The Police Personality: Solid as a Rock or Still Crazy After All - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

The Police Personality: Solid as a Rock or Still Crazy After All These Years Michael G. Aamodt, Ph.D. Radford University maamodt@Radford.edu Justice Clearinghouse Webinar July 9, 2015

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• Introductions • Session is Recorded • Listen Only Event • Type in Questions using GoTo Webinar www.justiceclearinghouse.com

Presentation Topics • Quick review of law-enforcement websites enabling the Still Crazy After All These Years view • Review the research supporting the Solid as a Rock view • Suicide • Divorce • Alcohol Abuse • Present an update of law enforcement suicide rates • Discussion of how to properly interpret the results of our research on police suicide rates • Discussion of reasons why the Still Crazy views continue to survive in spite of research to the contrary • New data on active law enforcement personnel who commit suicide

An Opening Thought • Although we will be talking about law enforcement suicide rates in general, even one suicide has a devastating effect on the • Family • Department • Community in general

The “Still Crazy” folks – Police Suicide • “Police officers have 3 times the risk of suicide over other municipal workers.” • “The high rate of suicide among law enforcement officers is policing’s dirty little secret. Not only do police officers have higher rates of alcoholism, divorce, and drug abuse, not only do they have life expectancies ten years less than the average person; they also kill themselves at higher rates than the average American.” • “Police officers have one of the highest suicide rates in the nation, possibly the highest.”

The “Solid as a Rock” truth – Suicide Rates • Aamodt and Stalnaker (2001) meta-analysis • 18.1 per 100,000 for law enforcement • 12 per 100,000 for national population • 151% of national population • 25.5 per 100,000 for White, males, aged 22-55 • 21.9 per 100,000 nationally mirroring law enforcement percentage for gender and race • 83% of demographically controlled for norms

Determining Law Enforcement Suicide Rates • Three common methods • Percentage of current officers who commit suicide each year • Percentage of reported deaths that are due to suicide • Percentage of reported occupational deaths that are due to suicide • This is not a good source of data for suicide • These percentages are then compared to non-LE Rates • Overall • Demographically controlled

Computing Updated Suicide Ratios • Population baserate • Population as a whole • Population mirroring the law enforcement community • Law enforcement rate • Number of suicides in a year • Number of law enforcement personnel in the U.S. in that year • Law enforcement rate/population baserate

Updated Suicide Numbers (2010) – U.S. Population Rate Per 100,000 All Ages Ages 25-54 Male Female Total Male Female Total Hispanic 8.46 1.98 5.27 Hispanic 11.55 2.49 7.15 Black 9.10 1.84 5.30 Black 13.37 2.77 7.78 Asian 9.32 3.55 6.30 Asian 11.04 4.47 7.56 Native Am 26.06 9.02 17.35 Native Am 33.88 11.92 22.63 White 25.65 6.66 15.99 White 33.27 9.73 21.51 Total 19.95 5.15 12.43 Total 25.96 7.35 16.60 Source: 2010 Center for Disease Control

Updated Suicide Numbers (2013) U.S. Population Rate per 100,000 All Ages Ages 21-54 Male Female Total Male Female Total Hispanic 8.30 2.20 5.30 Hispanic 11.64 3.08 7.52 Black 9.48 2.08 5.62 Black 14.20 2.94 8.33 Asian 9.40 3.18 6.15 Asian 12.08 4.10 7.90 Native Am 28.91 8.03 18.27 Native Am 44.91 11.98 28.80 White 26.91 7.48 17.05 White 32.99 10.28 21.68 Total 20.59 5.67 13.02 Total 25.51 7.62 16.57 http://webappa.cdc.gov/sasweb/ncipc/mortrate10_us.html Source: 2015 Center for Disease Control

Computing an Updated Benchmark • Gender & Race in Local Police (2003 – most recent available) Race Male Female Total Hispanic 7.8% 1.3% 9.1% Black 9.0% 2.7% 11.7% Other 2.5% 0.3% 2.8% White 69.4% 7.0% 76.4% Total 88.7% 11.3% 100% Source: U.S. Department of Justice, Bureau of Justice Statistics, Local Police Departments, 2003, NCJ 210118 (Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Justice, 2006), p. 7,Table 13

Computing an Updated Benchmark • Gender & Race in Local Police (2013 – most recent available) Race Male Female Total Hispanic 11.6% Black 12.2% Asian, NHPI 2.4% White 72.8% Native American 0.6% Two or more 0.5% Total 87.8% 12.2% 100% Source: Reaves, B. A. (2015). Local Police Departments, 2013 . Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Justice, Bureau of Justice Statistics

Computing an Updated Benchmark • Gender & Race in Federal Agencies (2008 – most recent available) Race Male Female Total Hispanic 19.8% Black 10.4% Asian, NHPI 3.0% White 65.8% Native American 1.0% Two or more Unk Total 84.5% 15.5% 100% Source: Reaves, B. A. (2012). Federal Law Enforcement Officers, 2008 . Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Justice, Bureau of Justice Statistics

Computing an Updated Benchmark • Gender & Race in Law Enforcement – 2010 Census Data Race Male Female Total Hispanic 6.42% 1.41% 7.82% Black 8.48% 3.65% 12.13% Asian, NHPI 1.76% 0.26% 2.02% White 62.29% 9.69% 71.98% Native American 0.56% 0.11% 0.67% Two or more 4.27% 1.10% 5.37% Total 83.78% 16.22% 100% Source: Census codes 3710, 3820, 3850

Updated comparison (2012 LE suicides) • Badge of Life Data • 2012 • 126 law enforcement suicides (much lower than the previous years) • 92 suicides found • They use a 37% adjustment factor (20% for missing, 17% for wrongly classified) • Updated Data • 929,308 local, state, and federal sworn officers in 2008 (most recent available) • 13.55 per 100,000 for law enforcement • 13.02 per 100,000 for national population (2013) • 32.99 per 100,000 for White, males, aged 21-54 (2013) • 24.13 per 100,000 nationally mirroring law enforcement percentage for gender and race (2010 Census data) • New comparison rates • 104% of national population • 56% of demographically controlled for law enforcement norms

Trends in Suicide Rates (U.S.) Cop Rate 1 Year All Ages Age 25-54 WM, Age Cop Demographic # Cop suicides U.S Canada 25-54 2012 12.94 17.18 34.19 13.55 126 2011 12.68 16.95 33.72 2010 12.43 16.60 33.27 2009 12.03 11.5 16.21 32.09 16.15 143 2008 11.85 11.1 15.99 31.42 24.98 15.16 141 2007 11.49 11.0 15.64 31.12 2006 11.16 10.8 15.09 29.02 2005 11.04 11.6 14.79 28.24 2000 10.43 11.7 13.68 25.20 http://webappa.cdc.gov/sasweb/ncipc/mortrate10_us.html 1 The suicide rates for law enforcement are based on the number of local, state, and federal sworn officers in 2008 – the most recent data available as of June, 2015. Number of cop suicides are from Badge of Life data

Updated Comparison (2008 LE suicides) • Badge of Life Data • 2008 • 141 law enforcement suicides • Updated Data • 929,308 local, state, and federal sworn officers in 2008 (most recent available) • 15.17 per 100,000 for law enforcement • 11.85 per 100,000 for national population (2008) • 31.42 per 100,000 for White, males, aged 25-54 • 24.98 per 100,000 nationally mirroring law enforcement percentage for gender and race (2003 data, most recent available) • New Rate Comparison • 128% of national population • 61% of demographically controlled for law enforcement norms

Summary: Suicide Rates per 100,000 Aamodt & Stalnaker (2001) 2008 Data 2012 Data Law Enforcement Rate 18.1 15.17 13.55 National Population Rate 12.0 11.85 12.94 White, Male, 21 ‐ 55 rate 25.5 31.42 34.19 LE demographic controlled 21.9 24.98 26.35 Law Enforcement Ratio Compared to national 151% 128% 105% Compared to LE demographic 83% 61% 53%

Understanding Our Findings • “This is the study some love and others love to hate” • The interpretation depends on the question being asked • Is suicide a problem for police departments? • Yes. Suicide rates are highest for White, men, aged 25-55 and given that the majority of police officers fit that demographic, suicide is a concern. • Do police officers commit suicide because of problems on the job? • Yes, just as people in the general public commit suicide as a result of job-related problems • Is there something unique about policing that increases the chances of committing suicide? • NO! • Is the suicide rate for police actually higher but police departments hide the cause of death more than do other occupations? • Show me the data! • Violanti (2010) says cause of police deaths 17% more likely to be “undetermined”

The “Still Crazy” folks – Suicide & Line of Duty Deaths • “Nationally, twice as many cops – about 300 annually – commit suicide as are killed in the line of duty” • “National studies show that about 140 police officers across the country killed themselves each year from 2008 to 2010 and that officers are three times more likely to kill themselves than to be killed by others.”