Many studies have been done on suicide in jails. One group of professionals explored factors strongly associated with inmate suicides.

Strongest Custodial Factors Associated with Suicides

More than 8,000 records were reviewed and the strongest clinical, institutional, and criminological factors that were associated with suicide follow:

• Suicidal ideation in the current jail stint.
• A history of suicide attempts.
• Current diagnosis by a psychiatrist of being at risk for suicide. 
• The inmate occupies a single cell.
• The inmate has no social visits.
• Remand status.
• The inmate is serving a life sentence.
• The prisoner has been convicted of a violent offense, and most often it is homicide.

Custodial Suicide is a Worldwide Concern

In England and Wales, research shows that the number of custodial suicides and jails and prisons had increased at an alarming rate. For instance, from 2011 to 2016, the total number of custodial suicides more than doubled. The total jumped from 58 to 119 in that short period. A study on inmate suicides revealed that staff shortages is a significant contributing factor to the increased risk of custodial suicide.

Another issue in the prison culture there across the ocean is familiar to the US. The potential for prisoners to be seen as manipulating the system as opposed to being truly suicidal frequently costs lives. 

See Part 1 and this continuing series.

There is never an intention on this website to suggest that any person or organization has been involved in misdeeds. The purpose of the post on this site is to provide resources of potential help to inmates now or previously incarcerated in a county jail in Texas.

–Guest Contributor