Abstract
Suicide deaths among our first responder populations have gained growing national attention. Yet, many remain misinformed about the true extent of suicide within law enforcement ranks, with some believing this is a new phenomenon. However, those working and researching in the field know suicide has been a leading cause of mortality for decades. Unfortunately, because stigma and shame often accompany these types of death, many who die by their own hand often remain unknown, and all too often forgotten. Seemingly, only sensationalistic cases or cases of murder-suicide seem to receive any kind of attention. This surreptitious threat to our public safety professionals has yet to receive the same level of concern or attention as other threats, though this is slowly changing.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
References
Brower, J. (2013). Review and input of correctional officer wellness & safety literature review. OJP Diagnostic Center. Office of Justice Programs.
Betz, M. E., Knoepke, C. E., Siry, B., Clement, A., Azrael, D., Ernestus, S., & Matlock, D. D. (2019). ‘Lock to Live’: Development of a firearm storage decision aid to enhance lethal means counselling and prevent suicide. Injury Prevention: Journal of the International Society for Child and Adolescent Injury Prevention, 25(Suppl 1), i18–i24. https://doi.org/10.1136/injuryprev-2018-042944
Burns, C., & Buchanan, M. (2020). Factors that influence the decision to seek help in a police population. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 17(18), 6891. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph17186891
Crank, J. P., & Caldero, M. (1991). The production of occupational stress in medium-sized police agencies: A survey of line officers in eight municipal departments. Journal of Criminal Justice, 19(4), 339–349.
Federal Bureau of Investigation. (n.d.). Law enforcement officers killed and assaulted (LEOKA) program. Retrieved May 27, 2021, from https://www.fbi.gov/services/cjis/ucr/leoka
Foley, J., & Massey, K. L. D. (2020). The ‘cost’of caring in policing: From burnout to PTSD in police officers in England and Wales. The Police Journal, 0032258X20917442.
Haugen, P. T., McCrillis, A. M., Smid, G. E., & Nijdam, M. J. (2017). Mental health stigma and barriers to mental health care for first responders: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Journal of Psychiatric Research, 94, 218–229. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jpsychires.2017.08.001
Johnson, O. (2020). [Unpublished raw data on the demographics of police suicides for the years 2017 to 2019]. Blue Wall Institute, Belleville, IL.
Kovaleski, D. (2019, Jul 19). House bill would require FBI to track police officer suicides, suicide attempts. Retrieved May 27, 2021, from Homeland Preparedness News.
Law Enforcement Mental Health and Wellness Act. (2018). (LEMHWA). 131 STAT. 2276 PUBLIC LAW 115–113—JAN. 10, 2018.
Law Enforcement Suicide Data Collection Act (2020). (134 STAT. 644 PUBLIC LAW 116–143—JUNE 16, 2020, Public Law 116–143 116th Congress, June 16, 2020). Approved June 16.
Milner, A., Page, K., Spencer-Thomas, S., & Lamotagne, A. D. (2015). Workplace suicide prevention: a systematic review of published and unpublished activities. Health Promotion International, 30, 29–37. https://doi.org/10.1093/heapro/au085
Monuteaux, M. C., Azrael, D., & Miller, M. (2019). Association of increased safe household firearm storage with firearm suicide and unintentional death among US youths. JAMA Pediatrics, 173(7), 657–662. https://doi.org/10.1001/jamapediatrics.2019.1078
NYPD, Police Executive Research Forum. (2019). Police Executive Research Forum, Washington, D.C. 20036. Retrieved from https://www.policeforum.org/assets/PreventOfficerSuicide.pdf.
Paton, D., Smith, L., Violanti, J. M., & Eränen, L. (2000). Work-related traumatic stress: Risk, vulnerability and resilience. In J. M. Violanti, D. Paton, & C. Dunning (Eds.), Posttraumatic stress intervention: Challenges, issues, and perspectives (pp. 187–204). Charles C Thomas Publisher.
Paton, D., & Violanti, J. M. (1999). Trauma stress in policing: Issues for future consideration. In J. M. Violanti & D. Paton (Eds.), Police trauma: Psychological aftermath of civilian combat (pp. 293–297). Charles C. Thomas.
Plaxton-Hennings, C. (2004). Law enforcement organizational behavior and the occurrence of post-traumatic stress symptomology in law enforcement personnel following a critical incident. Journal of Police and Criminal Psychology, 19, 53–63. https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02813873
Purba, A., & Demou, E. (2019). The relationship between organizational stressors and mental well-being within police officers: A systematic review. BMC Public Health, 19(1286), 1–21.
Shane, J. M. (2010). Organizational stressors and police performance. Journal of Criminal Justice, 38(4), 807–818. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jcrimjus.2010.05.008
Stanley, I. H., Hom, M. A., Rogers, M. L., Anestis, M. D., & Joiner, T. E. (2017). Discussing firearm ownership and access as part of suicide risk assessment and prevention: “means safety” versus “means restriction.”. Archives of Suicide Research, 21(2), 237–253. https://doi.org/10.1080/13811118.2016.1175395
Watson, L., & Andrews, L. (2018). The effect of a Trauma Risk Management (TRiM) program on stigma and barriers to help-seeking in the police. International Journal of Stress Management, 25(4), 348–356. https://doi.org/10.1037/str0000071
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2022 The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Johnson, O., Papazoglou, K., Violanti, J., Pascarella, J. (2022). Conclusions and Recommendations, Policy Implications, and Future Research. In: Johnson, O., Papazoglou, K., Violanti, J., Pascarella, J. (eds) Practical Considerations for Preventing Police Suicide. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-83974-1_14
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-83974-1_14
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, Cham
Print ISBN: 978-3-030-83973-4
Online ISBN: 978-3-030-83974-1
eBook Packages: Law and CriminologyLaw and Criminology (R0)