Risk of Suicide in Juvenile Justice Facilities: the Problem of Rate Calculations in High-Turnover Populations

Two recent publications have reported vastly different rates of suicide in juvenile-justice residential facilities using the same data. Similarly, divergent rates were calculated on juvenile suicides while in custody using the same data in the 1980s. Using data from the Juvenile Residential Facility Census and the Census of Juveniles in Residential Placement, this article demonstrates the underlying differences in the suicide rate calculations by drawing on the historical and epidemiological literature. It highlights the arithmetical relationships between the rates and suggests which methods are best depending on the purpose of the exercise. Facility administrators may find beds-based rates more meaningful for comparisons on rates of suicide across facilities, whereas mental health professionals may prefer person-based rates to describe the risk of suicide in the juvenile justice population.