We guess that we don't have a Golden Gate Bridge to complain about, but a lot of our out-of-towners are in the Big Apple to off themselves. The Daily News reports that a new study shows "more than one in 10 people who kill themselves in Manhattan are 'suicide tourists'" and they choose NYC landmarks to do so!
Men are mostly to blame for seeking out better-known landmarks like bridges or historic landmarks to leap from. 80% of "suicide tourists" are male. The vast majority of suicides in the U.S. are accomplished by hanging, drug overdoses, or by firearms, but a good number of NYC suicides are committed by out-of-town residents looking to lend a little geographical meaning to the end of their lives. And also, the study says, "Research has shown that jumping from a height is more common in New York than in the rest of the United States."
"Jumpers" as they are known in the realm of law enforcement are dealt with the NYPD's Emergency Services Unit. The ESU generally reports a 99% success rate in talking people down from bridges and other high perches. Earlier this year, however, a man leaped with little warning from his office in the Empire State Building.
The city has a suicide prevention hotline; here's some more information on the Health Department's efforts to help the mentally ill.
