Detainee in Liberty County Texas Dies After Suicide Attempt-Pt.6
Warning Signs that a Detainee is Suicidal Continued
Jail staff responsible for intake assessment of detainees are required to have additional suicide prevention training. They have the responsibility of looking for signs that a detainee is at risk because of suicidal ideations or because he or she is mentally ill. However, assessment of detainees should be an ongoing process throughout an at-risk detainee’s entire period of incarceration.
When corrections officers make face-to-face observations of inmates and at other times that they interact with detainees, they should notice any behavior associated with suicidal individuals. The following are behavioral warning signs of suicide, including moods:
- Giving away prized possessions
- Isolating from friends and family
- Calling people to say goodbye
- Withdrawing from activities
- Acting aggressively
- Behaving recklessly
Moods:
- Depression
- Anxiety
- Humiliation
- Rage
- Irritability
Precautions to Protect Potentially Suicidal Detainees
When a detainee has been assessed and deemed as a current suicide risk, he or she must be placed on the appropriate level of suicide precautions. The precautions should match the level of risk. Every cell that houses suicidal inmates must be suicide resistant. A detainee’s clothing may be considered a threat to their safety, considering that hanging is how the great majority of custodial suicides occur.
Learn more in Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, and Part 5 of this continuing series.
Providing helpful resources to detainees in Texas jails is one of the purposes of this website. Accusing persons or institutions of wrongdoing it never intended on this site.
–Guest Contributor
smchugh
smchugh