According to the World Health Organization reports, approximately one million people die by suicide annually. World Health Organization and the latest Burden of Disease Estimation reported that suicide is a major public health problem majorly in high-income countries and it is an emerging issue in low and middle-income countries. According to the International Association for Suicide Prevention, suicide has been identified to be among the top three leading causes of death among individuals aged between 16-44 years in certain countries ( Chae & Boyle, 2013) . Suicide has a crucial effect on families, friends, communities, and societies making it a major social problem that requires a solution.
Every time a police officer loses life in the line of duty, it becomes a major concern for the government as well as the general public. However, very little attention is given to the loss of life by police officers as a result of suicide. Suicide within law enforcement is a situation through which police officers, as well as other law enforcement officers, take away their own lives due to various reasons. A non-profit organization called Badge of Life focuses on lessening the impact of stress and trauma on not only police officers, but also those who have retired (The Badge of Life, n.d.). According to its reports, the rate of suicide among police officers is one and a half times more than that of the general public ( Suresh et al., 2013). It was reported that for every 100,000 police officers, 17 had been reported to commit suicide, while that of the public stood at 11 per 100,000. However, the rate has been fluctuating, in some cases going above the public suicide rate, while in others falling below. As an example, the suicide rate for police officers in 2016 was 12/100000 while that for the public was 13/100000 (The Badge of Life, n.d.). Data compiled by the Badge of Life between the years 2008 to 2016 shows that 141 police officers committed suicide in 2008, 143 in 2009, 126 in 2012, and 108 in 2016. One can notice a reduction in the number of suicides (The Badge of Life, n.d.). The unnamed authors of the study explained that this, “… can likely be attributed to the increasingly aggressive application of mental health programs, suicide prevention training, peer support and chaplaincy programs, CISM and an increasing openness by officers to psychotherapy in a toxic career field” (The Badge of Life, n.d.). Nonetheless, the problem demands attention especially owing to the fact that law enforcers have access to mental health programs. These programs might not be as effective as expected.
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Research has also shown that among the police officers who commit suicide, 75% are male while 25% are female ( Chopko et al., 2014) . At the same time, the men who commit suicide are reported to have families. As the death of law enforcement officers increases, more families are left without a person they can rely on to provide them with basic needs. Children have left orphans after the death of their parents due to suicide. This trend has led to a high number of orphans in society, some unable to attend school while others become homeless after they lose their parents from suicide acts. This issue has since become a major social problem that needs to be addressed as soon as possible.
Suicide is a significant public health and social concern that affects not only families but also society at large. One good example is that of a victim, Dorothy Paugh, whose father, a police officer, committed suicide when she was just nine years. She was reported saying “I count that day as the last day of my childhood. Because from that moment on, I had no sense of security. I had no sense that the world was a safe place” (Pearson, 2016, para. 1). Police suicide leaves many families impoverished and stressed, a situation that calls for the assistance of the state and the society at large to offer help for this particular group. It is quite depressing for young children who are left without a parent. They grow up psychologically disturbed and view the world to be an unsafe place to live. Some cases of police suicide have been reported where a police officer kills himself with the whole family members including children. Such a case denies these young people an opportunity to live and assist in the community development in the future. Patently, suicide within the law enforcement sector has severe consequences in the community.
Studies focusing on suicide within the law enforcement profession have linked this particular issue to certain stress disorders. While it is known that police officers begin their career in excellent physical condition, some take early retirement or even due to the work-related stress. Police officers face high risks of experiencing various life-threatening situations, violence and traumatic scenarios such as going to death scenes and areas where fatal accidents have occurred. That being the case, it is possible that these individuals’ continued exposure to such sensitive scenes increases the likelihood for mental health issues, which might exacerbate suicide ideation. Violanti, Mnatsakanova, and Andrew (2013) noted that some police officers identify strongly with death compared to life. Such a state of being persists due to, in part, fear of seeking mental health services. The authors explained that, “In the occupation of policing”, law enforcement agents “are hesitant to seek help due to police cultural stigma among peers and job consequences, detecting suicide is difficult. In addition, officers may believe that reporting mental health problems or suicidal thoughts will affect their careers in areas of promotion and assignment (Violanti, Mnatsakanova, & Andrew, 2013p. 39). This could explain why, despite having access to mental health programs, police officers still commit suicide.
While there are so many difficulties in researching the causes of police suicide due to difficulty in accessing such information from the law enforcement department, some current studies have tried to give the reasons for this problem. In as much as trauma and PTSD are important, many current researchers have come out with certain experiences that law enforcement professionals undergo that could lead to suicide. Garbarino et al. (2013) noted that work-stress could lead to mental health issues. It is important to note that these individuals perform sensitive tasks, which demands healthy psychological functioning. Thus, in the event that one is unable to cope, the likelihood of mental health issues increases. This does not only deem them ineligible for service, but also increases the risk for suicide (Garbarino et al., 2013). Being exposed to these sensitive experiences results in increased stress among police officers leading to suicide thinking. Research also indicates that the treatment quality of the distressed and traumatized officers by the department is more likely to mediate the effects of trauma and thus suicide.
While various theories and assumptions have been used to explain the rate of suicide in law enforcement, terming it high compared to that of the general public, statistics gathered conflict this particular point of view as noted earlier. The first theory is the issue of male-dominated culture. This theory stresses much on self-solving as well as denial of distress that occur as a result of pervasive fear among staff members that awareness of the distress could damage their career. The theory claims that despite the stress that some male police officers undergo, they do not seek help because of their culture which requires a man to demonstrate strength and ability to deal with life issues at all times. However, it is important to note that no research has been done to ascertain the claims of this theory. Another theory, the police culture, and entitlement theory states that police are given an isolation treatment by the community ( Bonifacio, 2013). Community members see police not as their own and create an attitude of ‘’we verse them.’’ After going through many work stress and trauma, the police expect the society to welcome them and see them as one of their own. Unfortunately, there is bad blood between the police and the public causes more stress to the officers and could lead to suicide. Other theories also argue that police may commit suicide due to their continuous exposure to human misery and violence where they constantly face violence and gun shooting.
Understanding the major causes of suicide within the law enforcement profession is not only important to the government, but also to the society as a whole. While this issue has become a major social problem, understanding it is an important way to arrive at a solution. Understanding the causes of this problem will be useful to the government in improvising measures to find a permanent solution. Any time a police officer loses life from suicide, it costs the government huge sums of funds in training another officer to provide a replacement. Thus, information that touches on this problem will be useful as a starting point towards arriving at a permanent solution.
Lives of dear family members have been lost in the last many years as a result of suicide. The society has lost their productive members. Having an understanding of this problem is thus important step to finding a solution. A permanent solution will enable the society to save the lives of their productive community members. The families of the victims have also been in the past exposed to depression and difficult living conditions after the loss of their loved ones. Left without a dear family member and provider, the families have been subjected to certain psychological torture which impacts negatively on their lives. This problem is therefore important to the government and the society as a whole as its effects are seemingly felt by both. However, the government and the family members feel much of the burden when a police officer commits suicide.
Certain measures have been used to address the issue of suicide within the law enforcement profession. The strategies used involved both preventive as well as proactive measures. The first method that has been used to address the issue of police suicide is by encouraging mental health checkup. This involves having professionals to do a frequent mental health check to the police officers so that any stressors can be identified and addressed ( Tucker, 2015) . It gives the officers an opportunity to address their problems to a professional who understands and who can provide a solution. Another issue that has been used to address the problem of suicide among the police are focusing on the well-being of the police. Police have been undergoing stress due to long working hours, constant shift in work workplace among other issues. Programs have been implemented to ensure police officers have good working conditions as well as reasonable working hours so that they can get time to relax and reduce stress. The third method that has been used to address the issue is by early identification of the risk factors and warning signs ( Patterson et al., 2015) . Warning signs can be substance abuse, hopelessness, anger, and social withdrawal. Upon identification of the warning suicidal signs, one can be taken through guidance and counseling. Direct communication has also been employed to help address the suicide problem among law enforcement officers. The talks should focus on the need to live a healthy life and removal of the suicidal mind. Lethal means reduction involves restricting people from accessing anything that they can use to commit suicide. Research has shown that limiting people on accessing certain items that can be used to commit suicide can help reduce the suicidal rate by 10%.
References
Bonifacio, P. (2013). The psychological effects of police work: A psychodynamic approach . Springer Science & Business Media.
Chae, M. H., & Boyle, D. J. (2013). Police suicide: Prevalence, risk, and protective factors. Policing: An International Journal of Police Strategies & Management , 36 (1), 91-118.
Chopko, B. A., Palmieri, P. A., & Facemire, V. C. (2014). Prevalence and predictors of suicidal ideation among US law enforcement officers. Journal of Police and Criminal Psychology , 29 (1), 1-9.
Garbarino, S., Cuomo, G., Chiorri, C., & Magnavita, N. (2013). Association of work-related stress with mental health problems in a special police force unit. BMJ Open , 3 (7), e002791. http://doi.org/10.1136/bmjopen-2013-002791
Patterson, G. T., Chung, I. W., & Swan, P. W. (2014). Stress management interventions for police officers and recruits: A meta-analysis. Journal of Experimental Criminology , 10 (4), 487-513.
Pearson, C. (2016, September 10). Suicide Has Ripple Effect on Families, Communities, Societies. VOA News . Retrieved from https://www.voanews.com/a/suicide-has-ripple-effect-on-families-communities-societies/3501763.html
Suresh, R. S., Anantharaman, R. N., Angusamy, A., & Ganesan, J. (2013). Sources of job stress in police work in a developing country. International Journal of Business and Management , 8 (13), 102.
The Badge of Life. (n.d.). About The Badge of Life. Retrieved from http://www.badgeoflife.com/about-badge-of-life/
The Badge of Life. (n.d.). A study of police suicide 2008-2016. Retrieved from http://www.policesuicidestudy.com/
Tucker, J. M. (2015). Police officer willingness to use stress intervention services: The role of perceived organizational support (POS), confidentiality and stigma. International Journal of Emergency Mental Health and Human Resilience , 17 (1), 304.
Violanti, J., Mnatsakanova, A., & Andrew, M. (2013). Suicidal ideation in police officers: Exploring an additional measure. Sociology Online, 4 , 33-41.
