During the summer of 1997, prior to receiving the questionnaire, all heads of the 54 police departments in Norway were contacted by telephone and provided information about the purpose of the survey. Subsequently, they received the questionnaire, and after about one month, a reminder was sent to the departments that had not returned a completed questionnaire. As a result, there was a 100-percent response. In addition to data on the number of officer suicides, the questionnaire sought information on victims' age, sex, years on duty, position, general health, family structure, working conditions, and suicide method. Structured and in-depth qualitative interviews were conducted in 12 cases of suicide after the questionnaires were processed. Supplementary information was collected when necessary. The survey found that during the 25-year period under study, 41 police officers (38 males and 3 females) committed suicide. When this period was divided into five 5-year periods, it was clear that the rate of suicide had increased from 13.8 to 20.5 per 100,000 for males in the Norwegian general population. For male Norwegian police officers, the increase was from 10.0 to 34.3 per 100,000. There is no clear explanation for this increase in the rate of officer suicide, because police officers in Norway are carefully selected, educated, and trained. Peer consulting teams are also used to help police officers cope with stressful situations. 1 figure