Homicide-suicide in police families: aggression full circle.
Police officers are considered to be at increased risk for suicide, and such self-aggression may be extended to others. This paper describes antecedents of police family homicide-suicides in a sample of 29 cases. Police experiences with violence and aggression, domestic violence, and availability of lethal weaponry are possible correlates. Results from this sample suggested that police family homicide-suicides are increasing, as approximately twice as many cases were reported in 2006 as in the two previous years. The majority of homicide victims were women (N=24; 83%), however five of the victims were men killed by women police officers. The majority of incidents occurred in younger age groups (< 40 years of age). The primary weapon employed was the police service firearm (90%). Most incidents occurred on the local police departmental level (76%) as opposed to state and federal level departments. Similar to the majority of nationwide homicide-suicides, the homicide victim was primarily a spouse or female acquaintance. In three cases a child was also killed by the perpetrator While exposure to violence in police work cannot be changed, the establishment of a strict domestic violence policy by police agencies is discussed as one strategy to reduce the incidence of violence in the police family.
Violanti
John M
JM
Department of Social & Preventive Medicine, School of Public Health & Health Professions, State University of NY, Buffalo 14214, USA. violanti@buffalo.edu
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D017677:Age Distribution; D002648:Child; D017579:Domestic Violence / Q000706:statistics & numerical data* / Q000639:trends; D005190:Family / Q000523:psychology*; D005260:Female; D006708:Homicide / Q000706:statistics & numerical data* / Q000639:trends; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D016495:Police; D017678:Sex Distribution; D013405:Suicide / Q000706:statistics & numerical data* / Q000639:trends; D014481:United States / Q000453:epidemiology