Chauncey Elmer Toombs, at age 51, died 33 hours and 41 minutes after being booked into Kaufman County Jail in Kaufman, Texas. Mr. Toombs had been identified as potentially suicidal. He was pronounced dead at 8:39PM on April 13, 2022, after using gauze to hang himself.

Suicide is the leading cause of death in county jails. Recent estimates showed that the precise rate of jail suicide might range from between 47 to 114 per 100,000 inmates, which, in itself, is a figure that reflects suicide as being 9 to 14 times higher in jail as compared with the general population.

Suicide prevention is an integral part of the operational procedures in Texas county jails. Jailers are trained in suicide prevention, which largely hinges on detecting and identifying signs of suicidal behavior. In Texas, it is stressed in training among law enforcement personnel that suicide prevention begins at the time of arrest and continues for the duration of a person’s stay in a Texas county jail.

Components of the implementation of a comprehensive suicide prevention program include the following:

• Staff training
• Intake screening
• Communication between members of a jail staff
• Safe and appropriate housing
• Frequent observation/face-to-face supervision
• Prompt intervention
• Human interaction between inmates and jail staff

Learn more in Part 1 and Part 2 of this ongoing series.

Making implications of wrongdoing, whether on the part of a person or entity, is never an intention on this website. Each post is meant as a potential benefit to prisoners housed in county jails in Texas.

–Guest Contributor