NCJ Number
109781
Date Published
1987
Length
4 pages
Annotation
Moral, legal, and financial arguments all point to the need for the establishment of several types of changes in the Nation's jails to prevent jail suicides.
Abstract
From July 1982 through June 1983, 294 people killed themselves in jails. The authorities are obligated to provide basic standards of care for the people that are arrested and may be the targets of multimillion dollar lawsuits if they do not. They must also increase budgets for mental-health personnel and services in the jails, because the release of patients from mental health facilities makes it likely that jails will include more people with mental health problems. All jail personnel also need mental health training before they start the job and as part of a continuing program. Screening devices to identify at least some potential suicides and referral procedures for handling them are also needed. Behavioral scientists should be involved in the physical design of jails to make sure that psychological aspects are considered. Finally, trained graduate and undergraduate students should be used as crisis counselors to help observe inmates, aid them during the first days of despair and depression, and contact family members when arrests are first made. Comparative data on jail and prison suicide rates and 4 references.