jail suicides prevention

The United States is plagued by a countless number of social
dilemmas. Although not in constant public scrutiny, suicide is a serious
problem which has seemed to have lost importance. When suicide is
coupled with arrest and incarceration it becomes an increasingly complex
situation. In fact, research indicates that the jail suicide rate ranges from
2.5 to 13 times greater than the rate of the general population (Winkler
1992). Motivation, prediction, and prevention of suicidal behavior are
grossly unclear, which only adds to the already existing complexity. Many
factors involved with arrest and incarceration only serve as a catalyst of
suicidal tendencies. Suicide is the primary cause of death in this country's
jails. In 1986 there were 401 successful [jail] suicides (Winkler 19992).
There are many general assumptions made in regard to suicide. Most
believe suicide to be caused by mental illness such as major depression
or bipolar disorder. Another belief is that the emotional escalation leading
to action takes place over a long period of time. Such is not the case in
jail suicides. Much of the research shows that 1/4 of all [jail] suicides
occur within the first twenty four hours of incarceration, and an
overwhelming number of these take place in the first three hours of
isolation which is referred to as the "crisis period" (Hess 1987). The crisis
period is reflective of arrest and incarceration as producing extreme
confusion, fear, and anxiety. The crisis period is also the result of
isolation. Isolation causes an individual to lose all social support systems.
Placing an individual in isolation may be a form of protection, but this
gives the individual an opportunity to concentrate on feelings of
hopelessness (Winkler 1992). Hopelessness can be defined as the
presence of despair and negative feelings about the future (Shneidman
1987).Isolation can also produce a severe threat to those inmates who
have difficulty with coping abilities as this only encourages future
deterioration. Undoubtedly, isolation is often necessary to contain a
person, or to prevent injury to the individual and, or other inmates.
Individuals who are experiencing obvious mental stress should certainly

not be held in isolation for obvious reasons. According to Hess
(1983),many facilities have regulations which state,"The action taken
must be responsible under the circumstances and represent a good-faith
judgment that the action was the least restrictive alternative
available."Regulations such as this not only serve as a guideline for
officers, but as a preventive measure against legal action as a result of
isolation. Aside from these emotional factors of the physical environment
which are impetus of suicidal attempts. Isolation cells more often than not
tend to have poor lighting, ventilation, and the surroundings are extremely
noisy (Winkler 1992). The are minor modifications which can be made to
reduce risk. These include removal of bars, sinks, or any other object
which may facilitate a suicide attempt (Kunzman 1992). There are
certain characteristics of the "act" of jail suicide. The major characteristic
which seems to be consistent in almost all cases is that the method used
is hanging. In fact, according to Hess(1983), 96% of the [jail] suicides are
successfully completed in this fashion and the instruments most often
used are clothing, bedding, shoelaces, or belts. This trend is attributed to
the fact that other avenues for suicide are not available. In cases which
officers are aware of the person's fragile mental state, attempts are made
to extinguish the availability of instruments. This is done by stripping the
inmate of clothing, and, or accessories. All too often the objects and
particularly the mental states are overlooked. Since this does occur,
officers now carry the Stephans 9-11 knife which can effectively cut
through sheets, bedding, belts, and other material (Winkler 1992).
Some other rather interesting statistics have been compiled regarding the
jail suicide act in reference to month, day and time in which it is most
likely to occur. The majority of inmates commit suicide between the hours
of midnight and eight A.M., usually occurring on a Saturday in the month
of September (Winkler 1992). The acts take place at these specific times
and days due to the fact that officer supervision is greatly decreased at

these intervals. Despite the fact that supervision is so decreased, the
victims are usually found within 15 minutes. Research has also been
consistent in identifying other typical aspects of the jail suicide. The
prominent factors are age, race,, marital status, and type of offense. The
person is usually a 22 year old single whit male who has been arrested
for an alcohol related offense . Many times an individual who is
incarcerated because of a murder offense is automatically placed on
suicide watch."The Federal Bureau of Prisons has warned local jailers
that persons held for murder or any other offense involving possible death
penalty be watched closely for any suicidal tendencies"(Winkler 1992).
Jail suicide in this case is usually caused by extreme feelings of remorse,
particularly if the death of a relative is involved. Other characteristics
include being under the influence of drugs or alcohol at the time of the
arrest, the individual having no significant prior arrest, and being held in
an urban county jail. Many feel correctional officials are responsible for
an inmate's well being. If this is the case, such personal characteristics as
listed above are enormously inadequate to form a prediction judgment,
and apply techniques to offenders who are at risk for a suicide attempt.
These characteristics are especially inadequate considering the fact they
also represent much of the general inmate population. Officers are
unquestionably the key players in prevention. Considering the fact that
78% of jail suicides show no prediction signs at the time of intake
(Winkler 1992)., new standards need to be implemented. Accurate
predictions are not the only aspect needing regulation. According to
research(1986),"an inmate suicide prevention program must address the
four P's of prevention: 1). Profile, 2). procedure, 3). personnel, 4).
physical environment." Winkler contends that if a standardized profile
is to be operational, it needs to be limited to a manageable numbers of
features. The Lane County Adult Correctional Center (LCACC), located in
Oregon, has implemented new regulations in regard to suicide profiles.

Reports say that this profile includes:suicidal statements these are not to
be taken lightly, and officers are instructed to dispel the myth that those
who talk of suicide will not attempt prior attempts-inmates who have
previously attempted suicide are at a much greater risk:depression this
especially applies to the concept of hopelessness mentioned
earlier:intoxication-reports reveal 60% of victims had been
intoxicated;mental/emotional disturbances-the mentally ill are at a much
greater risk;crisis event-this is an event which the inmate feels to be life
shattering (although it is impossible to know what the inmate is feeling,
officers must keep some sense of sympathy to be able to relate to the
individual); and time in custody as mentioned before, most suicides occur
within the first 24 hours. The second and third component, procedure
and personnel are interrelated. Inmates coming through the intake
process should be assessed by officers using a questionnaire regarding
medical history, mental health status and history, and security issues. All
of the corrections staff who are involved in the intake process should be
formally educated in identifying and dealing with at risk offenders."In
addition to standard correctional staff, personnel should include specially
trained mental health professionals either staff or on call."(Winkler 1992)
The last component, physical environment was mentioned earlier. Aside
from the suggested structural modifications, many authorities believe
suicidal inmates should be placed in group housing. Placing suicidal
inmates in a group housing environment often solves the problem of
isolation, and offers an available social support structure. This also
implements an intervention techniques by avenue of other inmates
physically stopping the attempt, or alerting officers. Prevention techniques
thus far have considerable lack of imagination, and cooperation. The
United States is neglecting its responsibility for jail suicides."As of 1989,
only 13 of 35 states responding to a survey had prevention standards for
jails."(Kunzman 1995) Nationwide prevention standards need to be

implemented so as to not only reduce the several hundred deaths per
year attributed to jail suicides, but also prevent legalities. Legal actions
cost money, time and more importantly, they disrupt the fundamental
objective of the criminal justice system. Disruptions of the system in this
way may cause correction officers to view inmates with high risk factors
as a burden of liability. There are various cost efficient methods for
reducing suicides such as cell structure modification, or double cell
occupancy. The most cost effective method is instilling sensitivity in
correctional personnel. Understanding, relating, and simply speaking to
an inmate as a human being may save a life.