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

The Police Personality: Solid as a Rock

• r 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

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
• f 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

Male Female Total Hispanic 8.46 1.98 5.27 Black 9.10 1.84 5.30 Asian 9.32 3.55 6.30 Native Am 26.06 9.02 17.35 White 25.65 6.66 15.99 Total 19.95 5.15 12.43

Ages 25-54

Male Female Total Hispanic 11.55 2.49 7.15 Black 13.37 2.77 7.78 Asian 11.04 4.47 7.56 Native Am 33.88 11.92 22.63 White 33.27 9.73 21.51 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

Male Female Total Hispanic 8.30 2.20 5.30 Black 9.48 2.08 5.62 Asian 9.40 3.18 6.15 Native Am 28.91 8.03 18.27 White 26.91 7.48 17.05 Total 20.59 5.67 13.02

Ages 21-54

Male Female Total Hispanic 11.64 3.08 7.52 Black 14.20 2.94 8.33 Asian 12.08 4.10 7.90 Native Am 44.91 11.98 28.80 White 32.99 10.28 21.68 Total 25.51 7.62 16.57 Source: 2015 Center for Disease Control

http://webappa.cdc.gov/sasweb/ncipc/mortrate10_us.html

Computing an Updated Benchmark

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%

• Gender & Race in Local Police (2003 – most recent available)

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

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%

• Gender & Race in Local Police (2013 – most recent available)

Source: Reaves, B. A. (2015). Local Police Departments, 2013. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Justice, Bureau of Justice Statistics

Computing an Updated Benchmark

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%

• Gender & Race in Federal Agencies (2008 – most recent

available)

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

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%

• Gender & Race in Law Enforcement – 2010 Census Data

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.)

Year All Ages U.S Canada Age 25-54 WM, Age 25-54 Cop Demographic Cop Rate1 # Cop suicides 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

1The 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

http://webappa.cdc.gov/sasweb/ncipc/mortrate10_us.html

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
• fficers 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

• fficers are three times more likely to kill themselves than to be killed

by others.”

Suicides and Line of Duty Deaths

Suicides Total Line of Duty Deaths # Due to Homicide Year Badge of Life1 FBI2 NLEOMF3 ODMP4 FBI ODMP 2014 117 134 59 2013 76 107 119 27 39 2012 126 95 126 133 48 65 2011 125 171 180 72 87 2010 128 161 177 56 78 2009 143 96 125 140 48 57 2008 141 109 148 153 41 60 2007 141 192 203 58 82 2006 114 156 161 48 71

1Badge of Life 2Law Enforcement Officers Killed and Assaulted report 3National Law Enforcement Officer Memorial Fund 4Officer Down Memorial Page

The “Still Crazy” folks – Police Divorce

• “Typically, the Police divorce rate is high. On average, the large

departments are about 70-80%”

• “They have a high divorce rate, about second in the nation. They are

problem drinkers about twice as often as the general population”

• “Past studies have indicated that law enforcement officers have one of the

highest divorce rates when compared with other groups of professionals”

• “Divorce rates among law enforcement personnel parallel those of other

high-stress professions such as doctors and lawyers. Surveys of police

• fficers continually reflect estimates of divorce rates as high as 75%!”
• “Nationally, the divorce rate among police officers is shown to be as high as

70 percent in a society that has a divorce rate of around 50 percent.”

The “Solid as a Rock” truth – Divorce Rates

• McCoy & Aamodt (2010)
• 2000 Census Data
• Law enforcement divorce/separation rate was 14.47%
• Divorce/separation rate for all Census jobs was 16.35%
• Whitehouse (1965)
• 1960 Census Data
• Law enforcement divorce rate was 1.7%
• Divorce rate for the male population was 2.1%
• Niederhoffer and Niederhoffer (1978)
• Survey of 30 police departments
• 2.5% were divorced
• National average was 3.7%

The “Still Crazy” folks – Police Alcoholism

• “Alcohol use by police officers in the United States is theorized to be

double that of the general population, with 20% of those abusing alcohol.”

• “Studies show police officers have higher rates of alcoholism, divorce,

and drug abuse, than the average American. They also have life expectancies ten years less than the average person, mostly due to suicides.”

• “Alcohol abuse among police officers is a serious and widespread

problem, with some studies estimating that it afflicts one-quarter of all police officers in the U.S.”

The “Solid as a Rock” truth – Alcoholism

• This is a tough one
• Need alcoholism rates for police
• Need alcoholism rates for others
• The rates need to share a common metric
• What do we know?
• National Survey on Drug Use and Health (Larson, Eyerman, Foster, & Gfroerer, 2007)
• Protective service occupations: 9.1% heavy alcohol use in past month; 7.3% alcohol dependence or abuse in past year
• All occupations: 8.8% heavy alcohol use in past month; 9.2% alcohol dependence or abuse in past year
• Men have higher alcohol abuse rates than women, both in policing and in the population in general
• Using the Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test (AUDIT)
• Law Enforcement
• U.S., one study, problem rates of 20.3% for men and 14.5 for women
• Norway, one study, problem rates of 17.9% for men and 9.4% for women
• Australia, one study, problem rates of 36.0% for men and 26.5% for women
• Other Occupations
• Norway: Ambulance drivers, 18.8% for men and 10.7% for women
• Germany: Doctors, 28.0% for men and 7.1% for women
• Norway: Surgeons, 29.7% for men, 18.0% for women
• Norway: Non-surgeon doctors, 21.7% for men, 7.6% for women
• England, 73% for inmates

Why do the “Still Crazy” beliefs continue?

• Availability heuristic
• Police officers associate with other police officers
• Police psychologists (there are no “accountant psychologists” or “welder

psychologists”)

• Illusory correlation
• Every suicide, divorce, or drunk cop “confirms” the belief
• Built in excuse for failure
• Honey it’s not me, it’s the job. Did you know that police are 500 times more

likely to get divorced than the rest of the world? And that’s when they are sober, which is almost never!

• Provides a special bond among officers
• Only a cop can understand what we go through. It is so tough that our suicide,

divorce, and alcoholism rates are the highest in the country.

• Financial motivation by some police psychologists

Profile of Law Enforcement Personnel Who Commit Suicide

Method

• Internet search for stories/obituaries on police suicide (2000-

2015)

• Terms such as: Officer, Deputy, Agent, Trooper, Chief, Sheriff, Cop
• Terms such as:
• Committed suicide
• Took own life
• Found dead
• Self-inflicted
• Cause of death not suspicious
• Contacted large LE agencies for information on number of LE

suicides each year between 2010 and 2014

• Only included active, sworn personnel (not former or retired)
• Used ancestry.com to confirm and get additional information on

age, sex, and race/ethnicity

• Information on 815 LE suicides

Sex and Race/Ethnicity

Aamodt & Stalnaker (2001) Current Study LE National Statistics (2013) Sex % N % % Male 93.4 675 92.1 87.8 Female 6.6 58 7.9 12.2 Race White 81.0 483 80.1 72.8 Black 14.7 49 8.1 12.2 Hispanic 3.8 61 10.1 11.6 Asian 0.5 5 0.8 2.4 Native Am 0.5 5 0.8 0.6

Age & Law Enforcement Experience

Aamodt & Stalnaker (2001) Current Study Age N = 299 N = 710 Mean years 36.9 40.5 Median years 40.0 LE Experience N = 299 N = 562 Mean years 12.2 14.2 Median years 13.0

Trends

• Age
• 36.9 Prior to 2000 (Aamodt & Stalnaker, 2001)
• 38.7 2000-2004
• 39.4 2005-2009
• 42.1 2010-2015
• LE Experience
• 12.2 Prior to 2000 (Aamodt & Stalnaker, 2001)
• 12.6 2000-2004
• 12.7 2005-2009
• 15.8 2010-2015

Rank

Aamodt & Stalnaker (2001) Current Study LE National Statistics % N % % Officer/Deputy 71.8 466 59.7 Sgt. 11.9 69 8.8 Federal Agent 0.6 55 7.0 Detective 7.8 43 5.5 Lt. 3.0 43 5.5 Chief/Sheriff 1.5 39 5.0 State Trooper 1.5 38 4.9 Corporal 0.0 17 2.2 Captain 1.9 9 1.2 Colonel/Chief Deputy 0.0 4 0.6

Method

Aamodt & Stalnaker (2001) Current Study National Statistics (2012) % N % % Gunshot 90.7 580 96.3 50.9 (men 56.4) Hanging 2.8 14 2.3 24.8 (men 25.2) Overdose 1.4 0.0 16.1 (men 11.1) Carbon Monoxide 1.7 5 0.8 Vehicle 0.5 2 0.3 0.4 (men 0.4) Jumping/fall 0.6 0.0 2.3 (men 2.2) Other 1.4

Location

Aamodt & Stalnaker (2001) Current Study National Statistics % N % % Home 54.8 318 54.0 Personal car 5.6 58 9.8 Station house 10.5 46 7.8 Rural area/park 2.6 44 7.5 Police cruiser 2.8 32 5.4 Other’s home 5.4 24 4.1 Street 2.3 22 3.7 Parking lot 1.0 19 3.2 Motel 1.8 12 2.0 Cemetery 1.5 3 0.5

Duty Status

Aamodt & Stalnaker (2001) Current Study % % Off-Duty 86.3 78.0 On-Duty 13.7 12.5 Suspended/On leave 8.5 Recent Resignation 2.2 Recently fired 1.4 Medical leave 1.0

Nationwide, there were 41,149 suicides in 2013, 270 of which occurred at work (0.66%)

Workplace suicide numbers from BLS Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries

Day of the Week

Current Study National Suicide Data (Kposowa, 2010) Day N % % Monday 121 16.8 14.3 Tuesday 132 18.3 12.7 Wednesday 116 16.1 24.6 Thursday 97 13.5 11.1 Friday 93 12.9 11.2 Saturday 74 10.3 14.4 Sunday 88 12.2 11.8

Day of the Week - Trend

2000-2004 2005-2009 2010-2015 Day % % % Monday 13.3 14.9 19.0 Tuesday 23.0 19.7 15.9 Wednesday 14.8 16.8 16.1 Thursday 9.6 14.4 14.3 Friday 14.1 13.0 12.4 Saturday 13.3 8.7 10.1 Sunday 11.9 12.5 12.2

Season

Season Current Study National Suicide Data (Kposowa, 2010) Number of Days in the Year N % % % Winter (Dec, Jan, Feb) 197 27.1 24.4 24.7 Spring (Mar, Apr, May) 186 25.6 25.8 24.9 Summer (June, July, Aug) 160 22.0 26.0 25.2 Autumn (Sep, Oct, Nov) 183 25.2 23.8 25.2

Reason

Reason N Legal problems 131 Relationship issues 120 Work related issues 36 General personal problems 27 Disciplinary issues 14 Physical pain/illness 9 Unknown or not stated 478

Two Interesting Findings

• 85 of our 815 suicides (10.4%) were homicide-suicides
• Wife/husband (41)
• Girlfriend/boyfriend (18)
• Wife and kids (4)
• Children (3)
• Ex-wife (3)
• Wife’s boyfriend (3)
• In-laws (1)
• Boyfriend and baby (1)
• We came across many former cops (not retired cops) who

committed homicide-suicide and many former cops who committed suicide after being in legal trouble

• This might be an interesting topic for future research

Future Research Topic – Retired Cops

• Could their rate be higher?
• State of Washington Death Certificate Data (1950-2010)
• 149 suicides by people whose occupation was listed as police officers,

sheriffs, and marshals

• Law Enforcement Proportionate Mortality Ratio (PMR) was 108
• Age 20-59 = 90
• Age 60+ = 139
• Only one of the other studies using death certificate data tried to split by

status (they split current/not current and used a non-traditional metric)

• Current
• Former
• Retired

Contact Information

Michael G. Aamodt, Ph.D. (Mike) Professor Emeritus Radford University Radford, VA 24142-6946 maamodt@Radford.edu (202) 280-2172