A new bill introduced in the U.S. Senate by Senators Roy Blunt and Josh Hawley of Missouri as well as Senators Cortez Masto of Nevada and Chris Coons of Delaware would collect data from law enforcement agencies to help prevent police suicides. The bill was introduced at the end of October.
The Law Enforcement Suicide Data Collection Act would require the FBI to collect voluntary, anonymous data on police suicides and attempted suicides from law enforcement agencies across the country.
The stress and trauma experienced by law enforcement officers put them at higher risk of mentla heatlh issues. According to the Department of Justice, 2018 was the third year in a row where police suicides outnumbered deaths in the line of duty.
In a press release from his office, Roy Blunt is quoted as saying, "The data collected by the FBI will play a vital role in developing policies to help prevent future tragedies."