Sun 18 August 2019:
Three riot police officers, a police commander, a police academy teacher — all are among eight French police officers who have killed themselves recently. That makes 64 so far this year — and the number just keeps on climbing.
Deaths by suicide for French police now outnumber deaths in the line of duty. The protectors need protecting, say police unions, which are demanding more help to stop the problem.
Those who choose to end their lives are from everywhere in France and of all ages, many with young children. The latest death came Wednesday in the Ardeche region in southeast France. Why they step across what one police union calls the “thin blue line” remains a question that French authorities have so far been unable to answer.
While suicide among police is a problem in many countries, France’s rate appears exceptionally high.
In the U.S., with a population five times that of France, 167 officers died by suicide in 2018 and 111 so far this year, according to Blue H.E.L.P., a Massachusetts-based organization devoted to preventing police suicides. A U.S. suicide prevention bill signed into law in July will also supply funds for support.
In Italy, a fellow European nation slightly less populous than France, 31 officers have killed themselves this year, according to the police support group Cerchioblu. Britain’s Office for National Statistics counts 21 to 23 police suicides a year between 2015 and 2017, but unlike in France, most British police do not have guns.
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