The United States Department of Justice has announced that it will begin collecting data on police officer suicides, and will provide grants to state and local law enforcement agencies to improve mental health services, train to reduce the stigma of officers seeking help, and create programs to address repeated exposure to stress and trauma.
What good is all the training and equipment we have for protecting our peoples' physical health and safety if we don't make available every possible resource to protect their mental health as well?
Here are some thoughts for 2020 to continue to reduce line-of-duty deaths and reverse what appears to be a significant spike in police officer death by suicide.
For the fourth consecutive year that such data has been collected, more American police officers have been reported to die by suicide than all other line-of-duty deaths combined. According to data released by Blue H.E.L.P.—an organization that tracks police officer suicides while simultaneously seeking to prevent such tragedies from occurring—228 American police officers died by suicide in 2019.
I try really hard to have a positive outlook. However, by all accounts, the year 2019 was an especially brutal one for law enforcement in America, so this year's final column is going to be unapologetically reflective of this undeniable fact.
If you believe you might be suffering from PTSD, seek out a professional who can help.
An officer with the Mobile (AL) Police Department—29-year-old Justin Carmen—was found dead in his patrol unit with a self-inflicted gunshot wound on Friday morning.
Sergeant Joseph Ipavec was a 19-year veteran of the Elm Grove Police Department.
One of the most important things an officer needs to learn how to do is relax. And I recommend reading as great entertainment and relaxation.
Thoughts on some of the law enforcement news that came across our computers in October.