Jail Suicide Essay

Jail suicide is a tragic and complicated problem that impacts not just the inmates but also their families, communities, and the larger society. It is often a tragedy that could have been avoided because of the unique and generally tricky circumstances of life in prison. An individual's mental and emotional health can suffer greatly from the stress of confinement, loss of independence, isolation from loved ones, and exposure to violence and other forms of abuse, which can result in emotions of hopelessness, helplessness, and despair. In addition, the criminal justice system is frequently ill-prepared to handle the requirements of people who are suicidal, and many people who enter the system with pre-existing mental health disorders may have

It was mentioned in the article that over the past decade, jails have focused more of their attention on providing suicide prevention programs to those who are incarcerated. Thankfully, studies have shown that these efforts have led to reductions in suicides within jails across the United States. However, although they have been reduced, suicides are still a prominent issue for correctional facilities. The King County Correctional Facility and the Regional Justice Center, two prisons in King County, Washington, were the specific subjects of this study. During the 33-month study period between October 1, 1996, and June 30, 1999, patients at both of these facilities were monitored for suicide attempts. According to the article, 27 percent of the patients in the psychiatric unit were on suicide watch, necessitating closer monitoring in addition to a number of other requirements. After each suicide attempt, jail staff collected data from the inmate’s medical records as well as the officers’ logs. Basic information about the inmate, such as housing status, substance abuse history, and characteristics of the suicide attempt, were then entered into a Microsoft Access database to allow for easier organization of the data

I found it interesting that the suicide rate for this study was calculated to be twenty-two attempts per 1,000 average daily population per year, which was comparable to the suicide rate across all South Carolina jails during this period of time. This statistic is alarming to me because it makes me question the treatment of inmates within these two facilities during that period of time. It was found that those one hundred and fifty-eight attempts were made during one hundred and thirty-two separate incarcerations, consisting of one hundred and twenty-four individual inmates within the King County facilities. Nineteen inmates also accounted for 34 percent of all suicide attempts recorded in this study. Two deaths resulted from these suicide attempts, and both affected inmates were considered “high-risk” and were under suicide watch at the time of the incident. I found it very interesting that the average age associated with these suicide attempts was in their thirties. It made me question if this meant that their sentences were so long that they saw no hope for their release or future in general, considering a person at the age of thirty still has a pretty long life left ahead of them. Female inmates also accounted for about 18 percent more suicide attempts in this study than in the general population. This statistic makes me especially question