51 Saskatchewan Federation of Police Officers Suicide and suicide prevention in the Canadian Armed Forces Suicide is a public health issue for all Canadians, including Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) members. Suicide is the second leading cause of death for those aged 15 to 34 in the Canadian general population. The CAF has an extensive mental illness awareness and suicide prevention program consisting of clinical and non-clinical interventions by generalist and specialist clinicians, mental health education, and suicide awareness information. Great efforts are made to identify people at risk for mental health problems and to provide them with the assistance that they require. However, it is important to note that not all people who complete or attempt suicide can be identified in advance. Even with a strong health care system, it is essential that all military personnel, like all Canadians, recognize mental health issues as they develop and progress.We each have a role to play in identifying and assisting those affected by mental illness. Once we are collectively educated and able to recognize the onset of mental illness, we can help our friends, colleagues, and family members by encouraging them to seek care. The CAF remains committed to reducing the barriers that may interfere with obtaining timely mental care. Stigma is one of these barriers. Through dialogue, training, and leadership, we can create a culture in which care-seeking is both encouraged and facilitated.The CAF has made great strides with respect to these barriers, but the work is not complete – both in the CAF and in society at large. Number of suicides The CAF monitors the rates and trends of suicide and other mental health issues in its population in order to gain more understanding of underlying issues and to mitigate risks. Within 72 hours of a death, investigating police will typically receive an initial indication from the independent civilian coroner of whether the death was the result of foul play, an accident, or suicide.This, along with information such as police reports and medical records, is used by the CAF in making an informed decision with respect to the conduct of a Medical Professional Technical Suicide Review and a Board of Inquiry into a suspected suicide. Please see Table A. While these statistics are provided to give a complete picture of the total number of suicides in the CAF over the past 12 years, only a sub-section of these (male Regular Force) are used to determine suicide rates and to compare to a similar age-gender group in the general Canadian population. This is because Regular Force female suicide numbers tend to be too small to be statistically analyzed with any degree of accuracy while the Reserve Force suicide numbers are more difficult to track and confirm as it is uncertain whether or not all suicides of reservists are reported to the CAF. (continued) It is important to note that the suicide statistics for any given year may be subject to change depending on the results of the investigation into the sudden death.The following table contains the most accurate statistics based on the information available at the time of publication.
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