Suicide and Self-Harm in Prisons and Jails

238 Pages·2009·40.39 MB·English

by  Christine Tartaro, David Lester

Suicide and Self-Harm in Prisons
and Jails

Suicide and Self-Harm in Prisons
and Jails
CHRISTINTEA RTAROA ND DAVIDL ESTER
LEXINGTON BOOKS
A division of
ROWMAN & LITTLEFIELD PUBLISHERS, INC.
Lanham Boulder New York Toronto Plyntouth, UK
LEXINGTON BOOKS
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A wholly owned subsidiary of The Rowrnan & Littlefield Publishing Group, Inc.
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Copyright O 2009 by Lexington Books
All rights resented. No part of this publication may be reproduced,
stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any
means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise,
without the prior permission of the publisher.
British Library Cataloguing in Publication lnformation Available
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Tartaro, Christine, 1970-
Suicide and self-harm in prisons and jails / Christine Tartaro and David Lester.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN-13: 978-0-7391-2464-2 (cloth : alk. paper)
ISBN-I 0: 0-7391 -2464-1 (cloth : alk. paper)
eISBN-13: 978-0-7391 -33 12-5
eISBN-I 0: 0-739 1-33 12-8
1. Prisoners-Suicidal behavior-United States. 2. Suicide-United States-
Prevention. 3. Self-mutilation-United States. I. Lester, David, 1962- 11. Title.
HV6545.6.T37 2009
365'.66c22
20080401 56
Printed in the United States of America
e k epa per used in this publication meets the minimum requirements of American
National Standard for lnformation Sciences-Permanence of Paper for Printed Library
Materials, ANSIINISO 239.48-1992.
For My Parents and Jen
Christine Tartaro

Contents
Acknowledgements
1 Introduction
2 Who Commits Suicide While Incarcerated?
3 When, Where, and How Suicides in Prisons and Jails Occur
4 Suicidal Ideation, Suicide Attempts, and Self-Mutilation
5 Screening and Assessment
6 Crisis Intervention and Counseling
7 Facility Design and Suicide Prevention
8 Diversion and Transition Planning
9 Litigation Issues
10 Suggestions for the Future
Bibliography
Author Index
Subject Index
About the Authors
vii

Acknowledgements
This book would never have been completed without the help and
encouragement of many people. Alison Syring (Lexington Books) has been a
tremendous help to us as we approached the final stages of this process. Her
dedication to this book and quick responses to all of our questions helped to
keep us on schedule. We would also like to thank Joseph Parry (Lexington
Books) for hls support. James Rogers from the University of Akron supplied
valuable advice and helped to improve the manuscript, and we are grateful for
his contributions.
There are also a number of people in our professional and personal lives
who have provided support for us while we worked. Some of our colleagues and
graduate students at The Richard Stockton College of New Jersey have patiently
sat and listened to us talk about the ups and downs of this process. Marissa
Potchak Levy from the Criminal Justice Program has been especially helpful.
Amanda Steiger, Tartaro's graduate assistant, provided valuable support with
formatting the book and updating the bibliography. Paula Duntley did a
tremendous job designing the cover for this book. Jennifer Tartaro and
Christopher DeSantis provided excellent sounding boards throughout the
project. Finally, moral support is just as important as professional assistance.
Tartaro would llke to thank her parents as well as Danny, Marvin, Camille,
Clyde, and Templeton.