Police deserve to be safe
Police officers face a level of on-the-job stress that most of us cannot even fathom. From altercations with dangerous criminals to interactions with women or children who have been harmed in domestic disputes — they see it all.
According to a Ruderman Family Foundation study published in April, police officer deaths by suicide were triple the number of officers being fatally shot in 2017. The report revealed that officers are much more likely to die by suicide than any other line-of-duty cause.
We need to support law enforcement officers fully when it comes to their mental health just as we do their physical health.
Thankfully, police Commissioner William G. Gross is doing just that.
Gross is encouraging his department to seek assistance if members are having suicidal thoughts and to dispel the notion that doing so is a “sign of weakness.”
“We have the right to talk about our feelings, we have a right to seek help,” Gross said. “We just have to get our officers to know that. … It’s vital, because there’s a stigma, if you’re law enforcement — ‘I’m taking care of you, I’m macho, I can’t show feelings.’ We wear many different hats, we see a lot of negativity in our daily duties. We see a lot that would affect anyone else, why not us, too?”
The Ruderman Family Foundation study, of which former Boston police Commissioner William Evans was a contributor, reads, “First responders witness tragedy and horror regularly, if not daily. Constant exposure to death and destruction exerts a toll on the mental health of first responders, and yet many do not disclose mental health issues nor do they access treatment.”
The report found the suicide rate among police officers to be shockingly high, with “141 suicides in 2008, 143 suicides in 2009, 126 suicides in 2012, 108 suicides in 2016, and 140 suicides in 2017 (the years for which data is available). Numbers of police officer suicide deaths and line of duty deaths fluctuate annually, but in 2017 there were 129 line of duty deaths, in contrast to 140 suicides.”
For this reason Commissioner Gross is preaching awareness as the key to getting help.
“We want to send that message that, if you’re in need of assistance, it isn’t a sign of weakness,” Gross said. “As a matter of fact, it strengthens you. Just like you, you care about your family or friends. If you ever saw your families and friends in need, do you think you’re any less of a person if you bring attention to that? No. So, we just want to make sure that focus is on the Boston Police Department. Because, quite frankly, our officers deserve to go home safely after every tour of duty.”
They do indeed and it is heartening to see that this is a high priority for Commissioner Gross as his tenure gets underway.