Data to Action: Using Violent Death Data to Address Officer Suicides in Maine
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Violence is preventable, and data can inform actionable prevention strategies. This recorded workshop from IACP’s 2024 Annual Conference highlights how Maine used findings from the Maine Violent Death Reporting System (ME VDRS) and the Franklin County, ME, Sheriff’s Office to address risks facing law enforcement. From 2015 to 2021, officer suicides in Maine outnumbered line-of-duty deaths 6 to 1, and retired officers (police, corrections, game wardens, and marine patrol) were found to have a life expectancy 12–15 years shorter than the general population.
This workshop highlights how data can inform policy and practice and support collaboration across sectors. Panelists describe how the findings led to changes in policy and practice to support officer mental health, and explain how reporting data to the National Violent Death Reporting System (NVDRS) strengthens violence and suicide prevention efforts, including those for law enforcement.
This presentation will enhance attendees’ ability to:
- Identify opportunities for collaboration between law enforcement and public health agencies;
- Understand how data can inform violent death prevention efforts; and
- Support officers through data-informed suicide prevention strategies.
Presented by:
- Ryan Close, Sergeant, Franklin County, ME, Sheriff’s Office
- Jamie A. Wren, MPH, Research Associate, Margaret Chase Smith Policy Center, University of Maine
- Karen Maline, Project Manager, IACP (Moderator)
Ryan Close
Sergeant
Franklin County, ME, Sheriff’s Office
Sgt. Ryan Close is a 16-year veteran of Maine Law Enforcement. He grew up in Sacramento, CA, and attended Prep School and then College in Maine. In 2008, he was hired by the Westbrook Police Department and graduated from the 15th Basic Law Enforcement Training Program. He has worked as a Patrol Officer, School Resource Officer, Task Force Officer (TFO) with the United States Marshal Service, Detective and Acting Sergeant. He currently works for the Franklin County Sheriff's Office where he has been since 2024.
Most of Sgt. Close's time was spent on the Criminal Investigation Division (CID) where he became a recognized expert in the field of Digital Forensics and Cellular Network Analysis. He has more than 10 years' experience working in Peer Support and is very active in the field today.
Jamie A. Wren, MPH
Research Associate
Margaret Chase Smith Policy Center, University of Maine
Jamie Wren is the Project Director for the Maine Violent Death Reporting System and Maine’s Sudden Unintentional Drug Overdose Reporting System. His research interests include: factors contributing to suicidality in rural areas; suicide among veterans and first responders; opioid-related mortality; skeletal impacts of substance use; and forensic death investigation. Jamie also serves as Program Coordinator for the Maine Policy Scholars Program. He began working with the Margaret Chase Smith Policy Center in 2010 as a student researcher, joining the Center’s staff as a Research Associate in 2015. Wren completed his B.A. in Anthropology at the University of Maine, his Masters of Public Health at the University of New England, and his Ph.D. in Anthropology and Kinesiology at the University of Maine.
Karen Maline (Moderator)
Project Manager, IACP
Karen Maline was a Project Manager at IACP, where she worked on the BJA-funded COSSUP Training and Technical Assistance Initiative and managed the association’s work on the MacArthur-funded Safety and Justice Challenge. Her work focused on providing training and resources to law enforcement agencies to address front-end justice system challenges. She also served as IACP’s liaison to the Police, Treatment, and Community Collaborative (PTACC). Prior to IACP, she spent 28 years at the Justice Research and Statistics Association. She holds a B.A. from the University of Florida and an M.S. from George Mason University.
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