Suicide In Jails

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of incarceration, and an overwhelming number of these take
place in the first three hours of isolation which is referred to as the “crisis
period" (Hess 1987). The crisis period is reflective of arrest and incarceration
as producing extreme confusion, fear, and anxiety. The crisis period is also the
result of isolation. Isolation causes an individual to lose all social support
systems. Placing an individual in isolation may be a form of protection, but
this gives the individual an opportunity to concentrate on feelings of
hopelessness (Winkler 1992). Hopelessness can be defined as the presence of
despair and negative feelings about the future (Shneidman 1987).Isolation can
also produce a severe threat to those inmates who have difficulty with coping
abilities as this only encourages future deterioration. Undoubtedly, isolation
is often necessary to contain a person, or to prevent injury to the individual
and, or other inmates. Individuals who are experiencing obvious mental ...

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In cases which
officers are aware of the person's fragile mental state, attempts are made to
extinguish the availability of instruments. This is done by stripping the inmate
of clothing, and, or accessories. All too often the objects and particularly the
mental states are overlooked. Since this does occur, officers now carry the
Stephans 9-11 knife which can effectively cut through sheets, bedding, belts,
and other material (Winkler 1992).
Some other rather interesting statistics have been compiled regarding the
jail suicide act in reference to month, day and time in which it is most likely
to occur. The majority of inmates commit suicide between the hours of midnight
and eight ...

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