The U.S. Department of Justice recently announced that they will track police suicides, and provide funds to help prevent them.
Six police officers in Connecticut died by suicide last year. In New York, 27 died – the most in the country.
Ledyard Police chief John Rich says police leaders are finally acknowledging the problem.
“The culture in law enforcement that’s existed for, forever, that suggests that police officers need to be bulletproof, that they can’t feel, they can’t show emotion, that kind of thing. I think that’s caught up on us, unfortunately in the form of all these mental health issues as well as substance abuse.”
According to Blue H.E.L.P., an organization that collects law enforcement suicide data, police suicides increased 35% last year over the previous year.
Blue H.E.L.P. Co-Founder Jeff McGill says the increase can be accounted for in more ways than one.
“There may be more suicides. Could be that people found out about Blue H.E.L.P. and they’re more willing to make notification to us or it could be that they are, the stigma is being reduced as so many more people are starting to talk about this topic. And so word is spreading and they’re more willing to come forward.”
Suicide is now the leading cause of death among police officers, higher than death in the line of duty.
