Provincial correctional workers: Examining the relationship between alcohol use, mental health disorders, and suicide behaviour

Alcohol use among correctional workers remains an understudied phenomenon, although recognized in literature as a coping strategy employed by persons in public safety occupations. Moreover, previous literature denotes a prevalence of mental health disorders higher  than that of the general population among correctional workers and public safety personnel. In the present study, we examine the […]

Addressing the mental health needs of inmates through education for correctional officers: A narrative review

Introduction: People with mental illness are overrepresented in correctional facilities. Correctional officers (COs) lack education to respond to inmates with mental illness. A review was conducted of mental health education programs for COs to identify factors related to effectiveness. Methods: Medical and criminal justice databases were searched for articles describing mental health education for COs. Studies including […]

The impact of correctional officer gender on prison suicide

Correctional officers are critical members of the prison community. However, scholarship rarely considers how correctional officers contribute to prison outcomes instead largely focusing on importation (individual) and deprivation (organizational) factors related to the incarcerated population. This is also true regarding how scholars and practitioners approach suicide committed by incarcerated people, one of the leading causes […]

Provincial correctional workers: Suicidal ideation, plans, and attempts

Correctional service workers report stressful work environments that include repeated exposures to potentially psychologically traumatic events (PPTEs), shift work and long working hours, and pervasive unpredictability of threat, which may increase their risk for mental disorders and death by suicide. Correctional workers include all persons employed in the community (e.g., probation and parole officers), institutional […]

Suicide in prisons: Describing trends and staff knowledge and preparedness to address suicide

Purpose: Suicide prevention and intervention in prisons is a challenge. Prisons were not designed to be clinical facilities, yet with the growing numbers of people who face mental health challenges in prisons, staff require knowledge and skills to adequately address mental health crises, especially suicide. This study aims to: describe trends in suicide attempts and completions […]

The interaction of personal and occupational factors in the suicide deaths of correction officers

In the aftermath of a cluster of at least twenty suicides among correction officers working for a state department of correction, we conducted the first extensive mixed-methods study of correction officer suicide. Using a grounded theory approach, we sought to better understand the ways in which personal and occupational factors may have contributed to the […]

National response plan for suicide prevention in corrections

Through the Suicide Prevention Resource Guide, the National Commission on Correctional Health Care and the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention have joined forces to work toward reducing the incidence of suicide in jails and prisons. The guide focuses on three areas key to suicide prevention in corrections: assessment, intervention and treatment, and training. The aim […]

Family dysfunction and suicide risk in a community corrections sample.

Background: When comparted with the general population, the suicide rate in correctional populations is elevated. While predictors of suicide are well researched in jail and prison populations, much less work has been done to examine predictors of suicide in community corrections samples where 80% of the US correctional population is currently supervised. Aims: The goal […]

Correctional workers and stress: providing mental health support.

The article discusses support for the mental health of correctional personnel. Topics include rates of employee turnover and burnout in environments of high stress, the relationship between stress and suicide, and correctional staff support programs. A study on stress and gender in correctional personnel is mentioned.

Systems training for emotional predictability and problem solving (STEPPS) group treatment for offenders with borderline personality disorder.

Systems Training for Emotional Predictability and Problem Solving (STEPPS) is a manual-based group treatment of persons with borderline personality disorder (BPD). We report results from a study of offenders supervised by the Iowa Department of Corrections. Seventy-seven offenders participated in STEPPS groups. The offenders experienced clinically significant improvement in BPD-related symptoms (d = 1.30), mood, […]

Preventing Suicide in French Prisons

This paper shows that preventing suicide risk in French prison regulations is thwarted in 2 prisons by professional criteria regarding credibility & solidarity, as well as by the balance of power between prisoners & guards, in addition to the realization, on the part of judges responsible for sentencing, of the risk posed by recidivists. The […]

Educating Gatekeepers in Asia(IN: Suicide and Suicide Prevention in Asia, ed. by H Hendin)

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Suicide Prevention and Manipulative Behavior

This article discusses the challenges that face jail officials & staff when an inmate’s behaviour is perceived as being manipulative. Research evidence clearly suggests all threats or acts of self-injury should be treated as potential suicidal behaviour. The case history of an adult female is used to illustrate the dangers of making assumptions about intent. […]

What is Correctional About Clinical Practice in Corrections?

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Reduction of Suicides in Jails and Lockups Through Situational Crime Prevention: Addressing the Needs of a Transient Population

The problem of jail suicide has been widely publicized in many articles and corrections reports, yet seldom is this work organized in a framework. The current paper organizes the existing literature on suicide in jails and lockups within Clarke’s (1997) framework of situational prevention and Clarke and Lester’s (1989) work on suicide prevention. Due to […]

Juvenile Correctional Workers’ Perceptions of Suicide Risk Factors and Mental Health Issues of Incarcerated Juveniles

This study measured juvenile correctional officers’ knowledge & attitudes regarding suicide risk factors & mental health & substance abuse issues before & after a staff training on suicide prevention. 76 participants completed the training & demonstrated significant improvement in knowledge & attitudes toward mental health treatment of incarcerated youth. Findings suggest correctional staff are receptive […]

Prevention, Management and Response to Suicide and Self-Injuries

This document represents Commissioner’s Directive #843

Challenges for Suicide Prevention in the Public Sector (IN: Suicide Prevention in Georgia: Healing and Hope)

Preventing Self-Harm in Prison: the Role of Prison Officers

Published in “Back to the Future: Refocusing the Image of Suicide,” ed. by J L McIntosh

Suicide Prevention in Juvenile Facilities

Section 1983 Liability and Custodial Suicide: a Look at What Plaintiffs Face in Court

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Inmate Suicide in Prisons: an Analysis of Legal Liability Under 42 USC Section 1983

The author argues that U.S. case law pertaining to prison suicide liability in Section 1983 civil lawsuits shows several trends in future liability considerations. Past Supreme Court decisions regarding deliberate indifference standards are compared with present deliberate indifference standards, arguing that recent decisions do not constitute a benefit to plaintiffs in prison suicide cases, but […]

Suicide and Self-Injury (IN: Locked out: a Review of Inmate Services and Conditions of Custody in Saskatchewan Correctional Centres)

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