Statistics regarding the true state of the police suicide epidemic may be difficult to obtain. According to Burge, police departments are hesitant to allow the public to access any documents relevant to the issue of suicide in the force (1982 in Violanti, 1995). The Southern Medical Journal reported that the reason for such hesitation is the need to keep the internal workings of a police department from public criticism and scrutiny (Horvitz, 1994). Suicide in the force may be considered a dishonorable

However, the police suicide epidemic can be controlled with proper preventative measures. One large obstacle that police departments are working to overcome is that many police officers are simply too afraid to let anyone else know that they are in need of help. This is why officers who are in supervisor positions need to know what warning signs to look for. Most officers make their intentions known at some point (Grollman, 1988 in Baker and Baker, 1996). Feelings of depression and loneliness are bound to effect an officer's quality of work in some way. If supervisors were properly trained, perhaps they could reach out to their distressed employees before it is too late. Aside from dissipating worth ethic, the strongest suicide predictor is a prior attempt at suicide (Baker and Baker, 1996). Through supervisor education and genuine dedication to suicide prevention, many suicide attempts would never occur.

However, as important as these programs are, they do not apply to all officers. These programs are designed only for those who admit that they are having difficulty coping with life, and who choose to step forward. What about those officers who do not yet have a problem, but who may have a period of severe depression later in life? Those officers must not be overlooked. In 1992, there was only one police officer suicide (Connolly, 1995). That number is astonishingly low compared every other year documented. The 1994 statistic mentioned before, in which eleven officers in New York City alone committed suicide, shows just how high the numbers reach. Why such a difference? The answer is quite simple. In 1992, officers were shown a video entitled By Their Own Hand. This video was shown to approximately 26,000 New York City police officers as a means to deter them from suicide and to encourage seeking help. The video itself included interviews with the families of officers who had committed suicide, revealing the family repercussions of such an act. It also emphasized the importance of getting help, as do most other programs. Generally, the video seemed to have a powerful impact on those who viewed it (Connolly, 1995).

That is not to say that the statistics that are given are not startling enough. One must realize that the suicide rate among police officers has doubled over the past decade (Violanti and Vena, 1995 in Violanti, 1995). For instance, statistics show that for every 2,662 officers studied, one commits suicide every 1.25 years. That rate has been on the rise for the past several decades (Violanti and Vena, 1995 in Violanti, 1995). Eleven members of the New York City police department committed suicide in 1994, but only two were killed in the line of duty that year (Baker and Baker, 1996). Studies show that police officers are three times more likely to kill themselves than members of the general public (Baker and Baker, 1996). The officers that take their own lives are often in uniform, and they are usually young. Most are around the age of 20 (Horvitz, 1994). It is clear that police officers are in just a

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