Suicide in Corrections - Suicide Policy/Procedures/Training

Suicide in Prison: Prevention Strategy and Implication from Human Rights and Legal Points of View (2014)

"Occurrence of two suicide cases including suicide by one of the accused in Delhi gang rape cases within 72 hours in March 2013 in Tihar Central Prison underscore the need to understand the factors behind committing suicide in prison and framing a comprehensive action plan to prevent such suicide in future. 

While suicide is recognized as a critical problem within the jail environment, the issue of prison suicide has not received comparable attention. This monograph is aimed at to review the relevant national and international literature and conduct a data analysis of recent prison suicides so as to scrutinize the...

Online Forms - TCJS

Here you will find the TCJS suicide screening forms.

Shield of Care™ Training Materials - TDMHSAS

"The Shield of Care™ is copyrighted by the Tennessee Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services (TDMHSAS). It is an eight hour curriculum intended to be used in its entirety. The video, "Second Glances" was intentionally embedded in the power point presentation to help participants understand the different levels of suicide risk. In addition, this training includes many interactive exercises to help the participant understand various concepts in suicide prevention."

Suicide Prevention Program - NCCHC

"Because suicide is a leading cause of death in juvenile facilities nationwide, NCCHC recommends an active approach to the management of suicidal juveniles. The implementation of the 2011 Standards for Health Services in Juvenile Detention and Confinement Facilities brought noteworthy changes to the Suicide Prevention Program standard through a number of new compliance indicators."

Jail Suicide Assessment Tool (2002)

"The Jail Suicide Assessment Tool (JSAT) is a suggested interview format for conducting structured suicide risk assessment interviews with adults who are incarcerated. The foundation of the JSAT is based upon two points: I) The kind of information obtained through a structured clinical interview is superior to the results of any single psychological test or scale, and 2) The essential feature of assessing suicidal risk is informed, professional judgment. The primary purpose o/the JSAT is to cue correction-based menial health practitioners in the gathering of information generally viewed as essential in the decision making process for assessing suicide risk. This...

Assessing Suicide and Risk Behaviors in an Incarcerated American Indian Population: Investigating Culturally Sensitive Risk Assessment Instruments and Procedures in a Border Jail, Final Report (2003)

"In 1997, the administrator of a County Jail, located in the Northern Plains of the United States contacted these researchers with his concerns about the incidence of suicide behaviors occurring in that facility, particularly among the American Indian population. Seeking assistance in ensuring and where necessary, developing a best practices approach to suicide management in his facility, the administrator agreed to collaborate with researchers from the University of Kansas School of Social Welfare and the University of Colorado Health Sciences Center in designing and carrying out a study geared toward discovering and identifying two essential types of information. First, because...

Suicide in Correctional Facilities - NCJRS (2009)

"This paper addresses suicide prevention which is a very difficult problem that administrators in correctional facilities face on a daily basis. The substance of this policy paper analyzes that problem in depth. There are two alternative policies that this analyst researched. The first is the Hayes, Hunter, Moore, and Thigpen 1995 report on Elayn Hunt Correctional Center (EHCC): Suicide Prevention Plan. This facility is located in Louisville, Kentucky."

Department of Corrections (DOC) Inmate Suicide Prevention Study (2009)

"This paper includes three studies associated with inmate suicide within Oregon’s Department of Corrections (DOC). The first is a statistical analysis that recognizes the inmate static and demographic factors that differentiate the average inmate from the inmate who is higher risk for a suicide attempt. The second analysis identifies the inmate static and dynamic factors that differentiate the high risk inmate who does not attempt suicide from the inmate who does attempt suicide. The third study includes interviews with inmates who have attempted suicide. "

A Sentinel Events Approach to Addressing Suicide and Self-Harm in Jail (2019)

Suicides and self-harm are endemic to our nation’s jails, with suicide the leading cause of mortality for jail inmates. Given the high incidence of suicide and serious self-harm in corrections facilities, it is important for corrections agencies, including staff, to understand the causes of these incidents and improve policies and practices to minimize their occurrence.

This study aims to deepen understanding of the current practices jails use in reviewing and responding to incidents of suicide and self-harm and to explore the feasibility of integrating sentinel event reviews into four county jail systems. A sentinel event review approach, adapted from similar...

A Sentinel Events Approach to Jail Suicide and Self-Harm (2019)

Suicide is the leading cause of death for people incarcerated in jail in the United States, accounting for more than 30 percent of deaths. In 2014, the rate of suicide in local jails (50 per 100,000) was the highest observed since 2000 and remained more than three times higher than rates of suicide in either prison (16 per 100,000) or in the community (13 per 100,000). Despite the fact that jail suicide is increasingly recognized as a serious public health problem, the relatively stable rate of jail deaths by suicide across the last 20 years suggests that progress in jail...

Suicide Prevention Resource Guide: National Response Plan for Suicide Prevention in Corrections (2020)

Through the Suicide Prevention Resource Guide, the National Commission on Correctional Health Care and the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention have joined forces to work toward reducing the incidence of suicide in jails and prisons. The guide focuses on three areas key to suicide prevention in corrections: assessment, intervention and treatment, and training. The aim is to educate the field on how to better identify and help inmates at risk for suicide, safely manage those identified as at high risk, and provide consistent, comprehensive training to all involved personnel.