Suicide and Homicide-Suicide Among Police

Book excerpt: The goal of this book is to fully explore what the author refers to as 'the near epidemic levels of suicide and homicide-suicide' among law enforcement officers, and ultimately to offer recommendations and best practices with which to better address the problem. The book begins by discussing suicide in some depth, for one has to know suicide, unequivocally, to understand a suicidal or homicidal-suicidal officer. Suicide and homicide-suicide are complex, multi-determined events - the result of an interplay of individual, relational, social, cultural and environmental factors. The complexity of causation necessitates a parallel complexity of knowledge. There are at least two avenues to understanding: the nomothetic (general) approach, which deals with generalizations using empirical, statistical and demographic methods or techniques; and the idiographic (specific) approach, which typically involves the intense study of individuals. This book explores both. Attempting to be mindful of the needs of the office on the street, the mental health provider, the administrator, the forensic specialist, and the survivors of these needless tragedies, the belief is that by amalgamating the concerns of a diverse audience, we can meet the challenge of identifying at-risk individuals and situations, and saving lives.