NCJ Number
162593
Journal
Science & Justice Volume: 36 Issue: 1 Dated: (January/March 1996) Pages: 21-25
Date Published
1996
Length
5 pages
Annotation
This is a study of gunshot suicides in Northern Ireland from 1989 to 1993.
Abstract
Northern Ireland is unique in the United Kingdom in that it has had the only police force, the Royal Ulster Constabulary, in which the male members were fully armed. This unique situation provided two distinct populations, security forces and civilians, for a survey of suicidal gunshot wounds. They were compared for the factors associated with the suicide, age of the deceased, type of weapon used, whether or not the event was witnessed, and the post mortem findings. In the years between 1989 and 1993 there were 45 suicides in the security forces and 59 in the civilian population. The former were commonly associated with marital problems and overwhelmingly involved young males under the age of 40, whereas the civilian deaths were predominantly associated with mental illness, with a wider age range distribution. The security forces used rifled weapons in 44 cases, whereas civilians used shotguns in 46 cases. Twelve of the 45 security force suicides were witnessed, compared to one in the civilian population. The security forces favored the head as site of entry in forty cases, compared to 35 in the civilian population. Alcohol consumption was involved in 23 of the security force suicides and 18 of the civilian ones. Of the six women suicides, one was in the security forces and four had a history of mental illness. Tables, figures, references