There’s a high coverage of cop shootings by the media – on both the attack and “defence” side of the battle between them and criminals. Heck, we have shown you most of them. But a new statistic is even more worrying: Between 2012 and 2013, 115 officers died by suicide compared to 29 officers murdered on duty.
That’s a four-to-one ratio.
Compared to 0.9 percent per 100 000 South Africans who die by suicide, the police rate is 73.9 per 100 000. Yet South Africa is not an anomaly. Other countries, especially those which are “democratic” claim suicide the leading cause of death among police officers.
The problem? That, when dealing with emotive problems, the attitude is:
Cowboys don’t cry.
The emotive problems are linked to depression and post-traumatic stress that is not spoken about: According to a report of the 153,000 (estimated) SAPS personnel, 10,000 officers suffered from depression and 2700 from post-traumatic stress disorder.
And, as most things that control us, it’s all about the use of language: The social stigma of suicide is regularly referred to as committed – associating it with a criminal act. Police are not skilled with talking about personal issues, especially those associated with shame, and so do not seek help.
Such phrasing may also contribute to why the names of officers who die by suicide are excluded on memorial walls and annual rolls of honour. This, despite some of the officers having served society for years before taking their own life.
If a member of the SAPS is killed while on duty, the family gets paid a death benefit and proceeds from life insurances. But should an officer die by suicide, no compensation benefit is received by the family.
To date, very little research has been done on the causes of police suicide. This needs to change.
[source: timeslive]
