Barriers and Opportunities for Suicide Prevention Among Correctional Officers: An Issue Brief for Clinicians

Correctional officers work a tough beat in law enforcement. Their job—keeping incarcerated persons and the public safe—involves working in a highly challenging environment with daily threats of physical, emotional, and mental harm. Suicide rates among correctional officers are much higher than those in the general population, but suicide among correctional officers remains an under-addressed problem in the field of suicide prevention. Drawing on research and the expertise of correctional researchers, officers, and clinicians, this issue brief describes the problem of suicide among correctional officers and identifies barriers and opportunities for suicide prevention efforts in the correctional officer workforce in the United States, with an emphasis on what clinicians can do to promote resilience, identify risk, and intervene clinically. This issue brief also identifies resources for additional learning about this topic.