The Shockingly High Suicide Rate Among CA Prison Guards

CALIFORNIA -- Guards at California prisons have been committing suicide at an alarming rate. Now, officials are studying the trend to understand the cause, according to a report.

The Associated Press reported that "the guards' union counts 96 confirmed or suspected suicides among current and retired members between 1999 and 2015."

"The annual suicide rate among union members exceeded California's overall suicide rate of 10.3 per 100,000 people in 13 of those 17 years, according to an Associated Press analysis of union data. The number peaked at 13 in 2012, a rate more than four times that of the state's general population," the article read.

With the help of UC Berkeley, officials are examining the trend in an effort to understand why the guards are committing suicide.

"About 10 percent of prison guards say they have considered or attempted suicide, a rate nearly three times that of the general U.S. population, according to data provided to the AP from a survey completed by 8,300 of California's 30,000 correctional and parole officers," the article read. "It's even higher among retired guards — about 14 percent, similar to the suicide risk among military veterans."

--Photo via Pixabay/TryJimmy

National Suicide Prevention Hotline: 1-800-273-8255