LOWELL, Mass. (AP) — Middlesex Sheriff Peter Koutoujian says experts from across the country will gather in Lowell next week to discuss high levels of suicide among corrections officers.
Koutoujian hopes the meeting he organized with the National Sherriff's Association will begin a national dialogue on the causes and effects of workplace stress for corrections officers.
Koutoujian says research shows the average correction officer will not live to see their 59th birthday. He says a large percentage of correction officers will experience pots traumatic stress and are more likely to take on their own lives.
Corrections officers deal with regular personal, family and financial issues. That's on top of a stressful job of protecting detainees who are violent, mentally ill, untrustworthy and willing to escape or kill law-enforcement officers.
