VA Police May Not Have Completed Suicide Prevention Training

Published: May 23, 2024 at 6:41 PM EDT

Updated: April 22, 2026 at 5:52 PM EDT

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VA Police May Not Have Completed Suicide Prevention Training

The VA police have been under scrutiny after Senator Jerry Moran (R-Kan.) called them out. Moran’s reasoning for doing so revolves around an alleged lack of suicide prevention training that should be mandatory. Worst of all, if these allegations are true, they aren’t the first of their kind. Additional issues on the subject have come to light involving the VA as a whole.

Senator Jerry Moran Is Taking VA Police to Task Over Suicide Prevention Training

VA police are required to complete training that is legally mandatory and focuses on crisis intervention and suicide prevention. Senator Moran is alleging that under a third of officers completed these courses. Reports show that only 1,297 out of 4,505 armed VA police officers finished the training between January 2023 and March 2024. This means only 29% fulfilled the requirement. This is huge because if a life-threatening crisis involving a Veteran were to occur, each VA police officer working the frontlines can respond to these types of incidents. The call for looking into the matter from Senator Moran came after a whistleblower brought up the issue. Moran wrote a letter sent to VA Secretary Denis McDonough before publicly speaking on why such shortcomings are “wholly unacceptable” and that Vets and VA workers “are paying the price.” This all stems from the VA COMPACT Act which was passed into law in 2020. The goal of the law was to improve emergency suicide prevention care for Veterans with a dedicated focus inspired in part due to suicides and violent incidents that occurred on VA properties. There have been years of incidents proving the need for VA Police Academy graduates to understand de-escalation, crisis intervention, and suicide prevention. The VA continues to work towards providing more benefits and resources to help Vets aiming to prevent suicides. However, the methods of implementing these initiatives continue to come under the microscope due to their lack of execution.

The VA’s Suicide Prevention AI Is Also Showing Problematic Signs for Women

While issues involving the VA police are raising questions, so too is an artificial intelligence (AI) program that is preventing suicides among Veterans. Reports are questioning the 61 variables the VA machine learning model REACH VET is using. This is because of its disproportionate measures for men versus women. Veterans fitting the description of “divorced and male” and “widowed and male” get preference. Female Veteran groups are not represented. While the age-adjusted suicide rate for men is much higher than for women Veterans, females who have served still face elevated risks not being considered. For example, both military sexual trauma (MST) and intimate partner violence aren’t REACH VET variables. There is also a much higher rise in the rate of suicide in recent years for women then men. Since 2017, REACH VET has notified the organization of 6,700 Vets per month who may need extra help. Thus, reducing suicide attempts in the process. MST was a potential variable; however, it was left out after a history of rape/assault was deemed not to be “powerful for us to be able to predict suicide risk,” said VA Executive Director for Suicide Prevention, Matthew Miller. Regardless of any additional factors, this trend puts the VA’s fastest-growing population not receiving important, life-saving resources, if true. Today, women account for 30% of the new patients entering the VA healthcare system.