NCJ Number
70775
Journal
Police Nationale Issue: 113 Pages: 26-29
Date Published
Unknown
Length
8 pages
Annotation
Actions taken since 1978 by the Toulouse police to reduce the number of suicides and attempted suicides are outlined.
Abstract
Research conducted in the preliminary stages of the project to establish a typical suicide victim showed him to be a 25-year-old employed single Catholic male with normal character and living in a modest apartment. The dark figure for attempted suicides was extremely high, and studies suggested that more than a quarter of the individuals were attempting suicide for the second or even third time. The next step involved interviewing individuals who actually attempted suicide. In providing aid to at-risk suicide cases, the actual contact was made by volunteers with time to devote to the individuals' problems. The Toulouse police served as intermediaries, informing troubled indivduals of their rights and opportunities for aid. To the surprise of the program supervisors, suicidal individuals were pleased at assistance from the police, who for them had a reassuring air of stability. The program has sought to help individuals find solutions to the problems which prompted the suicide attempt. The greatest success of the program has been in preventing repeated attempts by the same persons, although it has proved impossible to halt suicides entirely. The effectiveness of the program is attributed to police action preliminary to intervention of physicians and social workers; the police have been able to break down the individual isolation which is conducive to suicide. Tables are supplied.