Among the many reasons that suicide prevention training is essential for jail staff members is the fact that certain myths endanger lives. Wrong thinking about inmate suicide can result in preventable deaths. Experts believe that most custodial deaths are preventable. 

Case analysis was recently done regarding jail suicide, and an actual custodial suicide that occurred was the basis of the study. The facts reveal that the inmate who took his own life had been threatening to commit suicide before entering the jail. A jail mental health worker was told about these statements after the young man had already been placed in the general population at the jail. While the mental health worker took actions with regard to a future court date and the potential for self-harm, the inmate was not placed under suicide watch. In fact, he categorized the situation as a case of malingering. 

• Malingering: Exaggerating or feigning an illness or condition to escape work or gain attention.

Research shows that in jail settings, suicidal statements by inmates are often ignored due to a misunderstanding or, in other words, to believing the myth that a person mentioning that he or she is contemplating suicide is not actual evidence that should be taken seriously. 

In the next segment of this ongoing series, learn more details about the above-referenced custodial suicide. Also, see Part 1, Part 2, and Part 3 of this series.

This website never intends to infer wrongdoing on persons or entities. Providing helpful information to benefit inmates now or previously detained in Texas county jails is the purpose of this and all posts on this site.

–Guest Contributor