FOI Reference: FOI/2022/3642
You asked
Suicide by Occupation
I would like to request the following information.
The standardized mortality ratio (SMR) for the following occupations for 2016-2020:
- Male Senior Police Officers between the ages of 20 to 64 years
- Female Senior Police Officers between the ages of 20 to 64 years
- Male Officers (Sergeants and below) between the ages of 20 to 64 years
- Female Officers (Sergeants and below) between the ages of 20 to 64 years
In addition, could you please clarify which police ranks are included in the SOC unit group 1172 (i.e. Senior Police Officers) and which SOC unit group police officers that hold the rank of Inspector and Chief Inspectors would be categorised as.
We said
Thank you for your request.
For deaths registered between 2011 and 2015, we have published analysis of deaths from suicide in different occupational groups for people aged 20 to 64 years. The occupation-specific risks of suicide described in this bulletin are summarised using the Standardised Mortality Ratio (SMR).
This shows whether the risk of suicide in a given occupation is lower or higher than expected given the rate of suicide among all usual residents in England. It shows that risk of suicide among male police officers (sergeant and below) is statistically lower than observed in the broader population of England. SMRs have not been calculated for female police officers (sergeant and below), senior police officers or police community support officers as the number of deaths is too low. It is our best practice not to calculate rates based on such small numbers, as they are imprecise and susceptible to inaccurate interpretation.
For more information, particularly the limitations of such analysis, please see section 9 of the Suicide by occupation, England: 2011 to 2015 report.
Occupation is reported at the time of death registration by the informant. Data on occupation is coded using the Standard Occupation Classification (SOC 2010). In all, there are 9 major groups of occupations (for example, skilled trades occupations); 25 sub-major groups (for example, skilled construction and building trades); 90 minor groups (for example, building finishing trades); and more than 350 individual occupations (for example, painters and decorators).
The recorded occupation likely reflects the deceased's main lifetime occupation or their occupation at the time of death. The occupation hierarchy tool allows exploration of the hierarchy of the SOC 2010 classification. In the case of Senior police officers (SOC 2010 code 1172), this individual occupation may include police inspectors, detective inspectors and chief superintendents from any police force, including the British Transport Police.
Police officers (sergeant and below) may include police detectives, constables, officers, or sergeants of any police force including the British Transport Police.
For deaths registered between 2016 and 2020, we have only published numbers of deaths from suicide in different occupational groups. The number of suicides by sex, country and occupation, deaths registered 2011 to 2020 can be found on the ONS website.
Please note that the numbers detailed here cannot be used to ascertain the risk of suicide among occupations. Differences in numbers of deaths may merely reflect the underlying population structure as opposed to differences in risk.
We can produce a bespoke data request to match your needs.
Information on suicides by occupation along with other special extracts and tabulations of mortality data for England and Wales are available to order (subject to legal frameworks, disclosure control, resources and agreements of costs, where appropriate).
Such enquiries should be made to: Health.Data@ons.gov.uk.