NCJ Number
139651
Journal
Corrections in Asia and the Pacific Issue: 2 Dated: (September 1992) Pages: 2-4
Date Published
1992
Length
3 pages
Annotation
After comparing Canada's rate of inmate suicide with the suicide rate in the general population, this article addresses factors that can lead to inmate suicide, the danger signs, and what prison staff can do to prevent suicides.
Abstract
Correctional Service data show a rate of approximately 78 inmate suicides per 100,000 inmates for 1989, more than 5 times the rate in the general population. Factors that can trigger thoughts of suicide in inmates are life crises, such as the loss of a spouse through death or divorce; public embarrassment or humiliation; and the loss of hope. Signs that an inmate may be contemplating suicide are an unexpected absence from a meal or work, complaints of a sleep disorder, loss of appetite, a withdrawn attitude, and indications that the inmate is "getting his affairs in order." Prison staff can help prevent inmate suicides by being alert to inmate behavioral change and to circumstances likely to depress the inmate. If a staff member senses that an inmate may be suicidal, that staff member should tell a psychologist or a nurse. Institutional policies that can help prevent inmate suicides are intake screening questions that can identify circumstances and attitudes associated with suicidal behavior and close supervision of inmates identified as being at risk of suicide. When suicides do occur, they can be stressful incidents for staff and other inmates. Staff should be available to counsel and support inmates and staff immediately after a suicide.