Differences in local and national database recordings of deaths from suicide

A search was undertaken at Forensic Science South Australia (FSSA) for all cases of suicide registered in South Australia, Australia, over a 10-year period from January 2003 to December 2012. More recent data was not accessioned as not all contemporary cases may have been completed or formally registered. The data were compared to corresponding numbers on two national registers: the National Coronial Information System (NCIS) and the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS). A total of 2105 cases of suicide were registered at FSSA, with a death rate of 13.3/100,000 population. NCIS data were available from 2003 to 2010, with 1542 suicides recorded (12.3/100,000 population). ABS data were available from 2003 to 2011, with 1366 deaths coded as suicides (12.4/100,000 population). Significant differences were found between local data on suicides and related data accrued nationally from the same population, with only 67.8% of local drug overdoses recorded on the NCIS. Although this represents an Australian-based study the conclusions have global applications. Thus, given the likely accuracy of local data, reliance on smaller, community-specific datasets in any country/jurisdiction may be of far greater use in analyzing and monitoring such complex cases.