Suicide Prevention Continued

In response to scrutiny over the high number of suicides categorized as preventable at the county jail outside Texas that this series is about, the leading authority at the jail says that the additional training he seeks for jail staff is a priority. The plan, he says, is to expand their policies of suicide prevention and ensure that jail staff can identify behaviors that are red flags indicating that an inmate is at risk for committing suicide.

Currently, the suicide prevention policy starts with health screening that is performed by the correctional officer, not a mental health professional. Jailers at the intake level are instructed to search for any indication of suicide behavior in each inmate’s history.

If an inmate talks about suicide or if a jailer identifies suicidal behavior, he or she can refer that inmate to a mental health professional at the jail. If no one in the mental health staff is available at that time, the nursing staff uses a tool for suicide assessment which helps to identify when a person is exhibiting signs of suicide potential.

In various high-traffic areas of the jail, signs are posted which identify behaviors that are associated with depression and anxiety and which show how to get help. If someone advises the jail staff that they are suicidal, that individual is moved to a medical unit where they have access to mental health professionals.

See Part 1, Part 2, and this continuing series.

The posts on this site are all intended to provide helpful information that may benefit current and former inmates and their families. There is never an intention on this website to make any sort of inference that a person or institution has engaged in impropriety.

–Guest Contributor