The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that 30,000 people die by suicide in the United States each year. The topic of suicide by law enforcement officers prompts controversy among those in the mental health and law enforcement communities, as questions of cause and influence come into play. Some experts claim that a breakdown in relationships is what leads to suicide among officers. Others argue that it is the inherent stressors of the job that breaks down an officer’s resilience and adaptive coping resources, which in turn leads the officer to take his or her own life. In this article, several issues that may contribute to police suicide are considered.
Although the media portrays high numbers of suicide within law enforcement, some researchers dispute these numbers. Some studies have indicated that the number of law enforcement suicides may actually be lower than those of the general population when the sample is matched according to gender, age, and race.
Repeated Exposure to Trauma
Police suicide started receiving recognition in the 1990s. Studies were conducted by various recognized police psychologist experts working in partnerships with federal agencies to understand why police officers who are charged with helping their communities live better lives were taking their own lives after years of service. Officers often choose their profession out of a motivation to help others; however, within the first 5–10 years, they often report burnout, a perception that their ability to help others has decreased and witnessing continuous tragic events can lead up to cumulative stress. Vicariously experiencing other peoples’ pain is a daily part of law enforcement and, as many remain in law enforcement until retirement, this daily experiencing of others’ hardships continues for years. Being a part of these critical incidents can start to alter their own moral perspective as a result of regularly seeing the negative side of society. While officers wear body armor to protect their physical well-being, they often also develop internal armor that protects their psychological well-being. To those who lack understanding of the true job requirements, it can appear that the officers are cold, insensitive, distant, unyielding, uncaring, or overbearing—perceptions that can impact interpersonal relationship dynamics.
Family and Relationship Challenges
When an officer finds it difficult to cope with vicarious trauma, he or she may choose maladaptive behaviors such as alcohol abuse, extramarital affairs, or pulling physically and/or emotionally away from the home environment. Another cited relationship challenge is the physical absence of the officer from the family, due to the requirements of the job. As a consequence, the officer’s spouse becomes, by default, the primary manager of the home and parental figure for the children. This situation can cause stress on all family members, which can lead to marital discord.
Another cited challenge is the difficulty an officer may have in effectively communicating with his or her spouse; the tendency to protect the loved ones by sheltering them from the horrific events out there may be perceived by the spouse as refusal to connect and interact honestly and vulnerably. In addition, the loved ones may have to take a back seat to the needs of the agency, for example, the officer not being available for holidays, important family events, and the daily needs of the partner and children. As the family starts to disintegrate, the officer may start experiencing some mental health issues such as depression and anxiety. However, many officers do not seek mental health services unless they are mandated to do so, such as following a particularly traumatic critical incident.
Cumulative Stress
Critical incidents or cumulative stress can start to compound and the officer who is charged to take care of others may forget to safeguard his or her own mental health, seek assistance from professionals, or speak to his or her agency. Compounded by irregular sleep schedules, competing demands, and health issues that are often neglected can lead the officer into a downward spiral. Posttraumatic stress disorder can lead the officer into poor decision-making such as drinking too much, excessive gambling, or other behaviors that can negatively impact lives and families.
Sleep disruption, including shift work sleep disorder, is common for active-duty officers. Both a lack of sleep and a disruption in circadian rhythms have been linked to issues with depression.
Following an officer suicide, it is not uncommon for family members and even other police officers to express a lack of surprise, but then in retrospect recognize some of the symptoms leading up the suicide. Moreover, it is known that veteran officers who are facing retirement are also facing the loss of an identity: no longer being active police officers. This loss of a sense of identity, combined with a loss of sense of purpose, may contribute to retired officers’ taking their own lives.
Stigma in Seeking Help
Many in the community at large are hesitant to seek mental health care due to fear of the perceived negative stereotypes involved. This perceived stigma may be even more pronounced in the law enforcement community, where an officer’s ability to perform job duties hinges in part on being perceived as capable, strong, and in control. Therefore, when an officer experiences human suffering, disaster, or tragedy, he or she may feel obligated to get squared away (i.e., become in control physically and emotionally) without any outside assistance—especially from professional mental health services.
Law enforcement is a high-risk job in which officers are likely to witness horrific events on a regular basis. However, unlike other high-risk jobs that also involve the experience of tragedy (e.g., firefighters), officers today may be vilified by some members of the public and of the media. This can cause stress not only to the officer but also to the officer’s family.
All of the aforementioned issues are just some of the potential triggers that could lead an officer to take his or her own life. Although there is disagreement in the professional communities as to the frequency of police suicide, and the direct causal factors, there is general consensus on the need for increased and improved mental health and social support resources to help reduce or eliminate police suicide.
References:
- Badge of Life. (2008). Police suicide myths. Retrieved from http://www.badgeoflife.com/currentmyths.php
- Clark, D. W., White, E. K., & Violanti, J. M. (2016). Law enforcement suicide: Current knowledge and future directions. The police chief: The professional Voice of Law Enforcement. Retrieved June, 2016, from http:// www.policechiefmagazine.org/magazine/index .cfm?fuseaction=display_arch&article_ id=2669&issue_id=52012
- Clark, R., & O’Hara, A. (2013). A study of police suicide statistics. Badge of Life. Retrieved from http:// www.policesuicidestudy.com/id16.html
- Kulbarsh, P. (2015, January 14). Understanding and surviving shift work sleep deprivation. Com. Retrieved from http://www.officer.com/article/12033520/ understanding-and-surviving-shift-work-sleep-deprivation
- Nanavaty, B. R. (2015). FBI—Addressing officer crisis and suicide: Improving officer wellness. FBI Law Enforcement Bulletin, 3. Retrieved from https://leb .fbi.gov/2015/september/addressing-officer-crisis-and- suicide-improving-officer-wellness
- Violanti, J. M. (1995). The mystery within: Understanding police suicide. FBI Law Enforcement Bulletin, 64, 2. Retrieved from https://www.ncjrs.gov/ pdffiles1/Digitization/153107NCJRS.pdf