A county jail facility outside Texas is heightening its attention to suicide prevention because a suicide that occurred on April 13, 2023, was at least the third since 2019. The jail was similarly shocked in 2019 when two suicides happened in one month.

The sheriff said that the factors in running a county jail are numerous. He said it is important to have balance with someone who has a tendency toward self-harm because they have a right to privacy. He was saying that people deserve to be treated with respect.

Anti-Suicide Supplies

Sheets are a comfort that can reduce stress because they provide a sense of normalcy, for example. But protocols for potentially suicidal inmates is to give them paper gowns to wear and no sheets. Some facilities have anti-suicide smocks and blankets. The items can’t be used to form a ligature. Other suicide supplies available for jails include safety pillows and slippers. But these items are very expensive, and most jails have budgets that are already stretched as far as they can go.

Previously, before these suicide prevention supplies were available, many jails put suicidal inmates in padded cells stripped naked and with no furniture.

Inmate Suicides in U.S. Jails

You can run a search for suicides in county jails in the U.S., and several will likely turn up every week. Learn more in this continuing series.

Helping Texas jail detainees and their families with resources is one of the purposes of this website. There is no intention of suggesting that people or organizations have been involved in misdeeds.

–Guest Contributor