Use of Oregon's extreme risk protection order law to address risk of firearm suicide.

Abstract

Background: Extreme risk protection order (ERPO) laws may be effective tools for preventing firearm suicide. Oregon's ERPO law allows family/household members or law enforcement officers (LEOs) to petition a civil court for an order to temporarily restrict a person's access to firearms when at imminent risk of harming themselves or others. We analysed Oregon's ERPO petitions to describe the law's utilisation for the potential prevention of suicide.

Methods: ERPO petitions were obtained from the Oregon Judicial Department. Data were abstracted for the 6-year period after the law took effect (2018-2023). A 20% random sample of records was double-coded. Inter-rater agreement was >80% for key variables. Descriptive analyses were conducted to examine petitions citing suicide risk; cross-tabulations compared suicide-related petitions to those unrelated to suicide.

Results: There were 835 petitions filed and 650 (78%) initially granted. Suicide risk was identified in 516 petitions (62%), 421 of which were initially granted (82%). Suicide-related petitions were more likely to be granted than non-suicide-related petitions (72%; p=0.001). Threats to others were also cited in 80% of suicide-related petitions. LEOs filed 60% and family/household members filed 29% of suicide-related petitions. Concerns cited in suicide-related petitions included substance use (56%) and mental health diagnoses (27%). Respondents were hospitalised or referred for services in 41% of suicide-related petitions.

Conclusions: Oregon's ERPO law is being used to address firearm suicide risk, but implementation gaps may exist, including missed opportunities for healthcare or other services. Further research examining barriers and facilitators to ERPO use for suicide prevention is needed.