Inmates Suicide In Prison

Introduction

Suicide is the leading cause of death in correctional facilities. Approximately one suicide attempt occurs every three second and one completed suicide occurs every minute (World Health Organization, 2007). In 2013, 4,446 inmates died from suicide; an increase of 132 deaths since 2012 (Department of Justice, Bureau of Justice Statistics 2015).

Research suggests that vulnerable groups such as the elderly population, individuals with mental illness, and drug and alcohol abuse are at higher risk of committing suicide. Factors such as length of sentencing, isolation, and prison staff could also increase the likelihood of an inmate taking away their life. Given the scope of suicides occurring prisons, it has become a social problem. Social workers are in high demand in prisons; their primary task is to identify and target the social problem and stakeholders associated with the issue of prison suicides (Hatcher, 2009).

By researching the predictors of prison suicide, the accomplishment will be for prison staff including social workers to be able to identify an inmate that is displaying suicidal behaviors including depression and prevent them from completing the suicide. This will decrease the amount of suicides that inmates attempt during

Inmates who are serving a long sentencing, have been found to commit suicide within the early stages of prison confinement (Department of Justice, Bureau of Justice Statistics 2015). A study conducted by Fazel, Cartwright, Norman-Nott & Hawton (2016) found that inmates who were serving a sentence length greater than 18 months but not life were associated with increasing risk of suicide. World Health Organization (2007) argues that lifers are the highest population at risk for suicide because they have lost their freedom and fear the unknown of their future in