# Your emotional survival: Links and resources to help prevent officer suicide



## kwflatbed (Dec 29, 2004)

*Understanding Domestic Violence*
with Richard Davis, ALM

*Your emotional survival: Links and resources to help prevent officer suicide*

_We have met the enemy and he is us. _
_- Pogo (Walt Kelly)_

You have the right to your own opinions. However, you do not have the right to your own facts. I hope that the hyperlinked studies and data here might help you discover some facts you may not have been aware of. This article is intended to help you in forming opinions that are based on empirical, evidence-based data and through the hyperlinks, it contains a wealth of useful information from many people other than myself.
In October of 2008, PoliceOne Senior Editor Doug Wyllie wrote about something that law enforcement often minimizes. Wyllie's column, Confronting police officer suicide is another 21st century step in an increasing effort to bring the issue of law enforcement suicide into open discussion. If you have not read the Wyllie column, please use the above hyperlink to do so. You do not have to be a sociologist or psychologist to know that it is impossible to prevent or reduce a problem until you admit it is a problem. 
I have also found the December 2008 article, To domestic violence trainers: We get it by Chief Joel F. Shults, PhD to be right on target. I suggest that any domestic violence intervener who works with the criminal justice system should use the above hyperlink and read it. 
At the end of the Chief's article is information about Street Survival Seminars. The issue of street survival is taken seriously by law enforcement officers and their agencies. If you are not aware of the seminars I suggest you find out. If you are one of the few who do not recognize the importance of these seminars you should look at the Officer Down page.

*A Not So Clear and Present Danger* 
Suicide is a problem most law enforcement agencies and officers are aware of but often refuse to think or talk about. Suicide is most often acknowledged only when it cannot be ignored and then most often it is quickly tucked in the corner, in the back, and in the dark until its reoccurrence forces law enforcement to once again acknowledge the danger it presents 
The National P.O.L.I.C.E. Suicide Foundation (NPSF) reports that the numbers of officer deaths due to suicides are two to three times the number of line of duty deaths. In some years, suicides occur five times as often as felonious line of duty deaths. Studies that argue police suicides are more likely, similar, or less likely to occur than in the general population are little more than red herrings. 
What is an indisputable reality is that far more officers will take their own lives compared to line of duty accidents or having others take life from them. Suicide prevention and education programs need to become a major concern and priority for law enforcement administrators and an integral part of academy and in-service training. And approximately one of every three suicides involves a homicide/suicide. Hence, the link to my area of expertise as suicide prevention programs for officers may not only save officer lives they might save the life of a spouse or intimate partner. 
Another stark reality is the fact that there are few suicide prevention programs for officers. The NPSF reports that only about two percent of the nation's law enforcement agencies have in place suicide prevention or education programs. It appears that Pogo may have had it right. 
There is growing acknowledgement among street survival trainers and a small number of domestic violence interveners that problems in the streets and those at home can sometimes be intertwined. Hence, my interest in the National Violent Death Reporting System (NVDRS) and a recent report by the CDC, "Surveillance for Violent Deaths - National Violent Death Reporting System, 16 States, 2005" (SVD), which documents that approximately 30 percent of suicides are precipitated by intimate partner problems.

Full Article: Your emotional survival: Links and resources to help prevent officer suicide​


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