HALIFAX – A mental health expert says he’s concerned about the idea of police releasing suicide statistics to the public.

This after news that Halifax Regional Police is considering doing just that.

HRP Chief Jean-Michel Blais is proposing to release suicide statistics as a conversation starter and as a way of reducing stigma.

He said suicides are becoming all too common, and are a significant mental-health issue that should be reported on.

But local mental health expert Dr. Stan Kutcher told NEWS 95.7 one of his many concerns with the idea is confusing suicide with something illegal because police are releasing the numbers.

“We’ve been down that road for decades and it took years of hard work to break that conceptual framework,” said Kutcher.

“Having police release statistics about suicide might bring it back to where were 20 or 30 years ago.”

Kutcher adds that although it might start a conversation on suicide, what’s important is to have an intelligent, helpful dialogue.

He said that the conversation has already started, and now the focus should be on prevention.