Resource Tag: CORRECTIONS WORKERS

The authors review the findings of their study estimating suicide risk & impulse control in Greek violent offenders, comparing these variables to prison personnel, & determing the relation of these variables to their platelets monoamine oxidase activity.

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This report is a response to “Suicide is Everyone’s Concern,” by Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Prisons for England & Wales. Please see SIEC #2000-0361.

51 wardens in U.S. correctional institutions responded to a survey about inmate behaviors & the physical location of the warden’s offices with respect to the institution & inmate crowdedness. Warden’s responses also included information about how often they visited &/or inspected inmate housing areas. It was found that there were significantly more inmate disciplinaries & […]

Reprinted from “American Jails”, Fall 1988 issue.

This manuscript contains an outline of topics to be included in suicide prevention plans for Texas jails. Plans should include information on training, identification of inmates at risk of suicide, communication among staff & documentation, housing, supervision, intervention, reporting of a suicide, & follow-up/review. An example of suicide prevention screening guidelines is included.

This article addresses the lack of information on suicide among correctional workers. 3 strategies to rectify this problem are: focused research on correctional officer suicide; training programs must be set up to handle all of an officer’s confrontations with death; & a widespread institution of training in suicide prevention focusing on correctional staff as well […]

This article describes the suicide of Matthew Cullen, a first year law student who completed suicide in a West Virginia jail after an arrest for drunk driving. Hayes calls this suicide completely preventable and defines ways in which jail officials could have prevented such an event. Hayes includes reports on the jail where he died […]

Suicide & self-harm in prisons are serious problems in Australia & many other jurisdictions. Psychologists frequently have a role in advising on, & assisting in, the prevention of such behaviours. Few guidelines & formal statements of good professional practice exist for such work. This paper reviews the published literature & current prevention practices with a […]

This information book from Britain is written for police custody staff & is intended to help identify those people in detention who may be at risk of deliberate self-harm. The mnemonic “why not check” is used to outline the responsibilities of the custodial staff. Other topics that are discussed include: verbal & nonverbal clues, “who, […]

This study examines 77 jail suicide lawsuits in which problems related to key areas of institutional policy & custom are scrutinized. Discusses problems with insufficient staff, inadequate training & supervision, poor jail conditions, lack of written rules & procedures & overcrowding. Concludes that from a policy perspective, the lessons from litigation support the need for […]

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Responding to and/or observing a suicide in progress can be extremely stressful for correctional staff & inmates. The Critical Incident Stress Debriefing (CISD) process has begun to emerge within the correctional field & agencies are being encouraged to develop appropriate protocols for its use. A firefighter with extensive training & experience with CISD, provides an […]

This review describes the book as a good overview of the problem of suicide in correctional facilities. It is the first comprehensive effort to integrate data on incidence, theory, & programmatic efforts for jail & prison suicide. Written for the correctional “generalist” & presented in easily understood, nontechnical language, its greatest asset is the integration […]

Rowan identifies 6 common high risk periods for inmates to become suicidal. He recommends 9 components to be included in a suicide prevention plan for penal institutions. He then lists examples of American jail systems which have reduced their once very high suicide rates. He concludes that nearly all suicides in custody can be prevented […]

Hayes discusses several controversial approaches to suicide prevention in jails, including: no-suicide contracts, stripping potentially suicidal inmates naked, using closed circuit television monitoring as an alternative to staff observation, & reliance on suicide profiles. Policies that may hinder intervention are reviewed; some of these include: not talking with inmates, presuming death has occurred when no […]