From Crisis to Recovery: Proceedings of the 6th Annual Rocky Mountain Disaster Mental Health Conference

Police Suicides: The Unidentified Assailant

Rod Warne

Abstract

     The subject of police officers taking their own lives has been largely ignored in law enforcement agencies, yet statistics show more police officers lose their lives by their own hand than by others. Why? This Capstone Paper will explore the police culture and issues arising from the very nature that makes police officers good at what they do. It will also show how that very instinct can get in the way of officers receiving badly needed help in their personal and professional lives. This paper will also point out warning signs and suggestions to educate officers and supervisors in order to recognize and assist officers needing help before stress related disorders get to a crucial, dangerous level.

Police Suicides: A Growing Threat

Hypothesis

Police officers are trained to face many threats as they work to enforce laws and protect the public from the criminal element. If officers considered they were facing a new threat, one that was found to kill twice as many police officers as previous years, then law enforcement administrators would likely move quickly to educate and train their officers in how to protect them from this threat.

Context of the Problem

Modern day law enforcement agencies train their police officers to face many dangers within their jurisdictions. Training emphasis is given to dangers which experience and statistics show may be the greatest threats to the officers. State criminal justice agencies, as well as the federal Department of Justice, collect statistical data on how officers are injured and killed annually. This information is then disseminated for use in training and preparing officers for the dangers they will face. It also can bring awareness to the problems faced which can then lessen, or even eliminate the dangers altogether. Generally, the training focuses on issues that involve physical officer safety. Siegel and Senna (2005) report that an average officer receives more than 600 hours of pre-service training (p.199) and of this 600 hours, 400 hours are in the classroom. The rest of the hours are in the field. They also reported that in larger cities officers may receive over 1,000 hours of pre-service training covering a variety of topics such as law and civil rights, firearms handling, emergency medical care, and restraint techniques (p.199). Some agencies have also recognized stress as an ill effect of the job; they have since begun to include training to combat stress by educating their officers on how to cope with its effects. Many departments include stress management as part of an overall wellness program, also designed to promote physical and mental health, fitness, and good nutrition (p.224).

Although these departments are on the right track some studies are showing that approximately 300 police officers a year die by their own hands. This number is twice as many that die in the line of duty. If 300 police officers in one year were killed by a single assailant or group representing one method, then suffice to say police administrators would become alarmed and devote money, manpower, and every resource at their disposal to combat it. Police administrators do not appear to be interested in studying the issue and devoting resources within their own agencies to address the problem of officers taking their own lives. The reasons may be due to inconsistencies in some statistical data. There also may be misperceptions by police administrators that the officers who died by their own hands did so purely because of reasons such as marital problems that had nothing to do with police work. Recognition can be an issue as It may be that the volume at any one department is so small, a member of the leadership simply doesn't recognize the suicide is symptomatic of some larger problem. (R. Miller, personal communication, February 10, 2007).

Purpose of the Study

This capstone project will look at issues surrounding police suicides such as statistics, causes, recognition, and prevention. Additionally, and perhaps more importantly, the study will look at ways departments can be proactive in giving officers a trusted safety net where they can confidentially discuss issues they are facing. This can better assist the officers so that detrimental effects from many different problems do not overwhelm them, thus isolating the officers from their department and families. This study will also look at the police culture and show how this culture, as well as the perceptions of police officers, can add to stress already faced by police officers. As this stress builds up inside the officers, they are at risk of taking this stress home to their families causing alienation and other family problems that eventually may lead to divorce, substance abuse, depression, and even suicide.

Expectations

It is expected that law enforcement agency administrators do want the best for their officers and would want to use their resources to provide the best training for their officers by aiding them to more efficiently perform their duties in serving and protecting the citizens of their jurisdictions.

Significance of the Study

Statistical findings show that law enforcement officers are at twice the risk of killing themselves than at being killed in the line of duty. Suicidal deaths appear to be largely ignored by departmental agencies because administrators believe the deaths are related to personal issues that have nothing to do with the officers’ jobs. There may be a correlation in these officers’ lives related to law enforcement stressors as well as the police culture in which an officer works in everyday. Police officers develop a closed society, an insular cop culture, centering on what many refer to as The Job (Miller, 2006, n.p.). A perceived perfectionism of police officers by the public and departments, as well as trust issues also appears to be a factor in the police culture. This can hinder officers who may want to reach out for help in a safe environment out of fear they will look weak in front of other officers. Officers may also fear they will be removed from duty because of a psychological issue. Paul Gilbreath, a pastor of Crossroads Baptist Church in Lancaster, TX and area commander of the Dallas, TX region of Homeland Security was quoted about police officers not releasing things they see while on duty. He said:

     When the weapon is secured and the badge and uniform are hanging in the closet; when you're second-guessing the decisions you made during your shift and you can't get that picture of that small child out of your mind; when you keep hearing over and over the echo of the radio traffic from the officer calling for back up ‘now’ and you know you can't get there quickly enough —when all these things build up in your mind, how do you release it? (Gilbreath, 2006, n.p.)

Law enforcement administrators should want their officers to return home safely to their families and be happy, productive, and professional peace officers. In doing so law enforcement agency administrators, mid-level managers, and first-line supervisors must also recognize that officers who do not handle the stressors of law enforcement and begin alienating themselves from other departmental members, as well as their own families, are at risk for destructive behavior. In leading a modern law enforcement agency, administrators, mid level managers, and first line supervisors must be able to recognize officers at risk and then take the necessary steps to provide a safe and confidential assistance program for the at risk officer(s), even if it means a mandatory referral to a mental health professional.

Therefore, the significance of this study is to show the issue of police suicides as a threat needing addressed by all law enforcement agencies. It will also show there may be a link between the stressors of the job and personal issues within a culture that is not perceived by officers to be supportive enough to address problems stemming from the job and ultimately carried home. Finally, the significance of this study will show there are ways for departments to recognize behavior issues that may show an officer is at risk and safe avenues for the officer to go to without risk of losing their identity. This, in turn, will assist the department by providing a safety net to their officers and the officers’ families.

Background of the Study

Law enforcement agency administrators must ensure their officers are safe from the most inherent dangers they face on the streets within their jurisdiction. Training has increased since the 1930s after the Wickersham Commission surveyed 383 cities in 1931. In that survey they found only 20 percent of the cities provided police academy training. Since that time all states have created minimum training standards for certification of peace officers (Swanson, Territo, & Taylor, 2005, p. 374). When considering stress management, most departments seem to lack follow up to the training. Although there appears to be some coverage of this topic, many departments may not ensure their officers do not feel apprehensive about seeking assistance. This would mean changing their own police culture, as well as policies and procedures, so that officers will not feel intimidated to be able to confidentially reach out for help. Swanson, Territo, and Taylor (2005) wrote that:

     Stress has many ramifications and can produce many varied psychophysiological disturbances that, if sufficiently intense and chronic, can lead to demonstrable organic diseases of varying severity. It may also lead to physiological disorders and emotional instability, which can manifest themselves in alcoholism, a broken marriage, and, in the extreme, suicide (p. 441).

They also went on to report that:

     …law enforcement stressors can be grouped into four broad categories: (1) organizational practices and characteristics, (2) criminal justice system practices and characteristics, (3) public practices and characteristics, and (4) police work itself (pp. 441-442).

Functioning police officers with unreported or untreated chronic stress issues have a greater potential for making mistakes and not being alert on the job because of a lack of focus. Consequently, these officers are at higher risk for on the job injuries, sloppy appearance and performance, and the officer may seem preoccupied with other things and begin taking shortcuts with safety. Greene (as cited in Hackett & Violanti, 2003, p. 77) also reports these officers may also have more citizens’ complaints. These issues, especially taking shortcuts for safety and being preoccupied, may relate to the officer being perceived as a potential victim by a criminal wishing to avoid arrest or merely wishing to hurt the officer. Therefore, it is in the best interests of the department to ensure their officers mental health is functioning well.

Definition of Terms

For the purpose of this study the following terms are defined for those readers who may not be familiar with their meaning:

Chronic Stress: Long term effects of stress.

Job Stress: The condition in which some factor or combination of factors at work intersects with the worker to disrupt his or her physiological and psychological equilibrium (Reese, 1988, n.p.).

Police Culture: Closed society made up entirely of police officers who generally socialize only within this circle and therefore perceptions are based upon what they witness.

Street: The jurisdiction in which a police officer is employed to protect and serve.

Vicarious Victimization: Police officer's perceptions based on what they witness everyday in their jobs (Reese, 1988, n.p.).

Research Methodology

In order to provide a comprehensive view of the problem, the author gleaned information from a variety of sources such as scholarly articles, internet web sites aimed at educating others on police suicides, to books printed on subjects relating to stress, police suicides, and experiences of working with and living with police officers to general opinions.

Limitations

Because there is limited information on police suicides the author was unable to conclusively find accurate data on exact statistics. Most states, including the Center for Disease Control (CDC), do not keep statistical data about police suicides. There is also believed to be an error of at least 30%, over a 40 year period of time, in misclassifying the suicides of some police officers because of what is believed to be an effort to protect the officer's family, department, and the officer's death itself. Additionally, one study in Chicago estimated that 67% of police suicides in that city had been misclassified as accidental or natural deaths (Swanson, Territo, & Taylor, 2005, p. 455). Lastly, it is the police culture itself that appears to shield this subject because to discuss it may also reveal weaknesses within the police culture and departments across the country. Law enforcement administrators appear to be reluctant to discuss or even admit this is a problem within their cities or states.

Literature Review and Discussion

In the spring of 1988, Dr. James T. Reese and James Horn, both special agents with the Federal Bureau of Investigation, addressed their class of Stress Management in Law Enforcement (S.M.I.L.E.) by rhetorically asking how does a trained police officer work the streets of our jurisdictions and, exposed to the grisly scenes and problems law enforcement officers face, go home and be warm and fuzzy? This started the author's interest in stress management and subsequently police suicides. The subject of police suicides kept coming up in classes the author attended and finally the subject hit home when former Natrona County, Wyoming Sheriff Ron Ketcham called the current Natrona County Sheriff and told the latter where his remains could be found. Sheriff Ketcham then did something the author would've never thought possible; he committed suicide in a rural setting on the back side of Casper Mountain, south of Casper, Wyoming.

Dr. Reese and Mr. Horn piqued several of the students’ interest of stress management. It also seemed the country was beginning to address the ill effects of stress that law enforcement officers had been facing unsuccessfully for years. As the author grew up as a child of a Wyoming Highway Patrolman, he had even been exposed to a previous suicide that came to mind. A former officer of the Powell, Wyoming Police Department called his estranged wife and told her she was going to get a bang out of something. He then pulled the trigger of a firearm and ended his life. As a young child it seemed strange because this officer was a popular officer and was very friendly, not appearing to have any problems in the world, at least to a child. Yet what was so terrible that a law enforcement officer would do the very thing he/she sometimes witnessed while responding to calls as a police officer?

The literature reviewed revealed information that officers really are vicarious