Forensic Medicine
| Published date | 01 January 1939 |
| DOI | 10.1177/0032258X3901200108 |
| Date | 01 January 1939 |
| Subject Matter | Article |
Forensic Medicine"
By DR.
DOUGLAS
KERR, M.D., D.P.H., F.R.C.P.
Casualty Police
Surgeon
and
Medical
Referee to
the
Corporation
of
the
City of
Edinburgh,
and
Lecturer
on
Forensic
Medicine
in
the
School
of
Medicine
of
the
Royal Colleges,
Edinburgh.
III.
SUICIDE
WHEN I was a resident Medical Officer in an Asylum, it
was a week or ten days before I realised that the housemaid
who looked after my room was one of the certified inmates of
the Institution.
It
was only after I had been in the Institution
a little while, and become accustomed to viewing mental
disease from a different aspect from formerly, that I began to
appreciate the importance and significance of many small
points which up till then I had failed to observe or had passed
over as of no importance. I tell you this to illustrate how
necessary it is that you should approach any investigation
from the right angle, and that you should be able to appreciate
the possibilities of the situation. You must get thoroughly into
the proper atmosphere so that you are able to grasp the
significance of various points which you might otherwise pass
over. Especially is this the case when considering the differen-
tiation between accident, suicide or murder. Sometimes the
very points which would seem to contra-indicate suicide to a
lay mind, are those which a study of suicide shows are strongly
suggestive of self-destruction.
To
attune your minds to the
proper atmosphere, Ipropose to give you a short resume of
some outstanding facts regarding suicides, some of which are
purely of interest, while others will be of practical help to you.
Although the fashion in methods used changes con-
siderably with the passage of time, the suicide rate in all
II<An
abridged
report
of
four
lectures on
Forensic
Medicine
given to
the
Advanced
Course
for
Senior
Scottish
Police Officers at
Edinburgh.
Here
printed
by
permission
of
H.M.
Secretary
of
State
for
Scotland
and
of
W. B. R.
Morren,
Esq.,
Chief
Con-
stable of
Edinburgh.
(Continued from p. 473 of uol.
XI.)
78
FORENSIC
MEDICINE
79
civilised communities is steadily increasing.
In
1922 there
were 2,817 suicides of males in England and Wales, as com-
pared with 4,054 in 1932.
The
frequency of suicide is even
more emphasised when it is realised
that
in 1932 approxi-
mately 1in every 50 deaths in males above 20 years of age
was due to suicide.
The
number of male suicides is about
two and a half to three times as great as that of females, no
doubt due to the greater strain of life to which most men are
subjected.
Age in Relation to
Suicide.-The
strain and responsibilities
of life increase as an individual grows older, and the suicide
rate also increases with successive age groups; the maximum
total for any age group being reached between 55 to 60 years.
After the age of 60 the gross total begins to fall,
but
this is
only due to the fewer numbers living at the higher ages; the
relative proportion of suicides to other deaths still continues
to increase. Below the age of 20 suicide is uncommon in this
country, and below 17 it is rare. Great caution should be
used before ascribing any death under this age to suicide.
Period of the
Year.-The
greatest number of suicides do
not, as might be expected, occur during the dreary, cold
months,
but
during the Spring, usually about May and
June;
though there is also a small rise in the numbers about
Christmas and New Year.
Why these periods should show the greatest numbers is
a little difficult to say,
but
it may be that with the brighter and
more cheerful weather and at the festive season, the spirits
of the community are better and form a greater contrast to
the mental depression which frequently causes a man to take
his life, and so concentrate his depression.
Influence of Occupation.-An individual's occupation
tends to influence the likelihood of suicide. Occupations
involving strain, responsibility, or overwork, or rendering the
individual accustomed to violence; or providing a ready means
of suicide at hand; and those which may involve alcoholism,
provide the greatest numbers of suicides. Chemists, doctors,
solicitors, publicans, butchers and soldiers are high up on the
list, whilst gardeners, fishermen, clergymen, and civil servants
are at the foot.
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