9939