NCJ Number
106409
Journal
Canadian Journal of Criminology Volume: 29 Issue: 3 Dated: (July 1987) Pages: 295-307
Date Published
1987
Length
13 pages
Annotation
This article describes a Canadian corrections personnel training program to develop competencies for managing inmates at high risk for suicide and presents the findings of a training evaluation.
Abstract
The Atlantic region was selected for the demonstration site because institutions in this region had experienced a high number of suicides in 1983. The training workshop has five learning modules that require 2 days to present 14 hours of training. The opening module provides orientation, followed by the three core modules. The attitudes module addresses staff attitudes that obstruct the constructive management of inmates at high risk for suicide. The knowledge module provides information on suicide, including empirical findings that aid in identifying and assessing suicide risk and assessment exercises to help participants discriminate between low, moderate, and high risk levels. The skills module focuses on the skills and procedures required to decrease the immediate risk of suicide. The final module emphasizes the improved coordination and multidisciplinary team work required to recognize and reduce the frequency of suicidal behaviors. Participants have given the course high marks for program content, teaching aids, the learning process, instructors, and the effect of the learning experience. A followup study in the Atlantic region found that training resulted in increased referrals of at-risk inmates for professional help, increased interventions in suicidal behavior, and a reduction in suicide compared to what would have been anticipated without the training. 23 references.