Suicide Prevention Training: one Department’s Response (In: Suicide and Law Enforcement, edited by D C Sheehan & J I Warren)

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, & the nonstigmatizing & nonpunitive departmental policies are addressed. It is the department’s conclusion that the training has contributed significantly to the department’s low rate rate of suicide. JA