NCJ Number
141946
Date Published
1991
Length
184 pages
Annotation
Intended primarily for the direct-service workers (correctional officers, juvenile careworkers, admissions/intake workers, and classification workers) who manage adult or juvenile offenders, this self-instructional course provides the information necessary to make them more effective in preventing inmate suicides.
Abstract
Sections of text provide information necessary to understand the causes, signs, and prevention of attempted inmate suicides. At the end of each section of text, questions are presented to test how well the student has understood the material presented. The questions are either multiple choice or short completion answers. The first chapter examines the impact, incidence, and prevention of inmate suicides, followed by the findings of research on suicides in custody. Three chapters discuss why custodial environments influence suicidal behavior, the factors that influence suicides in custody, and the signs and symptoms of suicidal behavior. Chapters that pertain to the management of inmates so as to prevent suicide address the assessment of suicidal risk at screening, the management of potentially suicidal offenders, the role of the correctional worker in suicide prevention, the facts and fiction of suicides in custody, and avoidance of liability in suicide-related lawsuits. The last four chapters consider the impact of facility design on offender management and suicide prevention, response to the suicide victim, administrative review and follow-up support for staff, and controversial approaches to the prevention of suicides in custody. 30 references