Police officers face potential dangers on their job, but they are targeted just simply because they are in uniform. .
Has there been a significant increase in deaths of police officers dying by their own hand? Does the occupation of working in law enforcement increase the risk of suicide? People would surmise that the daily trauma law enforcement officers have to encounter could cause mental health issues and potentially lead to depression and/or suicide. The research is indicative that there are multiple risk factors for suicide amongst law enforcement officers: "organizational stress, critical incident trauma, shift work and atypical work hours, relationship problems, and alcohol use and abuse"[CITATION Boy13 p 92 l 1033 ]. Indicative that more needs done to assist officers who may be suffering and giving them the supportive services necessary. Something has to happen to reduce the exorbitant number of police deaths. There has been an increase in deaths of law enforcement officers due to murder and suicide. The number of police officers dying by firearms increased in 2014 (Berman, 2014). These statistics show that there is a growing problem with the death of law enforcement officers in the United States due to homicide and suicide. All of these factors create a dangerous environment for officers. However, there is a way to fix this by implementing strategies that will save lives.
Literature Review.
Studies conducted within the realm of law enforcement officer deaths show there is a rising problem with the death of law enforcement officers in the United States due to homicide and suicide. In 1994, when looking at the firearms used in officer homicide, Wintermute (1994) tested the theory that firearms differ in their use in violent crimes. Its purpose was to show an accurate testing the crime gun hypothesis regarding which guns were used in the commission of a crime[ CITATION Win94 l 1033 ].