NCJ Number
125374
Journal
Journal of Police Science and Administration Volume: 17 Issue: 3 Dated: (September 1990) Pages: 227-229
Date Published
1990
Length
3 pages
Annotation
This study examines the rate of suicide among police officers in the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) and finds that the rate continues to remain lower than the rates for other adults in the county, State, and nation.
Abstract
Relatively few studies have been conducted to determine the rates or causes of suicide among police officers, in part because most police departments do not publish such data. It is generally assumed that officers' suicide rates are higher than those of the rest of the population. This hypothesis was borne out in a recent study of the Chicago Police Department (Wagner and Brzeczek) which found that during the period 1977-79, a Chicago police officer was five times as likely to take his or her life than a non-officer might. The results of the Chicago study, however, were much different than were those of the Los Angeles studies. The original Los Angeles Police Department study in 1978 conducted by Dash and Reiser found that officer suicide averaged 8.1 per 100,000 officers for the 7-year period 1970-76. Several factors were believed to mitigate the incidence of suicide among LAPD officers: the use of rigorous physical and psychological screening; the utilization of relevant police training programs; and the availability of professional mental health services within the department. The present study examined officer suicide rates within the LAPD during the period 1977-88 and found an average rate of 12.0 per 100,000. This is lower than the suicide rate for all adults in Los Angeles County, the State of California, or the United States as a whole. Because of the small number of female police officer suicides, it is difficult to infer how high or low their suicide rates are. 11 references, 4 tables. (Author abstract modified)