National Project on Law Enforcement Suicide Prevention

The Edward Byrne Memorial Competitive Program: National Initiatives, administered by the Office of Justice Programs' (OJP) Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA), furthers the Department's mission by assisting state and local jurisdictions in improving the criminal justice system and assisting communities in preventing drug abuse and crime. In FY 2008, the program will focus on funding local, regional, and national efforts within five major categories: 1) preventing crime and drug abuse; 2) enhancing local law enforcement; 3) enhancing local courts; 4) enhancing local corrections and offender reentry; and 5) facilitating justice information sharing.

St. Petersburg College's Florida Regional Community Policing Institute (RCPI) will implement a project under Category 2: enhancing local law enforcement. The Florida RCPI will develop a project to address law enforcement officer suicide. According to the RCPI, one out of three retired or active duty law enforcement officers, suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder. As a result, some turn to alcohol or drug abuse or, even worse, suicide. The Florida RCPI will work to increase the probability that officers at risk for suicide will seek help from mental health professionals, and to foster an understanding about the myths and misconceptions of suicide. The project will host three regional law enforcement suicide prevention training conferences and eight national train-the-trainer sessions. They will create a speakers' bureau and free downloadable Law Enforcement Suicide Prevention Toolkits. Additionally, the Florida RCPI will develop a web-based clearinghouse identifying technical assistance availability and online resources regarding law enforcement suicide prevention.

CA/NCF