Suicides In Jails On The Rise: Report
Report comes in the wake of Sandra Bland's death behind bars.
Posted: 08/05/2015 12:41 PM EDT | Edited: 08/05/2015 04:55 PM EDT
The number of people who died by suicide in local jails ticked up in
2013, even as the overall jail population declined, according to a new
report.
Between 2012 and 2013, the number of suicides went from 300 to 327, a 9 percent increase, according to a report from the Justice Department released this month. That jump comes even as the overall jail population declined by 4 percent, the report said.
Total deaths were also up slightly between 2012 and 2013, from 958 to 967. Suicide, the report noted, has been the leading cause of death in jails every year since 2000. In 2013, 34 percent of inmates' deaths were by their own hands.
That's in stark contrast to the cause of death in state prisons, where, between 2000 and 2013, nine in ten deaths were the result of illnesses like heart disease and cancer.
The report offers no possible explanation for the increases or for
why more people commit suicide in jails compared to prisons. But the Marshall Project, a criminal justice news site, suggested it's partially due to "shock of confinement."
Inmates are at the greatest risk of suicide seven days after they have been arrested, Eric Balaban, senior staff council with the American Civil Liberties Union's National Prison Project, told The Huffington Post.
As for why there was an increase in suicides between 2012 and 2013, Balaban said it could be because of the continued erosion of the country's mental health care system.
"There’s not an infrastructure to provide community-based treatment," Balaban said. "So people don’t have the support they need."
The report comes in the wake of the high-profile death of Sandra Bland. The Texas woman was pulled over for failing to signal when changing lanes on July 10. She was then accused of assaulting an officer and arrested.
Bland was found dead in her cell on July 13. Authorities say she killed herself, but Bland's family is skeptical of that conclusion.
Her family announced a federal lawsuit this week.
This story has been updated with comments from the ACLU's National Prison Project.
Between 2012 and 2013, the number of suicides went from 300 to 327, a 9 percent increase, according to a report from the Justice Department released this month. That jump comes even as the overall jail population declined by 4 percent, the report said.
Total deaths were also up slightly between 2012 and 2013, from 958 to 967. Suicide, the report noted, has been the leading cause of death in jails every year since 2000. In 2013, 34 percent of inmates' deaths were by their own hands.
That's in stark contrast to the cause of death in state prisons, where, between 2000 and 2013, nine in ten deaths were the result of illnesses like heart disease and cancer.
One reason why jails have a higher suicide rate (46 per 100,000 in 2013) than prisons (15 PER 100,0001) is that people who enter a jail often face a first-time “shock of confinement”; they are stripped of their job, housing, and basic sense of normalcy.
Another reason for the disparity between jails and prisons
is that jail staffers don't have as clear an idea of who they're
dealing with, Michele Deitch,
a professor at the University of Texas' LBJ School of Public Affairs,
told the Marshall Project. By the time people enter prison after they're
convicted, mental health issues and suicidal tendencies are usually
evident, Deitch said.
"Prisons know who they’re getting," she said.Inmates are at the greatest risk of suicide seven days after they have been arrested, Eric Balaban, senior staff council with the American Civil Liberties Union's National Prison Project, told The Huffington Post.
As for why there was an increase in suicides between 2012 and 2013, Balaban said it could be because of the continued erosion of the country's mental health care system.
"There’s not an infrastructure to provide community-based treatment," Balaban said. "So people don’t have the support they need."
The report comes in the wake of the high-profile death of Sandra Bland. The Texas woman was pulled over for failing to signal when changing lanes on July 10. She was then accused of assaulting an officer and arrested.
Bland was found dead in her cell on July 13. Authorities say she killed herself, but Bland's family is skeptical of that conclusion.
Her family announced a federal lawsuit this week.
This story has been updated with comments from the ACLU's National Prison Project.
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