Numbers of suicide and open verdict deaths
of non-officer recruits at initial training establishments since
1990
DASA
DASA (Health Statistics)
The questions define "recruits" as
personnel undergoing phase 1 or 2 training. In collaboration with
the casualty branches we have been able to identify phase of training
for all untrained deaths but due to the administration system
used by DASA untrained strengths cannot be categorised by phase
of training. Hence all untrained deaths and strengths have been
considered in this response.[21]
Deaths among untrained personnel, 1990-2002: Descriptive
statistics
Among untrained personnel16 for 1990-2002, 23
suicide and open verdict deaths and three awaiting verdict deaths
were identified from the 2003 DASA Suicide Report[22]
and in collaboration with the three casualty branches.
Tables 1, 2 and 3 show the breakdown of these
deaths among untrained personnel by officer/rank status, Service,
age group, gender and year of death. Data have not been tabulated
in Tables 2 and 3 for officers and awaiting verdict deaths due
to small numbers (two and three deaths, respectively).
Out of 23 suicide and open verdict deaths among
untrained personnel, 21 (91%) were among other ranks, as were
all three awaiting verdict deaths (Table 1). The majority of deaths
were among Army personnel (16 and three deaths, respectively).
Table 1
Number of suicide and open verdict deaths
and awaiting verdict deaths among untrained personnel by service
and officer/rank status, 1990-2002
|
| Service | Officers
| Other Ranks |
|
| Suicide & Open
| Awaiting | Suicide and Open
| Awaiting |
| Naval Service | 1
| - | 4
| - |
| Army | - |
- | 16
| 3 |
| RAF | 1 |
- | 1
| - |
| Total | 2 |
0 | 21
| 3 |
|
Out of 21 suicide and open verdict deaths among untrained
other ranks, the majority were among males aged <20 years (67%)
(Table 2).
Table 2
Number of suicide and open verdict deaths among untrained
other ranks by age group (years) and gender, 1990-2002
|
| Age Group (years) | Gender
| Total |
|
| Male |
Female | |
| <20 | 14
| 1 | 15
|
| 20-24 | 5 |
- | 5
|
| 25-29 | 1 |
- | 1
|
| Total | 20
| 1 | 21
|
|
Two officer deaths: males aged 25-29 years.
Three awaiting verdict deaths: males aged <20 (1 death),
20-24 (one death) and 25-29 years (one death).
Out of 21 suicide and open verdict deaths among untrained
other ranks, 43% occurred between 1995 and 1999 (Table 3).
Table 3
Number of suicide and open verdict deaths among untrained
other ranks by gender and year of death, 1990-2002
|
| Year of Death | Gender
| Total |
|
| Male |
Female | |
| 1990-94 | 7
| - | 7 |
| 1995-99 | 8
| 1 | 9 |
| 2000-02 | 5
| - | 5 |
| Total | 20
| 1 | 21 |
|
Two officer deaths: 1990-94.
Three awaiting verdict deaths: 1995-99 (one death) and 2000-02
(two deaths).
Tables 4 and 5 show the breakdown of the deaths among untrained
other ranks by phase of training, location of training establishment
and Service. Data have not been tabulated for officers and awaiting
verdict deaths due to small numbers (two and three deaths, respectively).
Table 4
| Number of suicide and open verdict deaths by phase of training among untrained other ranks by service, 1990-2002
|
|
| Service | Phase of Training
| Number |
|
| Naval Service | Part 2 training
| 3 |
| Part 3 training | 1
|
| Army | Pre Phase 1/Phase 1 |
4* |
| Phase 2 | 12
|
| RAF | Basic trade training |
1 |
|
| * Includes one individual for whom it has not yet been possible to determine if they were in Phase 1 or 2 of training. The casualty branch has called for their "P" file.
|
|
Two officer deaths: officer training (Naval Service) and
basic trade training (RAF).
Three awaiting verdict deaths: Phase 2 (two deaths) and Phase
3 (one death).
Table 5
Number of suicide and open verdict deaths by location
of training establishment among untrained other ranks by service,
1990-2002
|
| Service | Training establishment
| Number | Other Includes
|
|
| Naval service | HMS Sultan |
2 | RN Haslar
|
| Other | 2
| HMS Culdrose |
| Army | ITC Catterick | 6
| ACC Depot, |
| 25 Regt RLC Deepcut |
3 | Junior Leaders Regt Shorncliffe,
|
| Pirbright | 3
| School of Signals Blandford, |
| Other | 4
| SEME Arborfield |
| RAF | Other | 1
| RAF Locking |
|
Two officer deaths: HMS Invincible (Naval Service) and RAF
Cranwell (RAF).
Three awaiting verdict deaths: Catterick, Deepcut and Minley.
Comparisons with the UK general population, male other ranks
only, 1990-2001: Standardised mortality ratios.[23]
To enable comparisons, for male other ranks, a similar sized
group of the general UK population was used and adjusted for year
(1990, 1991 . . . 2001) and age (16, 17, 18, 19, 20-24, 25-29
year olds) purposes. The number of deaths among untrained officers
(two deaths) and females (one death) was small and as it is difficult
to carry out meaningful epidemiological analyses on such data,
they have not been considered in these analyses. UK general population
data were readily available for 1990-2001 so data from 2002 have
been excluded from these analyses (one untrained and three trained
deaths).
Tables 6 and 7 presents the SMRs for male other ranks only
by training status, time period (1990-2001) and age group.
For trained and untrained other ranks, the number of suicides
and open verdict deaths was lower than the number expected based
on UK general population rates (Table 6) although for untrained
personnel this is not statistically significant. This was apparent
for each six year time period.
Table 6
Number and Standardised Mortality Ratios (SMR) (and 95%
Confidence Intervals (CI)) of suicide and open verdict deaths
among trained and untrained male other ranks aged 16-29 years
by time period (1990-2001)
|
| Training Indicator | Year of Death
| Number | SMR
| (95% CI) |
|
| Trained | 1990-95
| 121 | 67
| (56-80) |
| 1996-2001
| 60 | 52
| (41-67) |
| 1990-2001
| 181 | 61
| (53-71) |
| Untrained | 1990-95
| 11 | 91
| (46-163) |
| 1996-2001
| 8 | 58
| (25-114) |
| 1990-2001
| 19 | 74
| (44-115) |
|
SMRs for those <20 years of age for trained and untrained
other ranks were over 100 (ie there were more suicide deaths than
expected compared with the equivalent UK general population)—however,
these increases were not statistically significant as the 95%
confidence interval includes 100 (Table 7).
Table 7
Number and Standardised Mortality Ratios (SMR) (and 95%
Confidence Intervals (CI)) of suicide and open verdict deaths
among trained and untrained male other ranks by age group, 1990-2001
|
| Training Indicator | Age Group (years)
| Number | SMR
| (95%CI) |
|
| Trained | <20
| 29 | 133
| (89-193) |
| 20-24 |
90 | 68
| (55-84) |
| 25-29 |
63 | 44
| (34-56) |
| 16-29
| 181 | 61
| (53-71) |
| Untrained | <20
| 13 | 107
| (57-183) |
| 20-24 |
5 | 43
| (14-101) |
| 25-29 |
1 | 46
| (1-259) |
| 16-29
| 19 | 74
| (44-115) |
|
Numbers of suicide and open verdict deaths of officer
recruits at initial training establishments 1990-2002
|
Date of
Death | Service
| Age | Cause of
Death
| Place of Death |
Coroner's Verdict | Training Phase
|
|
| 27/11/91 | RN
| 23 | Hanging
| HMS Invincible | Suicide
| Officer training—HMS Invincible
|
| DASA | | |
| | |
|
|
Comparisons by training and officer/rank status, males only,
1990-2002: Age-standardised rates
To provide meaningful comparisons by training and officer/rank
status, age-standardised rates were calculated using the 2002
male Tri-Service population as the "standard population".[24]
As there was only one death among female personnel and it is difficult
to carry out meaningful epidemiological analyses on such small
numbers, females have not been considered in these analyses.
Analyses by Service have not been performed—sub-group
analyses based on small numbers of deaths may be misleading and
may lead to statistically significant associations arising due
to chance alone.
Table 6 shows the age-standardised rates (per 100,000) for
suicide and open verdict deaths among males only for 1990-2002
by training status and officer/rank status. The rates are higher
among trained personnel and among other ranks. However, given
that the 95% confidence intervals overlap, there is no evidence
of a statistically significant difference (at the 5% level) between
the rate of suicide and open verdict deaths among untrained personnel
and trained male Armed Forces personnel aged 16-29 years for officers
or other ranks.
Number and age-standardised rates per 100,000 (and 95% confidence
intervals) of suicide and open verdict deaths among trained and
untrained male personnel aged 16-29 years by officer/rank status,
1990-2002.
|
| Number
| Rate | 95% Confidence Interval
|
|
Officers
Trained | 4
| 9.1 | (2.5-23.2)
|
| Untrained | 2
| 3.6 | (0.4-13.1)
|
| Other Ranks Trained | 184
| 14.6 | (12.6-16.8)
|
| Untrained | 20
| 10.2 | (6.2-15.7)
|
|
21
Trained/untrained status of personnel was derived from MARS (Manpower
Analysis and Reporting System) and in collaboration with the three
casualty branches. For the Naval Service, we have included one
suicide among a trainee who was undergoing part 3 of training
and for the Army, one awaiting verdict death among a trainee in
phase 3 of training. Back
22
Fear N T, Williamson S. Suicide and open verdict death among
males in the UK regular Armed Forces. Comparison with the UK civilian
population and the US military. 2003. [http://www.dasa.mod.uk/publications/pdfs/suicide/suicide.pdf]. Back
23
An SMR over (or under) 100 indicates a higher (or lower) number
of observed deaths than expected (based on standard population
rates). With an SMR of 100 implying that the number of observed
deaths is equivalent to the number expected (based on the standard
population). Back
24
The population chosen as the "standard population"
is arbitrary, 2002 was chosen as reflecting the current structure
of the UK Armed Forces. Back
| 
