National police suicide estimates: Web surveillance study III

The present study is the third in a series of web surveillance of police suicides (prior analyses conducted in 2008 and 2009). In this age of world web communications, a police suicide in even the smallest and most remote community is generally transmitted nationally and through police websites, forums, and blogs. 55,000 police suicide specific web articles were reviewed over the entire year. 2012 data was then compared with 2008 and 2009 police suicide data. There were 141 police suicides in 2008. Suicides declined from 143 in 2009 to 126 in 2012 (an 11.9% decrease). Across the three time periods, male and female suicides appeared to occur at a similar rate, averaging 92% and 6% respectively. In 2012, (1) suicides appeared to cluster more in the 40-44 year age group more than in previous years among officers of lower rank; (2) an increase in suicide was seen among officers with 15-19 years of service; (3) gunshots remained the most prevalent means of suicide across all three years (91.5%), and (4) personal problems appeared to be prevalent (83%) with work associated legal problems ranking second (13%). Approximately 11% of suicides were military veterans. California (n=10) and New York (n=12) had the highest police suicide rates. Four murder-suicides were noted over the entire year. Suggestions for suicide preventive policies, improving police mental health, and future research are discussed.