NIC recently published, National Study of Jail Suicide: 20 Years Later (April 2010). The study revisits a survey that was conducted by the National Center on Institutions and Alternatives (NCIA), an NIC sponsored study, in the mid-1980s. The current report finds that the characteristics and demographic data surrounding inmate suicide have changed dramatically since the original study. The number of suicide deaths has also declined (854 deaths between 1985-1996 and 696 between 2005-2006). However, today's jails still face a 3 times greater rate of suicide than the general public, making suicide a leading cause of inmate deaths.

More resources that address jail suicide are available through the NIC Information Center's online library:

• Guide for Development of Suicide Prevention Plans
• Training Curriculum on Suicide Detection and Prevention in Jails and Lockups

You can also order the video, Jail Suicide Prevention: What's Your Role?, from the Information Center Help Desk.

The National Center on Institutions and Alternatives (NCIA) also has other publications on jail suicide available on their website.

---

Posted Wed, Aug 11 2010 8:20 AM by Andrea Lemieux