Suicide Among New York City Police Officers, 1977–1996

OBJECTIVE: The authors assessed the suicide rates of New York City police officers during a recent period. METHOD: The authors reviewed death certificates of active New York City police officers who died from 1977 through 1996 (N=668); age-, gender-, and race-specific suicide rates among New York City police officers and the city’s residents were determined. RESULTS: The police suicide rate was 14.9 per 100,000 person-years, compared with a demographically adjusted suicide rate of New York City residents of 18.3 per 100,000 person-years. Suicide rates among male police officers were comparable to their reference population. Female police officers had a higher risk of suicide than female residents of New York, but the number of suicides of female police officers was small. CONCLUSIONS: The rate of suicide among New York City police officers is equal to, or even lower than, the suicide rate of the city’s resident population.