Officer Well-Being

Supporting NYPD

POPPA has responded to thousands of police officers who have reached out for help. The majority of calls to POPPA were by officers who just needed to talk to someone or wanted to meet to discuss issues in more depth. Approximately 45% of officers were referred to clinicians for ongoing confidential professional help. 
Of the officers who received POPPA services, the vast majority returned to full-duty with no career disruption or chose to retire.

During the 10-year period (1986-1995) before the existence of POPPA, there were an average of 7 active-duty officer suicides per year. The 28 police suicides from 1993-1995 contributed to the urgent need for an organization of police peers, separate from the Department, but able to work confidentially and with the cooperation of the NYPD.

Building a Stronger Community

Nationwide, the number of suicides is greater than the number 
of line-of-duty deaths. This is true among NYC police officers 
if we exclude 9/11-and COVID-19-related deaths.  Suicide is consistently the number 1 killer of police nationwide annually.

Among NYPD officers, the suicide rate is lower than that of the National Police Suicide rate (13.8 vs 17.0 per 100,000). This may reflect a combination of the resiliency of NYC police officers 
and the availability of resources. POPPA has been a leader in developing initiatives to combat officer suicide. POPPA’s Suicide Awareness for Emergency Responders (S.A.F.E.R.) Program gives police officers the tools to identify specific warning signs of suicidal thinking and strategies to respond to an officer in crisis.