A Comparison Between the OPCS and Coroner’s Data on Suicide and Undetermined Deaths in an English Health District

Data on suicide & undetermined deaths were collected for the Rotherham Health District in South Yorkshire, United Kingdom, for a 10-year period from the Coroner’s Office & the Office of Population Censuses & Surveys (OPCS). Certain discrepanices were detected. These included a delay in the recording of deaths by the OPCS, the selective inclusion of coroner’s open verdict deaths, & the inclusion within the suicide figures of some deaths found later to be homicides, as well as other minor inaccuracies. The reasons for the differences in the 2 sets of data & the implications for the accuracy of suicide statistics both nationally & locally are briefly discussed. (10 refs.)