More responders committed suicide than died on duty
Report says stigma surrounds statistics
Suicides left more officers and firefighters dead last year than all line-of-duty deaths combined.
A new study by the Ruderman Family Foundation, a philanthropic organization that works for the rights of people with disabilities, looked at depression, post-traumatic stress disorder and other issues affecting first responders and the rates of suicide in departments nationwide.
The group found that although suicide has been an ingrained issue for years, very little has been done to address it even though first responders have PTSD and depression at a level five times that of civilians.
Last year, 103 firefighters and 140 police officers committed suicide, and 93 firefighters and 129 officers died in the line of duty, which includes shootings, stabbings, drownings and car accidents on the job.
Miriam Heyman, a co-author of the study, said the numbers of suicide are extremely under-reported, while more high-profile deaths make headlines. Forty-six officers died after being shot on the job in 2017, nearly 67% less than the number of suicides.
“Line-of-duty deaths are covered so widely by the press, but suicides are not, and it’s because of the level of secrecy around these deaths, which really shows the stigmas,” Heyman said.
She said departments don’t release information about suicides, and less than 5% have suicide-prevention programs. First responders are ashamed to talk about and address the topic, which has a deadly result, she said.
“There is not enough conversation about mental health within police and fire departments,” the study says. “Silence can be deadly, because it is interpreted as a lack of acceptance and thus morphs into a barrier that prevents first responders from accessing potentially lifesaving mental health services.”
There have been some discussions and pushes for mental health programs in departments, but the process is slow.
The report highlights programs and policies such as peer-to-peer assistance, mental health checkups, time off after responding to a critical incident and family training programs to identify the warning signs of depression and PTSD.
A project published this year by the International Association of Chiefs of Police detailed the issues around suicide and highlighted many of the same programs. It noted that first responder suicide is nearly impossible to track since it’s often not reported.