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POLICE SUICIDE.
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Essay Subject:
Incidence, causes, macho image, gun availability, stress, career threats, counseling.... More...
6 Pages / 1350 Words
6 sources, 8 Citations, MLA Format
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Paper Abstract:
Incidence, causes, macho image, gun availability, stress, career threats, counseling.

Paper Introduction:
Suicide among police officers is a growing problem. Police work entails an extraordinary degree of occupational stress. Not only do officers face the prospect of death and violence in the line of duty, administrative matters and relationships with the public represent additional stressors. Police officers who fail to adapt to the multitude of pressures of police work often feel powerless and helpless, and some seek to re-establish control through suicide. Suicide in the general population is a significant public health problem. Suicide is the ninth leading cause of death for all Americans, with white males being the most frequent victims. About 18 attempts are made for every completed suicide. Although numerous factors contribute to the decision to take one's life, research indicates that 90 percent of suicides are

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One reason for the lack of information on police suicidesis that such deaths are kept low profile. Police work involves significantexposure to human misery. Insome cases, family members are not allowed to collect insurance or otherbenefits if suicide is acknowledged as the cause of death. Off-duty police officers carry weapons, andthe average police suicide is male. Policeofficers are taught that being in control is a sign of strength, and whenthis control falters the officer can experience an unbearable burden whichsometimes results in suicide. An analysis of six case-controlstudies of gun ownership found that owning a gun increases the risk ofsuicide (Cummings and Koepsell 471). "Police Stress: State-TraitAnxiety in Relation to Occupational and Personal Stressors." Journal ofCriminal Justice, vol 24 (March-April 1996): 99-1 7.----------------------- 7 Unfortunately, police records on psychological counselingare not considered confidential. Not only doofficers face the prospect of death and violence in the line of duty,administrative matters and relationships with the public representadditional stressors. The officer needs to know that middle management issupporting them, and that counseling is not going to affect them in anegative way. During the incident itself, many physical, psychological, andemotional phenomena occur during the brief moments of peak stress (e.g.,perceptual distortions and memory loss). And peer supportgroups are becoming increasingly proactive, reaching out to officers whoappear to be under intense pressure, even when the individuals have notsought help themselves. Officers witness spousal abuse, accidents,injuries and death on a daily basis. Astudy of police officers from three different department in the UnitedStates concluded: "There is considerable consensus that the principalsources of stress in police work are organizational variables (e.g., workconditions, conflicts with superiors) and relationships with nonpolice (thepublic, the legal system)" (Storch and Panzarella 1 5). Police workentails an extraordinary degree of occupational stress. These phenomena can be confusingto the individual. Many suicidedeaths are preventable, but despite early warning symptoms, most victimsfail to receive proper diagnosis and treatment. Efforts to persuade officers todisarm themselves while off-duty have proven fruitless. Officers who believe they are having problems with occupationalstress often do not seek help because of the stigma of psychologicalcounseling. The trauma experience starts when a situation putsthe life of an officer or another person in danger. Consequently,some police departments pretend that suicides are gun cleaning or huntingaccidents. Police departments around the nation are becoming more sensitive tooccupational stress and its role in police suicides. Then the emotional impact of the situation sets in,accompanied by common reactions like a heightened sense of danger andvulnerability, fear, anxiety, anger, and rage: "Anecdotal evidence tellsus that officers who experience a strong sense of loss of control, coupledwith high levels of vulnerability, are at greatest risk for developingfuture problems" (Honig and Roland 119). Suicide in the general population is a significant public healthproblem. "Does Owning a Firearm Increase orDecrease the Risk of Death?" Journal of the American Medical Association,vol 28 (August 5, 1998): 471(1).Honig, Audrey and Jocelyn Roland. Having other colleagues to talk toalleviates fears and misconceptions that might be felt. Thus policeofficers are confronted with two types of stress: job hazards andorganizational pressures. Another officer killed himself after a drunk driving arrest,which he knew would jeopardize his career. Several yearsbefore the case, Fuhrman petitioned his retirement board for retirementbenefits, maintaining that the stress of police work was too much of aburden for him. Simpson case. Two NewYork City officers killed themselves after being involved in corruptionscandals. Suicide is the ninth leading cause of death for all Americans,with white males being the most frequent victims. Suicide stigmatizes not only thepolice department but also the family members of the officers involved. "Critical Incident Stress in Law Enforcement." FBI Law Enforcement Bulletin, vol 65 (February-March 1996): 1 (7).Seligmann, Jean. "Cops Who Kill--Themselves." Newsweek (September 26, 1994): 58.Stapleton, Stephanie. Peer counseling has proven beneficial to officerswho might otherwise feel overwhelmed by the various stressors inherent inpolice work. Although numerous factors contribute tothe decision to take one's life, research indicates that 9 percent ofsuicides are associated with mental illness (Stapleton 9). "Shots Fired: Officer Involved." Police Chief, (October 1998): 116-12 .Kureczka, Arthur. Throughout any traumatic incident,the police officer is expected to project calm and control. Such incidents rangefrom combat situations to the suicide of a fellow officer to a high profilemedia event. Peer counseling isbeing used extensively to help officers cope with critical incident stress: "today's officers feel a great deal more support from supervisors,investigators and peers following an officer-involved shooting, which alsopotentially affects the extent to which the incident is experienced astraumatic" (Honig and Roland 119). Aside from the life-threatening confrontations and human misery thatofficers experience in the line of duty, the logistics of police workitself makes the job particularly stressful. Men tend to choose more lethal methodsof taking their lives like guns as opposed to methods with a greater chanceof survival, such as drug overdoses. Officers who copewith occupational stress using alcohol and drugs create a particularlylethal combination of substance abuse and gun ownership. Fuhrman's petition was used as evidence against him inpretrial hearings. A combined effort on thepart of the public and the mental and medical health communities is needed. During theseperiods of powerlessness and helplessness, the officer is must vulnerableto suicidal thoughts. Officers must deal with issues like failed marriages,substance abuse, aging, and financial strains like the rest of society.The difference is that the average citizen finds refuge from their personalproblems in their jobs, a refuge unavailable to the police officer sincepersonal problems are exacerbated by the stress of police work. About 18 attempts aremade for every completed suicide. Allthese officers could not face the prospect of a less than honorabledismissal from the police force. Although suicide ratesamong police officers are hard to find, there is some indication that twiceas many officers kill themselves than are killed in the line of duty(Seligmann 58). Increased violence in society has led to an increase of criticalincidents in the lives of police officers. Police officers who fail to adapt to the multitudeof pressures of police work often feel powerless and helpless, and someseek to re-establish control through suicide. In 1994, a surge in police suicides occurred. Much of the information that a police departmentcollects on an officer is subject to litigation. This could partlybe due to the fact that senior officers are rewarded with more desirablework schedules and less rigorous assignments. This phase can take anunusually long time, and the officer involved might perceive that he or sheis being treated like a suspect and abandoned by his or her department.The officer might feel that his or her career is in jeopardy. An example is the case of Mark Fuhrman, aLos Angeles detective involved in the O.J. In terms of their daily worklives, police officers are subject to abrupt switches in rotatingschedules, concern about cutbacks, command shakeups, and the possibility oflayoffs. Police officers are human beings with personal problems as well asoccupational stress. "Surgeon General Calls for Suicide Prevention." American Medical News, vol 41 (May 4, 1998): 9.Storch, Jerome and Panzarella, Robert. The stress of the administrativeaftermath, which normally involves investigations and legal consequences,can compound the stress of the critical incident. Yet another officer shothimself in the head after killing his wife who was divorcing him. Several incidents of officer suicide can be traced to perceivedcareer threats. The worst-case scenario is that an officer who goes to hissupervisors for help will have his or her gun and badge taken away and putbehind a desk: "cops are reluctant to seek help they may need because theyknow it can mark them as troubled and halt their careers" (Seligmann 58).As soon as the officer's firearm is removed, everyone knows he or she isreceiving counseling. These factors contribute to demoralization in the department. Suicide in the police population is a major health threat that hasonly recently begun to receive national attention. For instance, an officer with children might experience moredevastation from seeing dead infants than an officer who is childless.This type of trauma, known as critical incident stress, occurs even whenthe officer does not face the threat of personal injury: "A criticalincident is any event that has a stressful impact sufficient to overwhelmthe usually effective coping skills of an individual" (Kureczka 1 ). Exacerbating the occupational stress that police officers experienceis the macho image of the officer. Such incidents are usuallysudden and unexpected. Granted,officers are trained for this responsibility but a human element inevitablyemerges. Works CitedCummings, Peter and Thomas Koepsell. Suicide among police officers is a growing problem. The availability of guns is a significant factor in the incidence ofsuicide among police officers. Senior officers appear tohave a monopoly on midnight shifts, a work schedule that is beneficial interms of autonomy and control: "In most police departments, officers onthe midnight shift experience very little supervision or job demands andfind it easiest to have a second job" (Storch and Panzarella 1 5).Officers who fail to ease the stress of police work through control overworking conditions often become prone to depression, alcoholism, andanxiety disorders. The above-mentioned study found that length of time with thedepartment was negatively related to anxiety and stress.

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