Suicide Rates Top Homicide Rates for Police
PASADENA, Md. – According to the National Police Suicide Foundation (NPSF), more than 1,300 law enforcement officers have committed suicide since 2004.
That statistic is almost three times the number of officers killed in the line of duty since 2004, a figure the NPSF estimates to be about 500.
Those numbers may not reflect the plight of police officers exclusively. Psychologists say that men between the ages of 21-45 have higher suicide rates than the general population, a demographic most law enforcement officials fall into.
However, only two percent of the 18,000 law enforcement agencies in the country provide suicide awareness training. And cops trained to think like warriors while on duty often have a difficult time making the transition between work and home, according to NPSF director Robert Douglas.
Douglas says relationships are the biggest problem for suicidal police. Location can also offer clues to their motives. More than 97 percent kill themselves in their homes with their service weapons.
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