More L.A. police commit suicide than die in line of duty, study finds

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From the Associated Press, Los Angeles Times Staff Writer

Police officers in Los Angeles are more likely to take their own life than be killed by a criminal, according to a report presented today to the Police Commission.

The data was included in a study by police psychologists who are in the process of retooling the agency's suicide prevention program.

The report said 19 Los Angeles police officers killed themselves between 1998 and 2007, while only seven died in the line of duty during that time.

Psychologists calculated in the report that suicide rates among police officers in Los Angeles are higher than their counterparts in Chicago and New York.

Suicides are even more prevalent among police officers in San Diego than Los Angeles, the report said.

Kevin Jablonski, chief psychiatrist for the Los Angeles Police Department, pinned the high suicide rates on the mental anguish that comes from policing dangerous streets.

"When you interact day after day, hour after hour with either the victims of crime or the perpetrators of crime, you start thinking this world is dangerous, this world is violent," he said. "It's depressing."

Department psychologists said in their report that the suicide rate among Los Angeles officers had decreased more than 20 percent since 1998, when the department made a push to increase suicide prevention services.

Still, Jablonski said more needs to be done to make sure officers know treatment is available for conditions that lead to suicide, such as depression and alcoholism.

Staff are planning a revamped suicide prevention program that includes new training for supervisors to respond to potential problems, as well as wallet cards and dashboard stickers directing officers to sources of counseling, he said.

http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-su...0,2015513.story

[Hilarious Clinton 452]

How many LA police officers have there been since 1998? 30? 30,000? Do trained monkeys write these stories?

I guess there aren't too many guns on the street since the criminals have only killed 7. Yes... 1 is too many.

[one...two...tree 2,762]

How many LA police officers have there been since 1998? 30? 30,000? Do trained monkeys write these stories?

I guess there aren't too many guns on the street since the criminals have only killed 7. Yes... 1 is too many.

The data was included in a study presented by Police Department psychologists who are in the process of retooling the agency's suicide prevention program.

The report said 19 Los Angeles police officers killed themselves between 1998 and 2007, while only seven died in the line of duty during that time.

http://www.examiner.com/a-1301186~Study_sh...A_officers.html

[Ban Hammer 13,678]

well they do work in la, that's gotta be depressing

[Hilarious Clinton 452]

How many LA police officers have there been since 1998? 30? 30,000? Do trained monkeys write these stories?

I guess there aren't too many guns on the street since the criminals have only killed 7. Yes... 1 is too many.

The data was included in a study presented by Police Department psychologists who are in the process of retooling the agency's suicide prevention program.

The report said 19 Los Angeles police officers killed themselves between 1998 and 2007, while only seven died in the line of duty during that time.

http://www.examiner.com/a-1301186~Study_sh...A_officers.html

19 and 7 out of how many total? That's my point.

"One website, The Straight Dope includes a quote from Steven Stack that says, "Dentists' odds of suicide "are 6.64 times greater than the rest of the working age population..." The website also indicates that male doctors and dentists both are well above average for suicide rates among American workers.

In fact, health care professions in general show a higher than average suicide rate. This is especially true of those in emergency services, EMTs and paramedics who respond to crisis calls.

Beyond healthcare fields, finding jobs that have a higher suicide incidence was difficult, since many states do not report the cause of death and the occupation on death certificates. However, the National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health has research performed approximately 10 years ago that indicates separating suicide rates by occupation is difficult to do, but they clearly presented three specific conclusions:

1) White male physicians have a higher than average suicide rate.

2) Black male guards (excluding correctional institution guards) have a higher than average suicide rate.

3) White female painters, sculptors and artists have a higher than average suicide rate."

http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/3...cide_rates.html

[one...two...tree 2,762]

well they do work in la, that's gotta be depressing

I blame Hollywood.