GAO: DHS Not Doing Enough to Track and Prevent Law Enforcement Suicides
A new report says the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) must do more to prevent suicides among DHS personnel.
The Government Accountability Office (GAO) report found that data gaps and inconsistent assessments of mental health programs may be hampering outcomes across DHS component agencies.
The report notes the issue is particularly critical for the workforce as DHS prepares to staff up following the passage of the $70 billion reconciliation bill.
Report Findings
GAO identified 99 reported suicides among DHS law enforcement personnel over the past decade. The report looked at three DHS agencies: Customs and Border Protection (CBP), Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), and the Transportation Security Administration (TSA).
It found among the 99 suicides, 81 were from CBP personnel.
GAO noted that officers face stressors in numerous areas including on the job, in their personal life, and in law enforcement culture.
“An official from an association explained that Border Patrol agents witnessing children separated from their parents or ICE investigators working to prevent child exploitation can find the work traumatic,” said the report.
It also noted that public and media criticism of law enforcement contributes to stress, and that many personnel are reluctant to seek mental health treatment.
Data Collection
GAO identified two main problems: data collection and inconsistent reviews.
On data collection, GAO said “the agencies face challenges collecting all data specified in DHS’s suicide prevention directive, in part due to privacy concerns and their need to rely on external sources for death information.”
The report recommended that DHS ensure that the DHS Office of Health Security (OHS) “develops a process to consistently collect relevant information and use this information to assess its law enforcement agencies’ mental health and suicide prevention programs.”
GAO also recommended that OHS assess and update the list of data variables in its Suicide Prevention, Intervention, and Postvention Directive.
Program Effectiveness
CBP was applauded for developing its Safe Harbor program which offers a path for officers to seek help without risking their jobs. However, CBP was criticized for not collecting information to see whether the program is working.
GAO recommended that CBP “should develop and implement a plan to assess the effectiveness of Safe Harbor, while taking into account employee confidentiality concerns.”
DHS concurred with the report’s three recommendations.
