Nearly twice as many people kill themselves than are killed by others in New Jersey, according to a new study. The state Department of Health and Senior Services report “Suicide in New Jersey, 1999-2000″ finds that suicides far outpace homicides in the Garden State.

In 2000, the most recent year for which statistics were available, there were 560 suicides committed in New Jersey, nearly double the 288 homicides for that year, according to crime statistics compiled by the New Jersey State Police.

So how come we spend so much more money on crimes and locking people up in overcrowded prisons, while something like suicide — which is preventable — outnumbers murders by a significant magnitude? Want to keep people alive? Provide better mental health care options.

Dr. John Grohol is the CEO and founder of Psych Central. He is an author, researcher and expert in mental health online, and has been writing about online behavior, mental health and psychology issues -- as well as the intersection of technology and human behavior -- since 1992. Dr. Grohol sits on the editorial board of the journal Cyberpsychology, Behavior and Social Networking and is a founding board member and treasurer of the Society for Participatory Medicine.

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    Last reviewed: By John M. Grohol, Psy.D. on 28 May 2004
    Published on PsychCentral.com. All rights reserved.