An occupational risk: What every police agency should do to prevent suicide among its officers

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 understand it more fully, and find new ideas for preventing suicide among our officers, because officer suicide is a national crisis. More officers die by suicide each year than are killed in the line of duty. Nationwide, the risk of suicide among police officers is 54 percent greater than among American workers in general. This is why Police Executive Research Forum decided to take on this issue as part of our Critical Issues in Policing series.