The Texas Commission on Jail Standards routinely checks all county jails in the state, and a recent jail inspection report shows a jail’s noncompliance regarding suicide prevention training. Every jail is required to establish a plan and provide the training to help prevent inmate suicides. Jail is not meant to be a place where people die, and the sheriffs in charge of county jail operations have a duty to follow minimum jail standards as a way of safeguarding inmates.

The issue of suicide prevention is a major focus all around the nation as jails are being held more accountable than ever before when custodial deaths occur. Training has been identified as an essential component of a successful suicide prevention program.

Jail staff members need training on the procedures for recognizing, supervising, documenting, and handling mentally disabled and/or potentially suicidal inmates. Staff members involved in the process of intake screening are supposed to have supplemental training to ensure that skills for identifying potentially suicidal inmates are as sharp as possible.

When an at-risk inmate is not identified, he or she has a greater opportunity to commit suicide. Research shows that almost half of the inmates who die by suicide in U.S. jails are in the general population. When a person has been identified correctly as potentially suicidal, hazards are removed and face-to-face observations occur every 15 minutes, making it much more difficult for an inmate to succeed in taking his or her own life.  

See more in this continuing series.

This website’s posts are meant to help Texas prisoners housed in county jails. At no time is there an intention to imply wrongs on the part of persons or institutions.

–Guest Contributor