Measuring suicide among active and former sworn law enforcement personnel: a state-level, proof-of-concept methodology

Purpose Accurately determining suicide statistics in law enforcement (LE) occupations has long presented challenges. The purpose of this report is to demonstrate a novel, state-level approach for determining suicide cases by active and former sworn LE personnel. Design/methodology/approach All Florida (FL) death records from 2013 to 2023 of descendants at least 18 years of age (n = 2,371,848) were screened to include records with the manner of death marked as suicide (n = 36,970). These suicide records were cross-referenced with a database that serves as a central repository of individuals who have ever been certified as sworn officers in FL. The resulting case matches were used to quantify standardized and proportionate mortality ratios (SMRs/PMRs). Findings There were 332 suicide deaths among former officers, and 112 suicide deaths were observed in active officers. The standardized mortality ratio values calculated for the active officer population were below the null value (i.e. <1.00). The proportionate mortality ratio for active officers was 1.98 (95% confidence interval (CI) = 1.63–2.39) and 1.72 (95% CI = 1.54–1.91) for former officers. The results indicate that while officer suicide mortality is below the expected outcome based on the general population (lower SMRs), suicide is a disproportionately high cause of death within the occupation (high PMRs). Originality/value The methodology described here offers a demonstration for states to accurately and consistently determine the number of suicide cases by active and former sworn LE personnel. This can pave the way to better understanding the true scope of suicide in this population and better-informed policy focused on suicide prevention.