Resource Tag: POLICE

Objectives. To describe all-outcome injurious shootings by police and compare characteristics of fatal versus nonfatal injurious shootings nationally. Methods. From July 2021 to April 2023, we manually reviewed publicly available records on all 2015–2020 injurious shootings by US police, identified from Gun Violence Archive. We estimated injury frequency, case fatality rates, and relative odds of death by […]

This report reveals the escalating mental health challenges amongst Members of the RCMP Members across Canada while providing a pathway for positive change in the way mental health services are provided to Members. Critically, the report highlights that the current state of mental health of Members, as well as the operational and organizational stressors Members are exposed […]

Background: Given the high frequency with which police officers encounter people challenged by mental health issues, including those at risk for suicide, a well-trained police force has the potential to play an  important role in community-based suicide awareness and mental health prevention. Objectives: This paper addresses the need to understand the effects of brief suicide […]

Police negotiators provide leadership and expertise in the de-escalation and resolution of critical incidents, including responding to individuals exhibiting suicidal behaviour. This study describes the frequency and characteristics of suicide-related negotiation incidents in Queensland, Australia as classified in the Queensland Police Service Negotiator Deployment Database, between 2012 and 2014. Incidents were analysed to understand the […]

Background: Police officers are frequently the first responders to individuals in crisis, but generally receive little training for this role. We developed and evaluated training in suicide awareness and prevention for frontline rail police in the UK. Aims: To investigate the impact of training on officers’ suicide prevention attitudes, confidence, and knowledge. Method: Fifty-three participants […]

Background: Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) report diverse occupational stressors and repeated exposures to potentially psychologically traumatic events, which may increase the odds of screening positive for a mental disorder, and increase the risk of death by suicide. The current study was designed to provide prevalence information regarding suicidal behaviours (i.e., ideation, planning, attempts) and assess […]

Background: Police suicides are an important problem, and many police forces have high rates. Montreal police suicide rates were slightly higher than other Quebec police rates in the 11 years before the program began (30.5/100,000 per year vs. 26.0/100,000). Aims: To evaluate Together for Life, a suicide prevention program for the Montreal police. Methods: All 4,178 members of the Montreal […]

Background: Suicide rates among police officers may be high because of strong occupational stressors. Aims: This study examined the suicide rate and suicide characteristics among police officers in the Federal Austrian Police Force. Methods: All suicides among policemen during the period 1996-2006 were analyzed retrospectively on the basis of personalized police record files from all Austrian police departments. […]

Background Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) report diverse occupational stressors and repeated exposures to potentially psychologically traumatic events, which may increase the odds of screening positive for a mental disorder, and increase the risk of death by suicide. The current study was designed to provide prevalence information regarding suicidal behaviours (i.e., ideation, planning, attempts) and […]

Rates of suicide have been recorded among the police in some parts of the world. Despite the attention that this topic has received, it appears that not much is being researched on it in Africa. Besides, research on suicide in Ghana has been skewed towards the public, to the neglect of the police. The sparse […]

Background Several police organizations have implemented training programs and co-response police-mental health programs to improve interventions among people in crisis. Some researchers have questioned the “one size fits all” approach of these programs and their ability to improve the management of specific psychosocial emergencies such as suicide-related behaviors. Objectives This study evaluates the effect of […]

Background: Canadian public safety personnel (PSP; e.g., correctional workers, dispatchers, firefighters, paramedics, police officers) are exposed to potentially traumatic events as a function of their work. Such exposures contribute to the risk of developing clinically significant symptoms related to mental disorders. The current study was designed to provide estimates of mental disorder symptom frequencies and […]

Background: Mishara and Martin (2012) reported decreases in suicides 12 years after implementation of a police suicide prevention program. Aims: We aimed to determine whether suicide decreases were sustained 10 years later. Method: We examined coroners’ investigations of police deaths from 2009 through 2018. Results: From 2009 to 2018, Montreal suicide rates increased but this was not significantly different from the previous […]

Background: Police and paramedics are often the first to respond to individuals in suicide crisis and have an important role to play in facilitating optimal care pathways. Yet, little evidence exists to inform these responses. Data linkage provides one approach to examining this knowledge gap. Aim: We identified studies that examined suicide behaviors and linked to police or […]

Background: Despite recent media reports showing disturbing trends of police suicides in Ghana, no published studies are available from the country. Aims: We sought to estimate the prevalence and describe some of the correlates of suicidal behaviors among police officers in the Greater Accra Region of Ghana. Method: We surveyed a convenience sample of 268 police officers, using the Suicide […]

As researchers, clinicians, and police practitioners, we seem to be stuck in a quandary of what leads a police offcer to this fnal life decision and what we can possibly do about reducing the occurrences of this tragedy. This chapter is prefaced on the notion that if we review what we know about the roots […]

Objective: This study investigated the effect of suicide prevention education on attitudes toward suicide among police officers. Methods: We used an anonymous questionnaire for 518 officers and surveyed the demographic profiles and examined attitudes toward suicide utilizing the Attitudes Towards Suicide Scale (ATTS) (1=totally agree, 5=totally disagree). Our study divided participants into two groups, based on whether […]

Suicide is a significant social problem and is a major concern for police and police organizations. This chapter reviews the evidence related to police suicide and suicidal ideation. It considers the prevalence of police suicide, demographics, and other associated factors in particular management and leadership, work patterns and occupational stress, as well as nonwork factors […]

Suicide is a global public health challenge. We explore the benefits and challenges of operationalizing strategic objectives of national suicide prevention policies locally. To implement policy effectively, local resources must be mobilized, and we investigate a real-time surveillance, principles-based model led by the police through a multiple case-study design. We found current data collected on […]

With Covid-19 showing no sign of abating, mental health care (from ongoing therapy to helplines) continues to be an important site of treatment for many Americans. While traditional therapy has continued to be prohibitively expensive for most, teletherapy has been covered by most major health insurance companies since the early days of the pandemic and is […]

BACKGROUND: Recent investigations have demonstrated a significant prevalence of mental health disorders, including post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and suicidal ideation, plans and attempts among Canadian public safety personnel, including police officers. What remains unknown is the relationship between mental disorders and suicide among sworn police officers, and the prevalence of both among civilian police workers. […]

Suicide among members of law enforcement is not an easy topic to approach. It is sad and painful on many levels. It is challenging to research and, therefore, difficult to understand. Many people find it hard even to talk about the subject. But it is imperative that we do talk about the problem, try to […]

Background: Police officers, as first responders to difficult situations with ready access to firearms, are frequently considered to be at increased suicide risk. Aims: We aimed to calculate the suicide rate for male officers of the Portuguese National Police (PSP) and compare it with the Portuguese general population. Method: Retrospective review of the PSP male officers’ suicides between 2005 and […]