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Police Practice and Research: An

International Journal
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Police officer suicide within the New

South Wales Police Force from 1999 to
2008
Stephen Barron
a

a b

Forensic Psychologist, Private Practice

Charles Sturt University, Australia

Published online: 06 Aug 2010.

To cite this article: Stephen Barron (2010) Police officer suicide within the New South Wales Police
Force from 1999 to 2008, Police Practice and Research: An International Journal, 11:4, 371-382,
DOI: 10.1080/15614263.2010.496568
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Police Practice and Research

Vol. 11, No. 4, August 2010, 371382

RESEARCH ARTICLE
Police officer suicide within the New South Wales Police Force
from 1999 to 2008
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Stephen Barrona,b*
a

Forensic Psychologist, Private Practice; bCharles Sturt University, Australia

Police
10.1080/15614263.2010.496568
GPPR_A_496568.sgm
1561-4263
Original
Taylor
402010
11
barronpsych@gmail.com
StephenBarron
00000August
Practice
&
and
Article
Francis
(print)/1477-271X
Francis
2010
and Research: An
(online)
International Journal

This paper explores the range of personal, occupational, psychological, and social
characteristics of police officers who commit suicide, based on a study conducted in the
Australian State of New South Wales. Police officers are drawn from a population where
mental and physical illness are minimal, at least at the point of recruitment. Even so, they
have higher than anticipated rates of suicide although many agencies fail to keep proper
records on the subject because of the stigma involved, possible insurance claims, and
allied issues. Police community approaches and supportive clinical care are essential
strategies in any attempt to reduce the incidence of suicide among police officers.
Keywords: police; suicide; suicide rates; access to firearms; risk factors; suicide
prevention strategies

Background
Each year, in every country, thousands die from completed suicide. These suicides are only
a small part of many more thousands of attempted suicides each year. Greater (but
unknown) proportions of people have some form of suicidal ideation and/or have
attempted self-harm. Completed suicide is a reasonably rare event, but the impact on
suicide survivors, families, friends, and co-workers is significant. The World Health
Organisation (WHO) estimates that more than 1,000,000 persons suicide each and every
year, expected to rise to 1.5 million by 2020. For each person who completes suicide,
about 20 others attempt suicide, resulting in significant deployment of public health
resources (WHO, 2001).
In small communities and relatively closed occupational groups, such as medical practitioners, pharmacists, police officers, and emergency care workers, the effects of completed
suicide create a ripple effect in terms of grief, anxiety, and when witnessed first-hand,
considerable trauma. Australia, like many other countries, has set national and state suicide
reduction targets and has developed strategies in the detection, assessment, and treatment of
suicide by examining the risk factors for suicidal behaviours such as depression and alcoholism. Organisations and employer groups (including police agencies), through legislation
and government policy, are obliged to provide safe work places for their employees, including their mental health and providing support services for their employees.
A critical area of suicide research which has remained problematic has been the assessment and collection of suicide statistics which reveal an accurate picture of this public
health issue. A number of researchers have reported a lack of accuracy and validity in
suicide statistics (Allen, 2004; Curphey, 1968; De Leo & Evans, 2002; Jobes, Berman, &
*Email: barronpsych@gmail.com
ISSN 1561-4263 print/ISSN 1477-271X online
2010 Taylor & Francis
DOI: 10.1080/15614263.2010.496568
http://www.informaworld.com

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Josselson, 1986; Litman, 1989a, 1989b; Moscicki, 1995; OCarroll, 1989; Shneidman,
1981). These generally indicate that suicide statistics are underestimated by about 520% in
some countries, for a range of legal, social, traditional, and structural reasons. Similar problems exist with the reliability and validity of suicide statistics in specific occupations such
as policing (Jougla et al., 2002; Lester, 1992a; Violanti, 1996). The difficulty arises when
suicide rates can be considered estimates only, and coronial records of suicide are estimates
that may be influenced by a range of factors, including public policy. In the present study,
there were five police officer deaths that were determined by the psychological autopsy
methodology to be suicides that were excluded from the NSW Coroners data on police
suicide. Each of these deaths involved a single occupant motor vehicle collision or a drug
overdose, areas which are traditionally difficult in the determination of suicide.
The general consensus in general population suicide literature is that there exists a range
of risk factors which, when present together at differing levels of severity, appear to feature
in the decision by individuals to complete suicide. These risk factors are also present in
suicide attempts and a range of other self-harming behaviours (Beautrais, 1998; Cavanagh,
Carson, Sharpe, & Lawrie, 2003; De Leo & Evans, 2002; Goldney, 2005; Isometsa, 2001).
The categorisation of suicide according to clinical, demographic, and social variables
has resulted in the development of intelligible and practical classification of individuals
into risk groups, with occupation being one of the criteria in defining high risk suicide
groups. One of these groups is policing, where research into suicide rates is problematic.
This is largely due to data on suicide not being disclosed and where research into this area
requires organisational access, which is often difficult. The research referred to in the paper
into police officer suicide within the New South Wales Police Force was undertaken with
the cooperation of the Commissioner of Police (NSW), and the NSW Coroners Office.
The data is representative of police officer suicides within other policing agencies in
Australia.
An important method of generating police officer suicide data in the past 20 years has
been through the use of psychological autopsy or retrospective (post death) methods in the
analysis of coroners records and other documentation relating to suicide. To overcome
issues of data reliability in the present study, all deaths of serving New South Wales Police
Force officers which were referred to the New South Wales State Coroner, where included
for review. The study found that 247 police officers died whilst employed by the New South
Wales Police between 1990 and June 2008. Of those 125 had been referred to the New
South Wales Coroners Office due to the sudden and unexpected nature of their death
unfortunately 41 of these have been suicides.
The New South Wales (NSW) Police Force offers in-house psychological support for its
sworn and non-sworn staff (administrative and civilian employees) with medical practitioners, psychologists, peer support officers, and guidelines to Commanders in managing
officers who are having difficulties at work. There is also provided an external Employee
Assistance Program (EAP), where officers can self-refer for support and counselling. Police
officers may also access mental and allied health support through their own medical practitioners. For officers working in specialist areas and in areas where there has been research
into the risks associated with certain duties (such as sexual assault investigation of children),
there are yearly psychological reviews.
Comparison of police officer rates of suicides with general population rates of suicide
have led to varying rates of suicide for police officers within the literature. As a
consequence the debate of whether this occupation is particularly vulnerable in terms of
suicide is unclear. There are a number of reasons why such comparisons ought not to be
made.

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Briefly, police agencies are drawn from a population where mental and physical
illness are minimal (at least when recruited via psychological and medical testing), they
are supported by training, employee health benefits, counselling, are employed and
engaged in meaningful work. The general population mortality figure includes the young
and old, those with a range of physical and mental illnesses, unemployed, the uneducated, contain many in the lower socio-economic group, in short, many with much higher
risk factors than police officers. One would then reasonably expect police and other
occupational groups such as nurses, fire-fighters, and medical practitioners to have far
lower rates of suicide than the general population. But this appears not to be the case,
making suicide figures for police all the more concerning. Violanti (2001) has estimated
that up to 17% of police suicides are misclassified due to the stigma, insurance, and
protection of the officers reputation. In some states, insurance or compensation may be
withheld from the families of deceased police officers, where suicide is judged the cause
of death.
Generally, the literature reports that the important contributors to police suicide are
depression, relationship problems, financial problems, substance abuse, alcohol abuse, and
access to firearms, organisational issues such as corruption and management decisions.
Other risk factors for police suicide include: one or more diagnosable mental or substance
abuse disorders, impulsivity, history of alcohol abuse, adverse life events, family history
of suicide, physical and sexual abuse, a prior suicide attempt, and exposure to other
suicidal events (contagion effect), similar for those found in general population studies of
suicide.
Other areas of concern are shift work and the resultant loss of family time and family
disruption, ineffective communication, and lack of support from administration as being
areas which contributed to the range of individual factors in suicide. Suicide by police officers is similar in almost every respect to suicide by those who are not police. The differences
lie in the characteristics of those who seek employment and remain as police, in their
psychological adaptation to the demands and stressors within the occupational and social
environment, and the range of organisational and professional expectations of the police
department. Although suicide causation is multidimensional, availability of means remains
an important factor and part of the explanation as to why the rate of suicide for police officers remains higher than for many occupational groups. The presence of occupational
factors/stressors and availability of firearms provide many of the differences which exist in
the literature for what is believed to be an elevated level of risk for suicide amongst this
particular occupational group.
Overview of the research into police officer suicide
Loo (2003) undertook meta-analyses of studies examining suicide rates for police officers,
and commented on the large variability found in some studies. Whilst the access to firearms
may partially explain this variability, there were other explanations, including crossnational and cross-cultural differences in the results found in international studies. Another
possibility was the social, economic, and political context, in which the suicides took place
(Benner, 2001). For Loo (2003), the review of 28 studies of 101 different international
sample suicide rates for officers, resulted in markedly different rates depending on the
reported statistics.
Violanti (2004) found that the suicide risks for police were similar to those found in the
general population, depression, family dysfunction or conflict, personal stress, alcohol
abuse, occupational work trauma, and the availability of firearms. This view has been held

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by other researchers who found similar common risk factors for suicide in general population studies and specific industrial groups (Hawton & Vislisel, 1999; Kposowa, 1999).
Previous studies (Aussant, 1984; Cantor, Tyman, & OBrien, 1994; Curran, Finlay, &
McGarry, 1988; Dash & Reiser, 1978; Friedman, 1968; Heiman, 1975; Hill & Clawson,
1988; Josephson & Reiser, 1990; Loo, 1986; Nelson & Smith, 1970; Stack & Kelley,
1994; Vena, Violanti, Marshall, & Fiedler, 1986; Violanti, 1996; Violanti, Vena, & Petralia, 1998; Wagner & Brzeczek, 1983), have all suggested that suicide rates for police have
indicated higher rates than the general population, though these increased rates often vary
considerably.
Other authors (Aamodt & Werlick, 2001; Allen, 1986; Brewster & Broadfoot, 2001;
Campion, 2001; Cantor et al., 1994; Chynoweth, Tonge, & Armstrong, 1980; Dash &
Reiser, 1978; Hackett & Violanti, 2003; Heiman, 1975; Hem, Berg, & Ekeberg, 2004;
Josephson & Reiser, 1990; Lennings, 1995; Lester, 1990; Litman, 1966; Sheehan &
Warren, 2001; Violanti, 1996, 2004; Violanti et al., 1998) have generally agreed that though
police officers report high levels of stress, alcoholism, divorce, and other risk factors for
suicide, arguments that the occupation has significantly higher levels of suicide than the
general population are difficult to support. Hem et al. (2004) reported that much of this
debate rests on many of the methodological issues that surround research into police suicide.
Inadequate sample sizes, poor descriptors regarding the duties which describe police
work, limited specific police populations (which could result in publication bias), and the
concern that police suicides are underreported due to a variety of reasons, all make accurate
estimations of the problem increasingly difficult.
As mentioned above, recent researchers into police suicide (Aamodt & Werlick,
2001) conclude that when adjusted for sex, age, and race law enforcement personnel are
26% less likely to commit suicide than their same sex, race and age counterparts not
working in law enforcement (Sheehan & Warren, 2001, p. 386). Yet in some of the literature it is stated that police suicide is an epidemic (Violanti, 1996), perhaps because of
the public exposure such deaths attract in the media and amongst police generally. The
potential for litigation by families against police agencies remains large, especially if the
police employers are seen to have breached their duty of care obligations or that onduty factors may have resulted in the death of that officer (Smith v. Commissioner of
Police, 2000). Building on the legislative requirements of police organisations with
respect to providing a safe workplace for all employees are two relatively important legal
cases. In NSW v. Fahy (2007), the High Court of Australia held that Police Commanders
and managers had a duty of care to officers, including their mental health and well-being,
further that psychiatric injury to police officers, as a consequence of their duty, was
reasonably foreseeable.
In Guff v. Commissioner of Police (2007) it was found that the suicide of a police officer,
due to a work-related psychiatric illness, was therefore subject to compensation. This view
was recently affirmed in a House of Lords decision (UK) (Corr v. IBC Vehicles, 2008),
where the suicide of an employee was linked to a psychiatric illness which was a foreseeable
consequence of a work-related accident for which the employer was to blame. The suicide
was found to be involuntary and linked to the psychiatric illness. The decision may have
serious implications for police organisations not only in cases of physical injury caused to
officers (and other employees) by the duty of officers but also in relation to the incidence
of workplace stress.
The number of claims in respect of suicide following the development of a psychiatric
illness, such as depression, is relatively uncommon. The decision in Corr may well change
that situation.

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Suicide by police officers is similar in almost every respect to suicide by those who
are not police, the differences lie in the characteristics of those who seek employment
and remain as police, in their psychological adaptation to the demands and stressors
within the occupational and social environment, and the range of organisational and
professional expectations of the police department (Slosar, 2001). Shneidman (1994)
emphasised the importance of lethality of means as a factor in completed suicide, the
ready availability of firearms in policing, leaves officers in a constant state of potentially
high lethality re suicide ideation, attempts, and completed suicide. Although suicide
causation is multidimensional, availability of means remains an important factor and part
of the explanation as to why the rate of suicide for police officers remains higher than for
many occupational groups.
Suicide studies involving police and non-police share considerable overlap in relation to the social stressors, psychological factors, biological factors, risk factors, and
demographic characteristics. As Shneidman (1996) suggested, all suicides have common
factors, the presence of more than one of these factors may constitute a suicidal crisis,
the key is reaching a critical mass of predisposing factors, which as a suicide threshold would be different between individuals and within occupational groups. The
influence of lifestyle and life events considerably impacts on the presence of this suicide
threshold.
Research into suicide within the NSW Police Force (19902008)
This study explored the range of personal, occupational, psychological, and social characteristics of police officers who commit suicide, as indicated in the considerable literature on
suicide and police officer suicide. The development and use of a psychological autopsy
protocol allowed the collection of data which in a range of areas reflected the life events,
demographic and other characteristics of those suicides included in this study. The protocol
used in this study was adapted from De Leo and Evans (2002), based on previous research
into suicides using a similar methodology, and standardised to increase reliability and
accuracy of the data (Miles & Huberman, 1994).
An early and important part of the data collection was the determination of the initial
research sample. Employment records were obtained of every officer who was recorded as
having died during their employment between the years 1990 and 2008. The total for this
category was 247, where 113 officers died between the years 1990 and 1999, and 114
officers died from 2000 to 2008.
Of the 247 police officers, 122 officers were recorded as having died from natural causes
where a medical practitioners certificate was issued, certifying the manner and cause of
death, leaving 125 cases for investigation. Officers who had died during their employment,
in a variety of circumstances, including accidents, suicides, and homicides, or were open
verdicts (undetermined). In every case the death of the officer was either unexpected or in
circumstances where a coronial review and/or inquest was required. All of these cases met
the inclusion criteria for a comprehensive review utilising the psychological autopsy protocol. Additional searches by the Coroners mortality database and a separate database developed and maintained by the National Coroners Information System (NCIS) were undertaken
to ensure that no deaths were missed inadvertently or were excluded by accident in the data
held by the NSW Police.
Table 1 shows a review of all causes of death from the available data. Of these 125
deaths of officers, 9 deaths occurred whilst on duty (4 travelling in police vehicles at the
time of their death); 3 officers died from firearm-related wounds; 2 officers were stabbed.

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S. Barron

Table 1.

A review of all causes of death from the available data.

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Cause of death
Suicide
Ischemic heart disease
Other causes
Undetermined
Accidents
Motor vehicle collisions
Homicide (persons charged)
Alcohol-related abuse
Accidental drowning
Unknown causes

Number (n)
41
14
27
2
7
15
8
4
3
4

On-duty deaths of police officers represented a small proportion of the overall deaths of
officers, whilst the suicide rate of serving police officers was significantly higher than officers who died from all causes.
In the 41 cases where suicide was determined to be the cause of death, only two of the
officers were females, both used their service firearm to complete their suicide. Other information in relation to the study found that:
(1)
(2)
(3)
(4)
(5)
(6)
(7)
(8)
(9)
(10)
(11)
(12)
(13)
(14)
(15)
(16)
(17)

preferred method of suicide firearms in 43% of reviewed suicides,

problematic drinking behaviours prior to death in 30% of cases,
alcohol and drugs affected at time of death 53.5% of suicides,
officers with work performance issues at time of death 31.5%,
under investigation at time of death 23%,
communicated intent to suicide prior to death 43%,
suicides who were smokers at time of death 66%,
visits to doctor within one day to two months prior to death 34%,
visits to medical practitioner within 12 months prior to death 68%,
taking anti-depressants and other psychotropic medicines at time of death 40%,
those with a diagnosis of mental illness at time of death 77%,
depression featured in suicides at time of death 31.5%,
acute incidents/events at time of death 40%,
organisational referral (welfare/psych/medical/EAP) 51.5%,
presence of negative life event(s) within 12 months of death 63%,
presence of trigger event or precipitating factor in 20% of suicides, and
relationship breakdown within 12 months of suicide 60% of suicides.

The incidence of suicide in police officers residing in metropolitan and rural areas was
almost equal, notwithstanding the greater availability of mental health support within
metropolitan areas. This outcome is probably a result of the lack of resources commonly
found in the rural areas. As in other suicide literature, about 42% of the officers that
committed suicide were married and had dependent children. Of the two female officers
who died, one of these was a single parent with dependent children. Many of the officers
chose to suicide at home, almost one-third at their place of work; this may in part be due to
a desire to reduce any intervention. Years of service has been mentioned in previous studies

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as being an important factor in police suicide; in the present study, almost 30% had less than
12 months of service and almost 60% with less than 10 years of service.
Interestingly, among the officers who committed suicide, more than 71% appeared to
have some catholic religious affiliation, though the strength and frequency of this affiliation
was unable to be determined. This may represent a feature of the hopelessness and helplessness of the individual, where once religious faith appears to have no protective effect, the
decision to take ones life becomes more of an option in response to insurmountable
personal feelings of distress.
With respect to operational stressors, work-related trauma only featured in 9.5% of those
officers who committed suicide. Performance and work-related adjustment issues were
present in 43% of the officers, almost one-third had problematic work relationships, and
one-third was under internal investigation or subject to a workplace review. Organisational
factors, including problematic management and leadership practices in policing appear to
be an increasing feature in police officers who develop work-related stress and psychiatric
illnesses (Barron, 2008).
The prevalence of psychiatric illness in the present study reflects the prevalence of
psychiatric illness in general populations of suicide. About 70% of the police officers were
diagnosed or determined to have symptoms of mental health issues in the three months prior
to their death, with depression as being the most prominent. There was also comorbid alcohol abuse in about 30% of the officers.
As mentioned the NSW Police Force has in place a number of organisational support
options for police officers who are suffering from physical or mental health problems. In the
present study, almost 55% of those officers who committed suicide were referred by their
managers or supervisors for some form of intervention. Yet few of these officers availed
themselves of the internal systems of support or to the external EAP provider, probably
reflecting the stigma in seeking appropriate support or lack of faith in health care providers.
Of those officers who did seek other means of support, almost half of the officers sought
psychiatric support from a general medical practitioner or a specialist mental health
provider, including psychologists and psychiatrists. About 40% were taking prescribed
medication relating to psychiatric illness at the time of their death, with over one-third
seeing their general medical practitioner within three months of their decision to suicide.
This result is consistent with other studies in the area of suicide and recent contact with
mental health and primary care providers (Booth & Owens, 2000; Hughes & Kleespies,
2001; Luoma & Pearson, 2002; Owens, Booth, Briscoe, Lawrence, & Lloyd, 2003; Pirkis
& Burgess, 1998).
From the data, it was possible to generate a profile of a police officer who is most at risk
for suicide:
(1) Personal characteristics: male, about 35 years of age, married or in a de facto relationship, Catholic, holding Higher School Certificate or equivalent, residing at
home with spouse and children, and a smoker.
(2) Social characteristics: will choose to suicide on a Tuesday, at home, usually in the
main bedroom, will be a moderate to heavy drinker (of alcohol), will be affected at
time of decision to suicide, have access and use to firearm (usually service
firearm), will have communicated suicide intent to a work colleague, and will be
discovered deceased by work colleagues/friends, having had a relationship breakdown within 12 months or within three months immediately preceding suicide, and
suffer a significant increase in negative life events three months prior to decision to
suicide.

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S. Barron

(3) Occupational characteristics: will be either currently under investigation for a workrelated incident or under review for a performance/adjustment issue in the workplace, will have some internal history of disputes with police colleagues, previously
referred to welfare/psychologist/EAP provider, and whose personal and workrelated problems are known to colleagues and superiors.
(4) Psychological/psychiatric characteristics: will have some recent history of mental
illness (usually depression or anxiety related), taking medication, have no previous
family history of suicide, will not have had a previous attempt, and having seen their
medical practitioner within three months prior to their decision to suicide.
The development of a risk profile for police officers who may, in some circumstances,
commit suicide is a subtle part-solution to the problem of police officer suicide. From this
study it is clear that a complex interaction between organisational stresses, work-related
cumulative stress, poor adaptability to changing family and environmental factors,
emotional avoidance as a protective strategy, and developing cognitive rigidity all play
important parts in the problem of police officer suicide (Barron, 2008).
This study, like others which have conducted a retrospective analysis of suicide, has
indicated that there exist a number of risk factors associated with the suicide of police officers (Aamodt & Werlick, 2001; Aussant, 1984; Danto, 1978; Friedman, 1968; Josephson &
Reiser, 1990; Marzuk, Nock, Leon, Portera, & Tardiff, 2002; Patterson, 2001; Turvey,
1995; Violanti, 2004). Additionally, this research also found that mental illness is featured
prominently in these risk factors, as does relationship problems, and a level of vulnerability
influenced by the accumulation of a number of factors, including the nature of the occupation itself.
It was apparent in reviewing the documentation and statements of family, friends, and
colleagues of the officers who completed suicide that a number of organisational factors
may have featured in the development of the suicidal behaviour(s) leading to the decision
to suicide. These factors appeared to include poor management practices, poor communication, an absence of training in the recognition and assessment of self-harming behaviours,
inadequate supervision (including access to firearms), and a lack of continuity of care.
As mentioned, many of the suicide risk factors for police officers in New South Wales
appear consistent with those found in research conducted on general population samples,
though in support of Violanti (1996), the sample is different from general population
samples in significant ways. In contrast to suicide risk factors which exist in general population suicide studies, this group are employed, the officers (at least upon recruitment and
subsequent screening) do not display any overt psychopathology or mental illness, fall
within an age group of 19 through to 55 (excluding high population rates for the young and
elderly), have available a range of in-house and outsourced support systems including
EAPs, are usually closely supervised, and generally report a positive occupational outlook
in culture surveys. Internal police training courses over the career life of the police officer
provide more opportunities to address personal, professional, and medical issues if they are
detected.
What is not clear is why other police officers with similar negative life events did not
choose to commit suicide as a means of escaping their particular situation. Many of the officers
in this study who committed suicide communicated clear and repeated intention to do so to
family members, colleagues, and others. They were predominantly males, tended to demonstrate poor problem-solving skills, held a problematic social identity and/or occupational
identity, had a recent history of conflicts and disputes with family members, colleagues, or
others, demonstrated low connectedness with others and their occupation, tended to have poor

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family and social supports, increasingly isolated themselves from others, and had poor helpseeking behaviours.
Occupational stress, alcohol use and abuse, frustration and impulsivity, the presence of
some mental health problem, and firearm accessibility all feature in the lives of the officers
in this study who committed suicide (Barron, 2008). What is not clear is the extent to which
each of these factors contributed to their decision to suicide (assuming that none of these
officers died by accident in changing their intention too late). This study did indicate that
many of these officers did not have supportive, positive, and productive personal relationships. Others who appeared to have such positive relationships with family, children, and
peers had poor organisational relationships and were subject to management action in some
form.
The decisions in State of New South Wales v. Seedsman (2000) and State of New South
Wales v. Williamson (2005), addressed the susceptibility of the police officer to stress and
injury, which the employer has an obligation to reduce by placing that employee in alternative duties and providing ongoing support. Part of this process is to develop a range of strategies which may identify the officer at risk, and not just those officers in specialist positions.
The implications of this study and the relevant court decisions may necessitate a review of
assessment, intervention, and treatment for officers considered or determined to be at risk
or self-harm, suicide ideation, or suicide.
With respect to the data in the present study regarding the proportion of police officers
who visited their medical practitioners in the three months preceding their completed
suicide, there is an opportunity for educational programs designed to enhance the assessment of at risk persons who attend their general practitioners for depression-related issues
or in circumstances where such issues are suspected. This research, along with that
conducted into general population suicide, indicates that accurate identification, treatment
and management of depression will impact a range of suicide and self-harming behaviours.
Conclusion
The attention to risk factors for suicidal behaviour would seem a logical starting point in the
assessment, treatment, and management of persons who may be at risk of completing
suicide. This study has reviewed and discussed many of the risk factors associated with the
decision of 41 police officers in the New South Wales Police to complete suicide. The risk
factors appear similar to those within the general community, which is a positive outcome
since strategies already exist in the assessment, treatment, and ongoing clinical management of these persons.
A more disturbing outcome is that these police officers were usually fit, had undergone
some structured screening for mental illness and problematic behaviours which may hinder
their performance as police. Many of these officers also had immediate access to firearms
and hence a highly lethal means of self-harm. These officers usually worked with other
colleagues, closely and usually had supportive peer relationships; they were also employed
by an organisation with well-developed human resource systems. Somehow, the system
failed these officers; their colleagues failed to recognise and report a growing range of problematic behaviours, such as deteriorating personal relationships, increased alcohol abuse,
and problematic behaviour and performance in the workplace. The complaint management
system viewed problematic behaviours as a discipline/management issue and further
compounded problems by conducting protracted and time-consuming investigations. There
currently exists no management system which can accurately assess and identify officers
who are at risk of suicide but studies have shown that suicide prevention measures are

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S. Barron

successful in reducing the likelihood and incidence of suicide. Police community

approaches and supportive clinical care are essential strategies in any attempt to reduce the
incidence of suicide amongst police officers.

Notes on contributor

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Stephen Barron, a former serving police officer in New South Wales, is now a practicing forensic
psychologist. The contributed paper is based on his doctoral research at Charles Sturt University
where he continues to teach.

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Reported cases
Corr v. IBC Vehicles, UKHL 13 (2008).
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State of New South Wales v. Williamson, NSWCA 352 (2005).