Police Suicide: A Failure to Look for the Helpers

You’ll hear lots on the news about cops getting killed in the line of duty, but not much about them killing themselves, though it’s arguably a much bigger problem. (Caruth Police Institute)

It’s interesting to me that law enforcement has been keeping, collecting, and analyzing data on police officers assaulted or killed in action since 1937, (this process was more formalized and more highly detailed by 1972) but they have only just begun (it seems) showing particular interest in information relating to officers who harm or kill civilians (data collection by the FBI starting in 2019 — oh, and submitting data is [of course] voluntary).

It’s also very telling to me (and, in many ways, not surprising at all) as a suicide awareness advocate with a keen interest in law enforcement to know that it wasn’t until January 1, 2022, that the FBI began an initiative called the Law Enforcement Suicide Data Collection (LESDC), which is part of the Uniform Crime Reporting Program (odd, since suicide isn’t a crime — but, okay). The FBI was compelled, apparently, to begin this program only because of legislation (S.2746; the Law Enforcement Suicide Data Collection Act). Here’s the thing in its entirety:

[116th Congress Public Law 143]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]



[[Page 134 STAT. 644]]

Public Law 116-143
116th Congress

                                 An Act


 
   To require the Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation to 
 provide information on suicide rates in law enforcement, and for other…