The European Journal of Public Health Advance Access published online on April 19, 2009
The European Journal of Public Health, doi:10.1093/eurpub/ckp052
Suicides in public places: findings from one English county
Christabel Owens1,2, Sally Lloyd-Tomlins1, Tobit Emmens1,2 and Peter Aitken1,2
1 Devon Partnership NHS Trust, Exeter, Devon, UK
2 Peninsula Medical School, Exeter, Devon, UK
Correspondence: Christabel Owens, Head of Research, Devon Partnership NHS Trust, Wonford House, Dryden Road, Exeter, EX2 5AF, UK, tel: +44 (0)1392 403657, fax: +44 (0)1392 403445, e-mail: christabel.owens{at}pms.ac.uk
Received January 30, 2009 , accepted March 23, 2009
Little is known about where suicides take place. We collected data from coroners files on all suicides and undetermined deaths in one large English county from 2000 to 2004. The data show that >30% of suicides occurred in public places. A quarter of these involved jumping from a height and nearly a quarter involved car exhaust poisoning. Several sites were associated with multiple methods of suicide. Identifying and managing high-risk locations should be an important part of an overall suicide prevention strategy and is best tackled at local level.