Illinois General Assembly - Full Text of HR0040

HR0040 LRB104 07472 ECR 17514 r

HOUSE RESOLUTION

WHEREAS, Law enforcement officers are greatly affected by mental health issues; according to the National Library of Medicine, when compared to the general population, police personnel have approximately twice the prevalence of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and depression, and they are associated with a lower quality of life; and

WHEREAS, Depression and any related mental illness are serious risks for law enforcement officers, who are often exposed to high levels of stress and trauma; and

WHEREAS, Studies have found that law enforcement officers experience depression at nearly double the rate of the general population, with 12% of police officers reporting depression compared to 6.8% by the rest of the population; and

WHEREAS, Law enforcement officers are often reluctant to acknowledge feelings of mental illness out of fear of being perceived as weak or unfit for duty; and

WHEREAS, This reluctance, combined with a lack of mental health resources tailored to the law enforcement community, can result in mental illness being left untreated, leading to severe mental health crises, including suicide; and

WHEREAS, Between 2011 and 2014, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported the occurrence of 24 workplace suicides by police personnel and six workplace suicides by correctional staff; and

WHEREAS, The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is required by law to keep information on suicide in law enforcement through the Law Enforcement Officers Suicide Data Collection Program (LEOSDCP); and

WHEREAS, The LEOSDCP is meant to track the rate of suicide among law enforcement officers to aid agencies in better understanding and preventing suicides among current and former law enforcement officers and corrections employees; and

WHEREAS, The LEOSDCP report has not been updated and there is still a high suicide rate in law enforcement; and

WHEREAS, The State of Illinois has implemented programs and passed laws to remove obstacles and lower suicide rates among officers; and

WHEREAS, According to the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI), despite these programs and laws, Illinois police still face major hurdles when seeking mental health treatment; and

WHEREAS, In 2018, NAMI reported that four police officers and one firefighter in Chicago died by suicide compared to one police officer and one firefighter who died in the line of duty; and

WHEREAS, Mental Health Awareness Month has been observed in the month of May in the U.S. since 1949, and it continues to be observed to raise awareness on mental health; and

WHEREAS, Increasing awareness on law enforcement distress syndrome and other mental illnesses is a key component in safeguarding law enforcement officers' mental health to ensure the effective discharge of their duties in protecting lives and properties; therefore, be it

RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE ONE HUNDRED FOURTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we declare May 2025 as Law Enforcement Mental Health Awareness Month in the State of Illinois; and be it further

RESOLVED, That we urge the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) to effectively keep information on the prevalence of suicide among law enforcement through the Law Enforcement Officers Suicide Data Collection Program (LEOSDCP) in order to help reduce the rate of suicide in law enforcement in the U.S.; and be it further

RESOLVED, That we urge the State of Illinois to establish its own LEOSDCP to keep statistics on suicide in law enforcement to reduce the profession's suicide rate statewide; and be it further

RESOLVED, That we support the implementation of programs to encourage the reporting and treatment of mental health illnesses among law enforcement officers.