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Completed suicide and criminality: lack of a direct relationship

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  09 July 2009

Jiri Modestin  and
Pierre-Alain Emmenegger
Jiri Modestin*
Affiliation:
Psychiatric University Clinic, Bern, Switzerland
Pierre-Alain Emmenegger
Affiliation:
Psychiatric University Clinic, Bern, Switzerland
*
1Address for correspondence: Dr J. Modestin, Psychiatric University Clinic,Bolligenstrasse Ill,CH-3072 Bern,Switzerland
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Synopsis

A comparison was made of the crime rate among 181 suicides and 181 controls, representing an unselected sample of the population matched with the suicides for sex, age, marital status, place of residence and occupational level. Sixteen per cent of the suicides and 11% of the controls had a criminal record, a statistically insignificant difference. In addition, no significant differences were found in the proportion of recidivists and of violent offenders, or in the number of their offences and convictions. A significant difference was found regarding the distribution of the offences by particular laws: more than a half of the offences committed by criminal suicides concerned violations of the road traffic laws, this being in agreement with the hypothesis that risky, accident-prone behaviour is a suicidal behaviour equivalent.

Type
Research Article
Information
Psychological Medicine , Volume 16 , Issue 3 , August 1986 , pp. 661 - 669
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1986

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