Police shooting as a method of self-harming: A review of the evidence for ‘suicide by cop’ in England and Wales between 1998 and 2001

Police Responses in Officer-Involved Violent Deaths: Comparison of Suicide by Cop and Non-Suicide by Cop Incidents

“…Unique to SbC subjects is the use of an "outrageous act" such as committing a violent crime for the purpose of attracting police attention (Drylie, 2006;Lord, 2004;Mohandie & Meloy, 2000). Lord and Sloop (2010) and Lord (2012) used a modification of Best, Quigley, and Bailey's (2004) decision tree composed of primary, secondary, state, and minimal indicators to assess the suicidal intentions of subjects involved in police shootings. The researchers examined cases from the Hostage Barricade Data System of the Federal Bureau of Investigation Crisis Negotiation National Data and the NVDRS.…”

Suicide by Cop: Police shooting as a method of self-harming

“…A majority of SbC subjects possess a support system; however, the termination of a relationship or family problems are often the precipitating events (Lord, 2001(Lord, , 2004. Similar to other types of suicides, suicide ideation, a history of mental illness, abuse of drugs and/or alcohol, and past suicide attempts are prevalent in SbC subjects (Best, Quigley & Bailey, 2004;Klinger, 2001;Lord, 2001;McKenzie, 2006).…”

“…The motivations of the subject's actions are often complex and not thoroughly understood, and the risk factors for SbC incidents must include the additional complication of at least one other person's interaction with the subject. Best, Quigley, and Bailey (2004) attempt to assess the suicidal intention of police shootings classified as SbC through observable acts revealed by a decision tree composed of nine indicators. Using a modification of Best and colleagues' decision tree on cases from the Hostage Barricade Data System (HOBAS) of the FBI Crisis Negotiation National Data, the current study examines the following research questions:…”

“…The current study advances a set of indicators that help classify police shootings that could be considered SbC. Using a modification of the decision tree developed by Best, Quigley, & Bailey (2004) to assess suicidal intentions of police shootings through observable acts, the current study compares cases classified as selfinflicted suicide or suicide attempts with those classified as SbC cases in the Hostage Barricade Data System (HOBAS). Overall the model increased the percentage of cases correctly predicted to 97.9 percent, 16.9 percent beyond chance.…”

The Role of Mental Health in Police-Reported Suicides

“…A precipitating interpersonal crisis or dispute preceding the lethal act is prevalent among SbC subjects. Similar to other types of suicides, suicide ideology, a history of mental illness, abuse of drugs and/or alcohol, and past suicide attempts are prevalent in SbC subjects (Best, Quigley, & Bailey, 2004;Klinger, 2001;Lord, 2002McKenzie, 2006. Although listed as a shared characteristic between self-inflicted suicides and SbC, it is not clear how prevalent mental illness and past treatment for mental illness is in SbC cases.…”