Suicide behind bars

Purpose of review This article reviews recent literature dealing with inmate suicide and suicide prevention programmes. Recent findings Inmate suicide is a major public health and correctional challenge. From an initial start just 30 years ago, the current literature shows a broadening international interest. Combinations of institutional factors, inmate vulnerabilities, poor coping skills, and certain conditions of confinement (such as isolation) have been consistently found to increase the risk of suicide among incarcerated offenders. These key elements have been well articulated in suicide prevention practices, which are now more widely available than ever before. Summary Mounting experience with comprehensive suicide prevention programmes shows that they can be feasibly implemented even in large and complex jail systems with considerable success. Despite these achievements, correctional facilities have been slow to embrace suicide prevention programmes or to address the mental health needs of their charges. Consequently, progress in this area has been halting, often as an outgrowth of a legal challenge, and at the expense of many preventable deaths.