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THE BADGE OF LIFE POLICE SUICIDE PREVENTION
A Psychological Survival Plan for Police Officers
Preliminary 2009 police suicide numbers have been released. We are sad to report that there were 148 police suicides in 2009, an increase from the 141 police suicides in 2008. A final report, with detailed information, will follow as soon as possible . The big question, however, isn't "How many?" It's "Why? and what can we do about it?
If not us, who? If not now, when?
Ten years into the new millennium, law enforcement has come a long ways in developing suicide prevention programs. Still, however, we have been grappling for an answer: “What do we do about the problem of cops taking their own lives?” The Badge of Life’s Emotional Self-Care (ESC) training program is a totally new approach to suicide prevention that “moves the clock back” in the prevention model.
Each year, we watch as the suicides increase. In 2008, there were 141 police suicides in the United States (O’Hara, Violanti, 2009). With frustration, we see ourselves missing two-thirds of them before they happen.
The important question is not "How many?" That's easily answered. The difficult question, one that's avoided by everyone, is "Why?" Police agencies are not yet ready to share that information. Because of stigma, it remains a secret, though we know that surely a percentage of police suicides must be due to work related trauma, PTSD and depression.
So what do we do?
The answer is that we need to complete an equation, a formula. Right now, we have one-half of the formula—our suicide prevention programs. These are reactive, designed to catch an officer at the point of crisis or suicide.
We must fill in the other half of the formula by finding a means of keeping officers from getting into crisis in the first place. This is the Badge of Life’s Emotional Self-Care (ESC) training training. ESC is a “cradle to the grave” program of ongoing education. It goes from the academy to retirement. This focuses on the officer’s role in maintaining good emotional fitness (like physical fitness and health) and does not wait until he is in crisis to help.
The ESC program, it must be emphasized, is not designed to replace conventional suicide prevention programs and peer support programs. We feel each program is critical to the success of the other. The two must work together.
· Badge of Life’s · The · The  To learn the truth behind the "numbers," read POLICE SUICIDE NUMBERS AND THE CHICKEN LITTLE FACTOR"
OUR MISSION The primary mission of the Badge of Life Program is to assist both active and retired law enforcement officers in the United States and Canada to maintain the highest possible quality of life in their careers. Our goal is to provide free assistance and materials from which officers can be trained to deal effectively with stress and emotional trauma long before reaching a crisis level. We stand in support of the surviving families and children of law enforcement suicide and against the abuses they have endured through shunning, neglect and denial of rightful benefits. We believe that many police suicides are the result of work related trauma and that these suicides represent the "forgotten heroes" of law enforcement. In 2008, not a single police suicide was attributed to work-related stress or trauma. If an officer is on the brink of suicide, it may well be found to be work related. If he/she pulls the trigger, it never is.
How often do trauma and PTSD lead to police suicide? "NEVER!" say police chiefs.
What do we mean by "Annual, voluntary mental health checks?" The is a key element of our "proactive prevention," of focusing on a healthier police force rather than waiting for officers to become suicidal. It's a a total shift from the traditional focus used in past years. Therapy, for example, has been something to turn to only when the officer is "in trouble." Now, we turn it into a preventive, rather than a reactive tool, much like range practice and other training, designed to keep an officer from harm more than getting him out of it when it's too late. We believe our programs have to be more than waiting until a "crisis" or suicide arrives. They must be about long-term mental health for all officers--true prevention. This includes encouraging officers to seek out and visit a therapist of their choice--through the EAP or privately. It has to be totally confidential, and the department must do no tracking and require no reporting on whether an officer goes or not. The key is in the effectiveness of the training and how serious the department is about wanting a healthy force. It's how much you truly feel the emotional health of your department matters. Can you go the next five years without a suicide on a small or mediums sized department? More than likely. But can you make a difference in the number of complaints, lawsuits, reckless actions and injuries, disgruntled employees and grievances, alcoholism and divorces, vehicle accidents by distracted officers and much more? Absolutely. But only if you care, and if you're willing to go further than just sitting and waiting to (hopefully) spot someone that's "on the edge." We believe that, for every police suicide, there are a thousand other officers who continue working while suffering from the inner trauma of years of death, misery and hostility. It's time to end the suffering of all and, in so doing, end the suicides, look beyond the suicides, and bring good emotional health into all of law enforcement. _____________________________________________________________
NEW! To select from our collection of FREE videos and other materials, visit our "Resource" page.  Read the moving story of the California Highway Patrol's lost,
most historic photograph. 50,000 readers the first month.
NEW! Visit our free library of articles by John Violanti, PhD. Dr. Violanti is considered a leading expert in the area of police suicide and and has authored numerous important books and studies on the topic.
 We do not provide therapy, nor are we a "hot line" for those in crisis. We are an educational, research and consulting/advisory service. If you are in crisis, call the National Hot Line at 1-800-273-8255.
The Badge of Life is an IRS Approved 501(c)(3) Charitable Organization and all donations are tax deductible. All services and materials provided by the Badge of Life are free of charge.
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