Police Suicides: Facts and Myths
This is a topic that has truly hit close to home in recent days. A young officer that worked with several of my family members committed suicide, his name was Douglas James Trumps (November 11, 1977 – January 16, 2011).
He was currently serving as a police officer with the Iberia Parish Sheriff’s Department. In 2008, he was recognized as Officer of the Year while employed with the City of Scott Police Department. Doug was very passionate about his work as a police officer. He was a wonderful son and will be dearly missed. SOURCE
The obituary doesn’t list a cause of death, but it was a suicide.
Families don’t like to admit that a loved one has committed suicide, that’s a very understandable position in my opinion. A loved one has died by their own hand, more often than not, for no good, discernible reason. I won’t go into the details or causes of Doug’s death, that’s a very private matter, but I am convinced that the inner demons that took him from this world have robbed us all of a good man and a good officer.
Police Departments don’t like to make a big thing of an officer suicide, and I can understand that too, many feel it reflects on the entire Department. That said, I now have the greatest respect for Sheriff Louis Ackal of the Iberia Parish Sheriffs Office and his being an honorary pall bearer, along with the entire Department. Those details are contained in the obituary.
Suicide is the 11th leading cause of death among Americans, SOURCE, but, then I found this next part of the story and I was a bit shocked, to say the least.
Police Officer Suicide: Frequency and officer profiles
Law enforcement suicide rates were computed and compared to suicide rates in the general population. The best estimate of suicide in the law enforcement profession is 18.1 per 100,000. This figure is 52% greater than that of the general population but 26% lower than that of the appropriate comparison group (white males between the ages of 25 and 55). Thus, the notion that suicide rates are abnormally high in law enforcement was not supported by the data.
Data from the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) indicate Americans commit suicide at a rate of about 12 per 100,000 residents (Fields & Jones, 1999). This rate makes suicide the 9th leading cause of death in the United States. Recently, the law enforcement community has taken a close look at suicide following a rash of well-publicized suicides in the New York City Police Department in 1994 and heavy media coverage of police suicides. The purpose of our paper is to examine suicide rates in law enforcement to determine if police officers have higher suicide rates than the general population, and if there is a common profile of officers who commit suicide.
DO POLICE OFFICERS HAVE HIGHER SUICIDE RATES THAN THE GENERAL POPULATION?
At first glance, the answer to this question would appear to be yes. The statistics commonly cited in the media suggest the suicide rate for law enforcement personnel is 22 deaths per 100,000 officers compared to 12 deaths per 100,000 in the general population. This estimate of police suicide is based on a 1995 Fraternal Order of Police (FOP) study of insurance claims by 92 local chapters in 24 states (Langston, 1995). Furthermore, “experts” quoted in newspaper articles consistently state there are about 300 suicides each year by law enforcement personnel or that the police suicide rate is at least double that of the general population (see for example, Aurizio, 1997; Gold, 1999; Loh, 1994) SOURCE
This is a long and detailed report made by Radford University, I hope you’ll read it in it’s entirety and study the graphs that the researchers put together.
Their report finishes with this:
CONCLUSION
The data in this paper suggest that, although the suicide rate of 18.1 for law enforcement personnel is higher than the 11.4 in the general population, it is not higher than would be expected for people of similar age, race, and gender. Thus any difference between law enforcement rates and rates in the general population can be completely explained by the race, gender, and age of people who enter the law enforcement field. This is an important point because it suggests that speculation about such factors as job stress and the availability of weapons are not factors that are exclusively associated with law enforcement suicide. Although even one suicide is too many, allocating mental health resources to law enforcement personnel at the expense of other professions does not appear justified. Furthermore, the reasons that officers commit suicide are similar to those of the general population with the possible exception of legal problems.
I can’t, and won’t argue these facts as presented, greater minds than myself, with more available data, worked long and hard to draw their conclusions, but I will say this; Police Officers see the dregs of humanity on a daily basis, sometimes, several times a day.
No one ever calls for a Cop when life is perfect.
Police officers usually see people at the very worst time of their life, at a time of death, as victims of rape, robbery, battery, domestic abuse, child abuse, scams, you name it, the Officers have seen it, and on some Departments, major crimes, and dealing with them, is a daily way of life.
For a depressed person, or a person with problems in their personal life, a career as an officer of the law can be a very tough road to follow. It’s a tough road to follow for a perfectly normal individual, if such exists, add personal problems, family problems, the issues that life in general throws at all of us, cops included, and you have a potential scenario for an explosive event that is always festering just beneath the surface.
Couple that with the always available sidearm that all officers carry…well, the possibilities for tragedy are unlimited.
Some larger agencies have mental health professionals on hand for officers to consult, some don’t, and due to financial stresses that are placed on communities all across America, the number of trained mental health professionals working with police agencies has become fewer and fewer.
Police agencies are, for some reason, the first part of a budget a Mayor, city council or state administration look at when money has to be cut, and right now everyone is cutting their budgets to bare bones.
In MY opinion, it only stands to reason that an agency already stressed out will only become even more-so if they are forced to cut personnel, especially when those cuts entail half of a police department being laid off as is happening here: Crime-Ridden Town Struggling After Half of Police Force Gets Laid Off.
I sincerely hope that the additional strains that ARE being placed on these officers doesn’t lead to stress levels that prove to be too much for some individuals to handle along with the other stresses of life itself.
To the family of Doug Trumps, we send our love and condolences.
To ALL officers, PLEASE don’t let the job get to you. If you feel that it is, seek help, professional help. Don’t do harm to yourself and your family, blood family and The Thin Blue Line family that ALL Officers belong to.
Rest In Peace, Doug. You’ll be greatly missed. You were a pleasure to have around and you were a great Partner. It’s all behind you now. Patrol Heaven’s streets, Serve Him, and He’ll Protect you.
Rest In Peace, Doug. Prayers, love and condolences going out to the family.
To the family of Doug Trumps my condolences and prayers.
To the idiot officials who cut police forces to the bare bones:
Here is a suggestion. Cut your salaries to $1, cut parks, libraries, and the likes to the bare bones or privatize them.
Don’t ever cut essential services.
The stress of being a law-enforcement officer is substantial — on both the officer and the officer’s family.
Far too few “civilians” understand that fact.
Thanks Fred. I’ve long said, officers MUST have MANY friendships both for the officer and the “couple” (if married) OUTSIDE of Law Enforcement. This, along with vigilance on the officer’s part, mentally, emotionally and SPIRITUALLY, will assist the officer in dealing with the numerous and unique stressors that are so common-place in their (officer’s) lives.
LAW ENFORCERS (and everybody else):
PLEASE DON’T MAKE A PERMANENT “SOLUTION” TO A TEMPORARY PROBLEM!!!
My paternal Grandfather was the last Police Commissioner in San Antonio. He was left without a job (he was retired from the Army anyway) when San Antonio went to the City Manager form of Government.
I remember an incident in the late fifties, when a police officer killed himself (In Houston I believe) and my dad asked Grandpa if there were more officer suicides. He said an emphatic “no,” and that policemen didn’t off themselves any more than the population at large.
Grandpa was a major supporter of the Police. When he died in 1962, his funeral procession was backed up and Officers at the sides of the road leading to the National Cemetary at Fort Sam Houston for at least a mile. The officers were from all over the state of Texas and a few from Oklahoma (he had been an assistant warden at McAllister State Prison when the Army reduced after World War One.
He was there when my dad was born in 1921 and Grandpa went on to active duty again in 1925).
Any organization with that kind of Honor (and I mean the Police Departments) has a lot to live for. So, you are absolutely right to bust this so called myth Fred. Well Done Sir, damn well done!