REGINA -- The Regina Police have been responding to an average of 26 suicide calls per week since the start of 2020.
Regina’s bi-annual crime report was released by police Thursday.
Between January 1 and June 23, 2020 there were 662 suicide or attempted suicide responses by Regina Police, 20 of which were completed suicides. On average, there are 26 calls per week or just under four per day.
The 20 completed suicides in this timeframe are well above the five-year average. In 2019, there was 13 completed suicides while in 2016, 2017 and 2018, there were 11, nine and 14 respectively.
“That's a large number of people in our community that are suffering in some form,” said RPS Chief Evan Bray. “Often it's through mental illness and are needing help."
RPS says in order to classify a call as “suicide-related,” there must be: a method or a plan mentioned; information must be relayed to call takers that there is potential forward momentum from the threat for self-harm; or there is mention of the word suicide/suicidal from the individual in question.
