# Do law enforcement workers have higher rates of psychological problems

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-law-enforcement-workers-have-higher-rates-of-psychological-problems/333203>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [November 29, 2005, 2:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-law-enforcement-workers-have-higher-rates-of-psychological-problems/333203 "2005-11-29T14:51:08Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 5\
**Page:** 1

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Wesley\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wesley_clark/32/20581_2.png) [@Wesley\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wesley_Clark)\
**Post date:** [November 29, 2005, 2:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-law-enforcement-workers-have-higher-rates-of-psychological-problems/333203/1 "2005-11-29T14:51:08Z")

</div>

Do people who work in law enforcement as judges, defense attorneys, prosecutors, cops, investigators, prison guards, bounty hunters, probation workers, etc have higher rates of things like suicide, depression or substance abuse than average?

I’ve heard contradictory info for police officer suicide, some say it is higher than average, some lower.

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![pravnik](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/8edcca/32.png) [@pravnik](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pravnik)\
**Post date:** [November 29, 2005, 3:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-law-enforcement-workers-have-higher-rates-of-psychological-problems/333203/2 "2005-11-29T15:20:11Z")

</div>

As a conversation starter, here’s our own Dex’s mailbag report on the matter: [What occupation has the highest suicide rate?](http://www.straightdope.com/mailbag/msuicide.html)

I must say I feel fine myself.

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Gfactor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/9de053/32.png) [@Gfactor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gfactor)\
**Post date:** [November 29, 2005, 3:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-law-enforcement-workers-have-higher-rates-of-psychological-problems/333203/3 "2005-11-29T15:47:52Z")

</div>

> [@Wesley Clark](#):
>
> Do people who work in law enforcement as judges, defense attorneys, prosecutors, cops, investigators, prison guards, bounty hunters, probation workers, etc have higher rates of things like suicide, depression or substance abuse than average?
> 
> I’ve heard contradictory info for police officer suicide, some say it is higher than average, some lower.

Here is a study claiming an overall lower suicide rate for New York police officers:

[http://www.wjh.harvard.edu/~nock/nocklab/Marzuk\_police%20suicide.pdf](http://www.wjh.harvard.edu/~nock/nocklab/Marzuk_police%20suicide.pdf)

[http://www.med.cornell.edu/news/press/2002/12\_19\_02\_b.html](http://www.med.cornell.edu/news/press/2002/12_19_02_b.html) (summary of previous cite)

Here are a couple of critiques:

[http://infoventures.com/osh/abs/lawe0002.html](http://infoventures.com/osh/abs/lawe0002.html)  
[http://ajp.psychiatryonline.org/cgi/content/full/161/4/767](http://ajp.psychiatryonline.org/cgi/content/full/161/4/767)  
[http://ajp.psychiatryonline.org/cgi/content/full/161/4/766](http://ajp.psychiatryonline.org/cgi/content/full/161/4/766)  
And a contrary result:

> [@](#):
>
> A study of 2376 Buffalo NY police officers found that compared to the white male population police officers had higher mortality rates for cancer, suicide, and heart disease. The suggested reason: Higher stress levels.

[http://www.suicidereferencelibrary.com/test4~id~605.php](http://www.suicidereferencelibrary.com/test4~id~605.php)

Lawyers: [http://www.lpac.ca/French/Courses/Course13-03.asp](http://www.lpac.ca/French/Courses/Course13-03.asp)  
[http://www.abanet.org/barserv/22-6dev.html](http://www.abanet.org/barserv/22-6dev.html)

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Gfactor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/9de053/32.png) [@Gfactor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gfactor)\
**Post date:** [November 29, 2005, 3:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-law-enforcement-workers-have-higher-rates-of-psychological-problems/333203/4 "2005-11-29T15:51:43Z")

</div>

> [@pravnik](#):
>
> As a conversation starter, here’s our own Dex’s mailbag report on the matter: [What occupation has the highest suicide rate?](http://www.straightdope.com/mailbag/msuicide.html)

And there’s this tangentially-related one by Cecil: [Do dentists have the highest suicide rate?](http://www.straightdope.com/columns/010420.html)

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Gfactor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/9de053/32.png) [@Gfactor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gfactor)\
**Post date:** [November 29, 2005, 4:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-law-enforcement-workers-have-higher-rates-of-psychological-problems/333203/5 "2005-11-29T16:02:12Z")

</div>

[Suicide by profession: lots of confusion, inconclusive data](http://www.apa.org/monitor/jan01/suicide.html)

[http://www.emedicine.com/med/topic3004.htm](http://www.emedicine.com/med/topic3004.htm) (Police or public safety officers are at risk for suicide. The hours of work, the scenes they witness daily, the availability of guns, and the silence encouraged by the profession (keeping within the “wall-of-blue”), as well as alcohol usage and divorces contribute to this risk.)