Citation

McKenzie IK. J. Police Crisis Negot. 2006; 6(1): 5-25.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2006, Informa - Taylor and Francis Group)

DOI

10.1300/J173v06n01_02

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

This article examines the literature and research into the phenomenon known in the vernacular as "suicide by cop." The extant literature might be taken as indicating that police-involved, victim-provoked shootings are exclusively a North American phenomenon, that is not accurate. The article presents, compares, and discusses UK-based incidents of a similar nature. It is argued that too much of the published material is inadequate in providing a (comparable) scientific base for analysis of the phenomenon and that as a consequence the definition of any incident as "suicide by cop" is beset by difficulty. People who want to be killed by gunfire may expose themselves to armed civilians as well as to armed police officers, thus there is a distinction to be drawn between, on the one hand, police- involved shootings where the victim seeks death and, on the other, citizen-involved shootings where the victim seeks a similar outcome. Much of the literature assumes that the death of the victim is a key factor in post hoc analysis and although some writers acknowledge the possibility of suicide attempts in such circumstances, prosecutions are extremely rare (where such legislation exists). Little heed seems to be paid to such a circumstance until liability litigation results. Finally, the criteria used for defining such incidents are, too often, inadequate in their scope. It is argued that examination of a range of factors, similar to those that might be considered in a psychological autopsy (equivocal death analysis) is an essential element in post hoc scrutiny. Copyright © by The Haworth Press, Inc. All rights reserved.

Language: en

Keywords

Suicide; Comparative data; Police-involved shooting; SbC; Suicide by cop