Suicide Is Not a Personal Defect, It Is a Community Failure; We Can Make a Difference.
John Shuford
(This article is based on material from “Mid-21st Century Criminal Justice; Work Culture Transformation,” published by Innovative Ink, a division of Kendall Hunt Publishers, to be released early 2023.)
Law Enforcement Officer Suicides
Officer suicides, both law enforcement and corrections, have received a lot of attention. They are consistently near the top of the list of professions with high suicide rates (Frost, 2021, p.1). Any suicide is traumatic to those close to the person, but it is especially traumatic in a profession where the members’ identity is so closely tied to the profession itself. Twice as many police officers are lost to suicide than die from gunshot or traffic accidents combined (Heyman, 2018), and the Center for Disease Control reported that police have a 69% greater risk of suicide than the general working population (Territo, 2019, p.197). As alarming as these statistics are, there are as many as 25 attempts for every suicide (Breaking, 2021). “Officers between the ages of 40 and 44, with 15 to 19 years of experience were at greatest risk. They had too many years invested to quit, but were years away from retirement” (Territo, 2019, p.334). Another study found similar results; the average age of an officer lost to suicide was 38.7 years with 12.2 years of experience (Breaking, 2021). The number of suicides reported may be seriously understated, because departments and families often do not want to acknowledge the death as a suicide.
Chuck Wexler, Executive Director of the Police Executive Research Forum has stated that officer suicides were underreported and that they were the number one officer safety issue (Pittaro, 2020). One study found that 17% of officer deaths not reported as suicide were later determined by medical examiners to be suicides (Territo, 2019, p.449). Another two-year study found “no single case where the department acknowledged that work-related stress, PTSD or trauma were involved” (Critical, 2019), even though all three are closely tied to suicide. Ninety-one percent of officers lost to suicide were male and sixty-three percent were single, which is significant because family issues, especially relationship problems, have been found to be the most important factor in officer suicides (Critical, 2019). Because of the characteristics of paramilitary cultures [discussed later], an officer’s spouse may be the only support an officer has in times of trouble. One officer struggling with suicidal ideation commented, “I feel like an orphan in my own department” (Heyman, 2018).
Police marriages can be strained and/or broken for many reasons. The officer is trained to be numb and detached on the job, but not on how to reattach when they get home, resulting in a lack of communication, miscommunication, and a reduction in exchange of positive affect between the couple (Territo, 2019, p.254). Family members may also become targets for stress and frustration that is displaced from work (Territo, 2019, p.253). Even though officers are trained to detach, it doesn’t mean they are not affected by what they experience on the job. As stated earlier, on average, an officer will experience 188 critical incidents during his/her career (Hilliard, 2019).
Normally, one critical incident will not result in suicidal ideation, but the accumulation over the years of multiple experiences will build and without a pressure release can result in a feeling of helplessness and hopelessness. That pressure release won’t happen at home because the officer doesn’t want to burden his/her family with the traumas and stress of the job, and it won’t happen at work because of the culture and code of silence based on a lack of trust and openness. Officers are reluctant to report mental health problems for fear of being seen as weak or having restrictions placed on their activities [weapon carrying], and fellow officers are reluctant to “rat out” a distressed co-worker even though they realize they need help (Territo, 2019, p.219). There are other stresses on a marriage. Unconventional work schedules often conflict with the partner’s schedule, and that of other family members. Hours often change without notice due to emergencies or unplanned overtime and can force the officer to miss planned events, like children’s school, sports, or other social activities. The Lerman Study found that 41% of correctional officers felt their job negatively impacted their role as spouse/partner or parent, and 66% felt their work life made it hard to spend sufficient quality time with their family. Also, since becoming a correctional officer, 53% reported being less trusting or harsher toward friends and families and 63% say someone had told them they judge more harshly (Lerman, 2017).
Physical and psychological problems, which were discussed earlier, can negatively impact a marriage, such as: cardiovascular disease, kidney disease, hypertension, diabetes, ulcers, depression, PTSD, anxiety and paranoia. Also impactful are job burnout, cynicism and feelings of low self-efficacy to which hostile public opinion and added public scrutiny of officers and families, especially in small police agencies, can add even more stress.
In a Canadian study:
“Half [50.2%] of the 568 participants in the study employed by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police and slightly more than one-third [36.7%] of the municipal or provincial police officers either self-reported a mental disorder diagnosis or screened positive on one of six mental disorder screening tools. The higher rates of mental health issues were particularly problematic for female police officers, police officers with more years of service, fewer years of education, and officers who were single or separated/divorced/widowed. One contributing factor towards psychological health issues and suicidal ideation or behaviours is burnout, which was common and exemplified by exhaustion, cynicism, absenteeism, and anger. One reason for high levels of burnout was the failure of police organizations to properly prepare employees for the stressful demands of the job. Rather, police are expected to be emotionally tough, controlled, and resilient, which prevents many from being willing to seek out services or discuss their feelings with others when stressed and/or burned out” (Cohen, 2019, pp.213-229).
Many officers have a hard time finding someone to talk to about what they are coping with and resort to finding comfort in the bottle. There may come a time when they go from drinking to be social and have fun to drinking to sleep and forget. “Officers facing this stress often begin to isolate themselves, and their loved ones don’t understand. The officers are unable to relax when they are in public. They worry about who they will see, whether they should take a firearm, needing to sit in a specific location or at a specific seat, and run scenarios through their minds for every ‘what if’. Eventually, it’s not worth going out. Because of this, officers tend to hang together, and they lose their civilian friends as they have less and less in common with them” (Territo, 2019, pp.355-6).
Alcohol is the most common coping mechanism, but there is also gambling, pornography, and other adrenalin producing activities. In a study of New York City police suicides, 72% of the officers had alcohol in their system when they died (Hilliard, 2019), and in the “Ruderman White Paper on Mental Health and Suicide of First Responders”, the percentage was quoted as 85% (Heyman, 2018, p.18). Also, PTSD and increased use of alcohol result in a 10-fold increase in risk of suicide (Territo, 2019, p.198).
In general, there are three categories of factors that contribute to police suicide: organizational stress, operational stress, and family stress.
Correctional Officer Suicides
Although law enforcement officer suicides have been researched for over two decades (Violanti, 2012), the same cannot be said of correctional officer suicides. The 2017 study with the California Department of Rehabilitation and Corrections stated that correctional officer suicides were ten times higher than other law enforcement jobs (Lerman, 2017). The first in-depth research of CO suicides was published in December of 2021 (Frost, 2021) of a study done with the Massachusetts Department of Correction. This mixed methods study provided a lot of information because it not only looked at statistics, but also interviewed fellow workers and families of those lost to suicide between 2010 and 2015. Statistics show the big picture. Personal stories show the individual picture.
The demographics of those lost to suicide were the same as the department’s workforce in general. They ranged from 23 to 62 years in age and had careers from 6 months to 32 years. They were from all ranks, including administration, and nine of twelve facilities in the state had experienced at least one suicide. The fact that there was no identifiable pattern would lend credibility to the theory that the work culture was a contributing factor. Half of the officers were in their 40s and 85% were younger than 50. Of those who had retired or resigned, all but one had done so within two years of their death. In 86% of the cases there were mental health concerns, in 79% relationship problems [separations, divorces, child custody], and in 79% substance abuse issues. Although there was evidence of anger, anxiety, and PTSD across the cases, the families perceived the officers as suffering severe depression (Frost, 2021, p.12).
The staff interviews revealed significant information about the psychological wellbeing of staff. When asked how concerned they were about the psychological/emotional health of co-workers on a scale of one [not concerned] to 10 [greatly concerned], they responded at almost 8 with one-third responding at 10. Next, they were asked how concerned they were about officer suicide and the responses were 8.3 with more than half at 10. One-third of staff interviewed said that other staff had talked to them about suicide indicating they were acutely at risk of suicide. (Frost 2021, p.24) Staff were also assessed for anger, anxiety, PTSD, depression and suicidality. The percent scoring in the problematic or clinically elevated range was 27% for anger, 23% for anxiety, 18% for PTSD, 6% for depression and 5% for suicidality (Frost, 2021, p.25).
To examine the question of whether staff came into the profession with these elevated levels, new recruits were also assessed. Their levels were 2% for anger, 13% for anxiety, 9% for PTSD, 2% for depression and 0% for suicidality (Frost, 2021, p.29). This clearly shows the elevated levels developed while working for the department. For those staff who knew someone lost to suicide the levels were even higher, indicating the damaging impact of a suicide on other staff. Those levels were 32% for PTSD, 15% for depression and 19% for suicidality (Frost, 2021, p.30).
The following comments by family members of those lost to suicide show the personal struggles these officers were experiencing.
“I think he was suffering from depression most likely from drinking so much, but he was not a depressed child, he had never been a depressed person his entire life, he got out of bed wanted to run. He woke up every day with so much enthusiasm, he was not depressed. And the depression he was undoubtedly now, in hindsight, experiencing I am sure was from drinking too much, which he hadn’t done to my knowledge prior to that and the DOC… I think it just haunted him” (Frost, 2021, p.14).
“So, he had some major paranoia... and again, I firmly believe it was working in corrections, he was very paranoid about inmates knowing where he lived, we couldn’t put anything in the paper, no names in the paper, no pictures in the paper. If we went out somewhere he would have specific places he would not go. Obviously when you went somewhere your back was to the wall, you hear that all the time, but that is the god’s honest truth. Truly always scoping out wherever we were, he was highly paranoid to the point where at the end of his life he was sleeping with a gun under his pillow, not under the bed, under his pillow” (Frost, 2021, p.14).
“I didn’t realize it, but he had a drinking problem. I didn’t realize until [later] because there would be times that I come home… and he would be passed out in the living room, and I’d help him upstairs to bed. And then later on, it kind of clicked that he was using narcotics too. It was more of… He got Percocet’s for his injury–when he was attacked by an inmate–and then it moved to Vicodin and then Oxycodone. And then I’m not sure where it went after that” (Frost, 2021, p.14).
“Plus the back. Plus his back… hurting. That’s one of the biggest things. Self-medicating cause... cause he wasn’t taking drugs. He wasn’t using anything off the street or anything like that. I…I do think the drinking was helping with numbing the pain in his back. Cause that’s when it, it really…that’s when it seemed to get much worse” (Frost, 2021, p.14).
Work Culture’s Impact on Officer Suicide Rates
Many family members and friends felt the substance abuse problems were caused by the work culture along with the practice of going out to drink after work. The social network of the officers was based on drinking buddies, which were not true friends. Within corrections work culture, it is expected that officers will “deal with it,” no matter what the issue, no matter what the cost. This attitude, along with the code of silence, were barriers to seeking help for mental health or substance abuse problems. Many times, the researchers heard stories of officers being taunted and bullied when word got out in the facility about their struggles.
Families also described a desire for officers to “hang on” until retirement, no matter what the cost or consequences to the officer’s wellbeing. “After a while, they are doing time. They’re counting their days. He felt so trapped in it because he had a family, he had a house, we had bills, and he had to be with this job, with the great benefits and the good pay. He had to stay there, you know he really didn’t have anything else to do” (Frost, 2021, p.19).
This last comment is very alarming and should be shared with all leadership, because most current day efforts to retain and attract staff are focused on increasing pay and benefits. This places staff in a trap, and for some, the pressure builds up so much that the only option for relief is suicide. Many staff feel they cannot get the same level of pay and benefits in another job. If they could get the same pay and benefits, 69% (Lerman, 2017) stated they would leave corrections and nearly half would move to another department if they didn’t lose seniority. So, you have a situation where the factors that attract staff may in fact be a contributing factor in staff suicide, that is, if the work culture does not change.
One officer commented,
“A lot of people go to work to get away from problems. It’s a stress relief. As crazy as it sounds, a lot of people go to get away. But, when you go to work and you’re not quite 100 percent yourself, and people kick you while your down—they put you through hell—the administration is playing stupid games. So, now you come to work miserable, and you leave even worse. Now, you go home and the problems at home are getting worse cause you are aggravated. It keeps snowballing and snowballing and snowballing. That’s where I feel the problem is. Instead of trying to help somebody, let’s make things worse. [sigh] And when you work in a negative environment like that everyday [long pause], the job’s hard enough alone without the BS” (Frost, 2021, p.20).
Supervisors [captains and lieutenants] complained about the work culture as well, of feeling their hands being tied, not being able to help struggling staff. They used to have an “open-door” policy that encouraged openness among staff. “Now, administration’s policies are such that staff are afraid to speak up out of fear for repercussions. Everyone is afraid of their fellow officers” (Frost, 2021, p.21), and to make matters worse, only 8% felt comfortable going to the departments Employee Assistance Program (Frost, 2021, p.24).
The study’s recommendation was:
“It is imperative that the department work to address the occupational culture in corrections that stigmatizes mental illness and reinforces barriers to help-seeking. The department will continue to confront substantial problems of officer health and wellbeing, including officer suicide, until it breaks down these barriers. Talent atrophies in such an environment. While we agree that there seems to be a new generation of officers who fundamentally differ from the previous generation, both demographically and in their collective orientation to the work, we disagree that this is necessarily a problem” (Frost 2021, p.31).
Other research, although not as in-depth, has found PTSD and depression to be independently associated with suicidal behavior and their combination even more strongly associated (Spinaris, 2016). This problem of suicides in corrections is not limited to the US. A study in the Netherlands showed that correctional officers had a 39% greater risk of death from suicide [vs. natural causes] than non-correctional officers (Stack, 1997).
Conclusion
This article has discussed at length the negative impact chronic stress and other forms of trauma have on those employed in corrections and law enforcement. It should be noted that isolation is a common factor in PTSD, depression, anxiety, marital discord, suicide and is a contributing factor in most of the physical consequences of chronic stress. This sense of isolation is clear when considering the three most common stated reasons for officers, in both law enforcement and corrections, leaving the profession. They are conflicts with other staff, poor supervision, and the feeling administration does not support them. The sense of isolation begins at the training academy, especially those which have high stress, para-military training. They focus on an us-vs.-them attitude, and it is reinforced by the code of silence and a culture that demeans mental health issues.
To counter the serious problem of disconnection and isolation, policies and training must be implemented which support connection, emotional intelligence skills, staff wellbeing and a sense of pride in the profession. Previous articles on Improving Morale (November/December 2019) and Career Survival Skills appearing in the January/February and March/April 2022 issues of American Jails, discuss specific recommendations for improving the work culture, resulting in better staff retention along with suicide prevention. As the title of this article states, suicide and suicide ideation are a community failure. That is where much of the solution lies; addressing the work culture and the toxic stress it causes the men and women working within it. By reducing the feeling of isolation among staff we will go a long way in addressing the serious problem of suicide in criminal justice personnel.
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John Shuford developed the Immersive experiential staff development and training methodology, which can improve staff morale, cooperation between departments and positively transform the work culture. He has been providing this engaging and effective training for 30 years. He has led international conflict resolution delegations to Russia, South Africa, and China. In addition to being published in national correctional journals, Shuford was most recently on contract with the North Carolina Department of Public Safety, Department of Prisons as a Correctional Training Coordinator II. His comprehensive book “Mid-21st Century Criminal Justice: Transforming Work Culture” was published this year. He can be contacted at john@teamcrs.org. His website is www.TeamCRS.org.
References
“Breaking the Silence.” IACP National Symposium of Law Enforcement Officer Suicide and Mental Health. 2021 Community Oriented Policing Services, U.S. Department of Justice.
Cohen, Irwin, Amanda McCormick, and Bob Rich. Creating a Culture of Police Wellness. Policing, Volume 13, Number 2 pp. 213-229. Oxford University Press. 2019
Critical Issues in Policing Series. “What every police agency should do to prevent suicide among its officers.” Police Executive research Forum, October 2019l
Frost, Natasha A., and Carlos E. Monteiro. “The Impact of Correction Officer Suicide on the Institutional Environment and on the Wellbeing of Correctional Employees.” Final Report submitted to the Massachusetts Department of Correction. December 1, 2021
Heyman, Miriam, Dill, Jeff, and Douglas, Robert. The Ruderman White Paper on Mental Health and Suicide of First Responders. The Ruderman Family foundation April 2018.
Hilliard, Jena. New Study Shows Police at Highest Risk for Suicide of Any Profession. AddictionCenter.com June 2020
Lerman, Amy. “Officer Health and Wellness; Results from the California Correctional Officer Survey.” University of California, Berkeley https://leb.fbi.gov/articles/featured-articles/mindfulness-and-officer-health-job-performance-and-well-being
Pittaro, Michael. “The harmful consequences of labeling police officers; police officers are more likely to die by suicide than i9n the line of duty.” Psychology Today, December 1, 2020. https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/the-crime-and-justice-doctor/202012/the-harmful-consequences-labeling-police-officers
Spinaris, Caterina G. and Michael D. Denhof. “Prevalence of Trauma-related Health Conditions in Correctional Officers: A Profile of Michigan Corrections Organization Members.” Desert Waters Correctional Outreach and Michael D. Denhof LLC. 2016
Stack, Steven J., Olga Tsoudis. “Suicide risk among correctional officers: a logistic regression analysis.” Kluwer Academic Publishers, Netherlands 1997
Territo, Leonard and James D. Sewell Editors. “Stress Management in Law Enforcement.” Fourth Edition. Carolina Academic Press 2019
Violanti, John M., Anna Mnatsakanova, Tara Hartley, Michael Andrew and Cecil Burchfiel. “Police Suicide in Small Departments: A Comparative Analysis.” International Journal of emergency Mental Health 2012; 14(3): 157-162.