NCJ Number
179847
Date Published
1999
Length
14 pages
Annotation
Following a review of the theories and research on police suicide, this chapter analyzes data on police suicide from 16 reporting States, a sample that represents all regions of the Nation.
Abstract
Data on suicide were obtained from the 1985 National Mortality Detail File computer tapes (U.S. Public Health Services, 1988). These data are the product of the first coordinated effort at collecting a national database on occupation and suicide in over 35 years. Data were collected for all 16 States that reported occupational status of the deceased to Washington following the standard Federal occupational classification system code. In addition to providing an updated estimate of the national incidence of police suicide, this study compared the police suicide rate with that of adult males of working age. Further, through a multivariate logistic regression analysis, the study explored the odds of death from suicide versus natural causes for police officers relative to the rest of the general population, with alternative predictors of suicide controlled. The study found that police in public agencies have a suicide rate slightly higher than that of their age-matched peers; however, the results of a logistic regression analysis found that once controls are introduced for socioeconomic variables, being a police officer is not significantly associated with the odds of death by suicide. These findings challenge the dominant assumption in the field that police have a high suicide rate. Previous research on police in public agencies has often been based on local samples, and results have been inconsistent as a result. The current estimates, being based on a national sample, offer more systematic estimates. 2 tables and a 56-item bibliography