FOI reference: FOI-2024-2277
You asked
In June, you kindly provided me with figures relating to police officer suicides:
I recently discovered that you group 'suicide' and undetermined intent' together:
'Although not identified by the ONS as an occupation at specific risk in England and Wales (ONS, 2019), policing garners much interest in this field. Police suicide is often reported in the media (Armitage, 2017). Official figures published by the ONS show that in England and Wales, 163 police officers' deaths between 2011 and 2019 were classified as suicide or of undetermined intent. Of these, 146 were men and the remaining 17 were women.' (p4) - Suicide prevention: Current landscape (college.police.uk)
'When national statistics are presented, suicides and deaths of undetermined intent are combined. This reflects research studies which show that the majority of open verdicts are most likely suicides, although they do not meet the high legal standard of evidence required for a coroner to record a suicide verdict. Therefore official suicide rates are measured by a definition that is much broader than the definition of suicide used by coroners.' - (Withdrawn) Statistical update on suicide - September 2012 (publishing.service.gov.uk)
For the years 2020, 2021 and 2022, please break down the suicide figures for:
(i) Police officers (sergeants and below) and
(ii) Senior police officers to show (i) suicide and (ii) undetermined intent.
We said
Thank you for your request.
As noted, Table 9 of our annual Suicides in England and Wales bulletin shows the number of suicides by coroners' verdict which includes those of undetermined intent.
The information we last provided was a bespoke dataset requested via our user requested data service.
The requested information would therefore need to be created as a custom output. Information on suicides by occupation and intent along with other special extracts and tabulations of mortality data for England and Wales may be available to order.
Please note these services are subject to legal frameworks, disclosure control, resources and agreements of costs in line with our charging policy.
Please contact Health.Data@ons.gov.uk for more information.
As the requested information is reasonably accessible via another route, even if only on payment, the exemption found under Section 21(1) of the Freedom of Information Act 2000 (FOIA) applies.