Resource Tag: OCCUPATIONS. POLICE

In October 2008, the Governor of New Jersey formed a task force to study police suicide in that state. The Task Force shared expertise, reviewed material on police suicide, & invited guest speakers to make presentations. Law enforcement supervisors were surveyed on their utilization of mental health services for their officers. 4 recommendations were made: […]

This article explores the hazards of policing, including a culture of silence, to help understand how this culture perpetuates suicide as the predominant cause of death among police officers. (9 refs.) JA Contact us for a copy of this article, or view online at http://www.jghcs.info/index.php/j/article/view/10

This paper represents an empirical attempt to gather descriptive police suicide data from all fifty American states for one year – 2008 – and record it in a cohesive manner that may be useful to researchers, police agencies, & program developers. Internet surveillance methods were used to obtain data. Other descriptive data related to police […]

This chapter presents police suicide not as an event, but as a socialization process of learned behaviour within the culture & environment of modern policing. The author describes the learning & reinforced learning involved in each phase of the police career. By presenting depression, stress, & inadequate coping skills as learned behaviour, positive coping mechanisms […]

When comparisons are made between American & European police officers, the results of the studies are often contradictory. This chapter describes & discusses a study of police suicides in Germany in order to provide a baseline of comparison. JA

The proactive response of the Miami-Dade Police Department to law enforcement suicide & indirect self-destructive behaviour through an interactive training program is described in this chapter. Law enforcement suicide is defined as a problem-solving behaviour primarily aimed at improving a threatened self-image (sudden shame). The dynamics of the suicidal paradox, the avoidance of euphemisms, & […]

Suicide by officers became the genesis of a confidential counselling program for officers & their families. However, 10 years after these deaths, a confidential counselling service was shifted to a gatekeeper, nonconfidential service delivery model. Within 2 years, three more officers had died by suicide. This agency provided a near-perfect A-B-A research design where the […]

Twice as many peace officers reportedly die by suicide as are killed in the line of duty. Has suicide among law enforcement become an epidemic? If so, what is the cause? More important, what is the cure? Many obstacles interfere with research on law enforcement suicide, including the natural reticence of families & law enforcement […]

This chapter describes the development, implementation, & evaluation of an educational program for New York City police psychologists, counsellors, & other employee assistance personnel. The goal of the program was to prevent suicides by improving the counselling skills & psychological knowledge of those who evaluate officers at risk for suicidal behaviour. The program consisted of […]

Through the analysis of forensic data, media coverage, & clinical case records of officers who died by suicide or attempted suicide or who were evaluated for suicide, this chapter presents an analysis of the importance of family factors in both the cause & treatment of suicide potential in police officers. Family intervention tactics that encourage […]

Both state & federal civil law require mandatory procedures in the event of occupational death. Any deviation from these procedures can result in civil monetary penalties & criminal charges. Statutory law & recent case law provide the legal foundation for development of mandatory police suicide reporting procedures. Using the occupational death reporting procedures outlined by […]

The authors uses his own experience as a starting point for exploring law enforcement suicide. The goal is to arouse attention, engage in candid discussion, & develop prevention strategies. An argument is made for the need to innoculate officers against the common interpersonal & organizational dysfunction resulting from a law enforcement career. The effort needs […]

This chapter examines the presuicide behavioural patterns of officers who died by suicide, along with their pre-employment psychological profile. Findings are compared with a small sample of other officers who have threatened suicide. Themes apparent from the examination of psychological autopsies are discussed as possible unseen warning signs of self-destructive behaviour. Psychometric data obtained from […]

Both psychological research in & statistical analysis of police suicide will produce a great level of understanding, but these should not lead to decisions about interventions & prevention programs. Once data has been collected, researchers should curb the use of statistics; the essential elements of all applied science are logic & common sense. This chapter […]

When a police officer dies by suicide, it has a tremendous impact on every level of the police department. Through analysis of an individual case of the suicide of a police officer from a small city department, the authors explore the impact on other officers & on the department as a whole. Based on this […]

This chapter reviews themes common in the suicides of uniformed law enforcement officers & special agent personnel. Cases reviewed repeatedly show injury to self-esteem & the loss of control. In every death studied, there were viable alternatives to suicide but the interventions were not perceived to be viable to the officer at risk. The focus […]

This chapter addresses the spiritual dimensions of police suicides. Spirituality is a two-edged sword: while it can be an asset in dealing with the problem, it also can be viewed as suspect. Both suicide & spirituality are emotionally charged issues, begging to be addressed in conjunction. This chapter explores the issues within the law enforcement […]

The presenter & another colleague were commissioned to analyze Federal Bureau of Investigation agents’ reactions to shootings & to determine the ramifications of these effects on agents involved in the exercise of deadly force. From that analysis, as well as from a series of interviews & a conference held in June 1993, a series of […]

This chapter provides a background & framework for developing a proper approach to evaluating the suicide risk potential of police officers. It reviews a number of the risk factors & instruments that might aid such an evaluation, including both multimeasure psychopathology inventories & single-scale tests. A few case examples presented typify some of the complex […]

This chapter compares the dimensions, etiology, & social construction of police & correctional officer suicide. In the process, it explains the public attention & inattention paid to both & the reality & mythology of suicide rates. These analyses, based on the author’s sociological work in police & correctional departments in the United States & Europe, […]

This chapter examines the practical side of dealing proactively with the stress encountered by police officers on a daily basis, stress that when dismissed as part of the job generates disastrous outcomes. The specific emphasis is on understanding critical incident stress & its impact. A practical outline of mandatory training, both at the academy & […]

This chapter examines the relationship between posttraumatic stress disorder & police suicide. It examines the predisposing factors, time-of-incident variables, & long-term effects that can individually or in unison contribute to suicide. A multifaceted approach is offered to preventing suicide among officers suffering posttraumatic stress disorder, including training of officers, training of managers, policy & procedure […]

This chapter proposes the importance of perfectionism, rather than stress, as a crucial predictor in law enforcement suicide. The personality, character style, & training of law enforcement personnel are discussed in relation to subtypes of perfectionism. Recommendations are made to identify & measure perfectionism, including the 45-item Multidimensional Perfectionism Scale developed by Hewitt & Flett. […]