By Police1 Staff
CHICAGO — The Department of Justice released a report Jan. 13 revealing institutional problems regarding use of force and police training in the Chicago Police Department. It also revealed a high suicide rate among CPD officers.
The report states the rate of suicide within the department is 60 percent higher than other police departments.
According to the Chicago Sun-Times, 13 officers have been killed in the line of duty in the past decade. Close to twice as many died by suicide in the same time span.
The Fraternal Order of Police Lodge 7 estimates that out of the 10,000 CPD patrol officers, an average of three will take their lives each year.
“There is a problem, and nobody’s doing anything about it,” Ron Rufo, former officer and peer support counselor, told the publication. “Supervisors don’t talk about it. The rank-and-file don’t talk about it. And it’s like the administration does not want to admit it’s a problem.”
Due to the rising violence in the city, psychologist Alexa James says that Chicago officers have a difficult job that differs from their fellow big-city officers.
“When you have 760 homicides in the city in a year, that’s a war zone — and that’s where [police] are working every day,” James told the Sun-Times. “It is a hard, hard job, and police officers get very little support.”
But experts said Illinois officers may be reluctant to seek mental help because it could put them at risk of losing their job.
The state permanently prohibits anyone who has been involuntarily committed to an in-patient mental health treatment facility from receiving a Firearm Owner’s Identification Card.
Psychologist Marla Friedman said officers wrongly believe that if they seek help from a therapist, take psychiatric medication, or receive outpatient treatment, they could lose their FOID card.
“This is a real problem,” Friedman said. “Police officers are the only class of citizen in the U.S. who is going to lose their job for seeking mental health care.”
James said something that would help would be creating a “culture of care” within the department. Supervisors would watch for signs of depression or trauma and let their officers know they are there to help.
“We want police to be out there with the clearest head, we want people with a strong constitution,” she said. “ Then, they can be thinking clearly in a job where they make quick decisions.”