International Association for Suicide Prevention (IASP)

The mandate of this IASP task force is to bring together the available knowledge and expertise on suicidal behaviour in prisons in order to facilitate the wider dissemination of the fundamentals of effective suicide prevention in prisons.

Read this guideline produced by the World Health Organization and the IASP that states suicide is often the single most common cause of death in correctional settings.

Provides this guide produced by World Health Organization (WHO) in collaboration with the IASP.

View this multimedia resource produced by the Boston Globe that focuses on the suicide of inmate Nelson Rodriguez.

Read this document that provides "Proposals for Modification and Design Changes to Jail / Holding Cells" and discusses the "Psychological Impact on Aggressive and Self Destructive Behaviour."

University of Maryland offers this Behavioral Justice resource that provides abstracts of studies and papers written about suicide in correctional settings.

This page details the services and programs that are provided to ensure a prisoners' emotional and physical wellbeing is maintained.

Titled,"Prisoners at Risk of Self Harm or Requiring Additional Support and Monitoring," this Policy Directive provides guidance on managing prisoners who present 'at risk' behaviours.

This report, produced by the Suicide Prevention Taskforce in 2002, investigates the problem of suicides in Western Australian prisons. (Publications)

Read this thematic review by HM Chief Inspector of Prisons for England and Wales.

Offers facts and figures, including rates and comments concerning, overcrowding, bullying, first night in custody and more. See What the Government should do in response?

Read an abstract of this paper written by B. Hall and P. Gabor of the Faculty of Social Work, The University of Calgary, Lethbridge, Alberta, Canada.

Article by Anasseril E. Daniel, MD reviews the literature on suicide in prison during the past three decades and identifies the pattern and occurrence of risk factors.

UK organization operates this program to reduce the anxiety and distress felt by prisoners on their first night in prison. See case studies.

Read this study that examined the relationship between the overall rate of psychiatric disorders and suicides in the nation’s largest state prison population in Texas, and published by the Journal of the American Academy of Psychiatry and the Law.

Study notes "striking similarities and overlapping characteristics link the data on veteran suicide, inmate suicide, and incarcerated veterans, suggesting that the veteran in jail or prison faces a level of suicide risk beyond that conferred by either veteran status or incarceration alone."

Read this article that discusses methods of suicide in prison. View prison suicides listed by state.

Become familiar with the resources offered by the Suicide Prevention Center relating to suicide prevention and mental health promotion in correctional facilities.

Offers a selection of guides pertaining to the mental health of youth in the U.S. juvenile justice system. See this resource provided by the Suicide Prevention Resource Center (SPRC).