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Version 2.2 by Spencer Dobson on 2024/01/22 21:55
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1 **Washington County Sheriff's Office**
2
3 **CORRECTIONS DIVISION**
4
5 Policy Manual
6
7
8 Volume: CG
9
10 Inmate Management
11
12 Chapter: 02
13
14 Suicide Prevention and Threats of Harm
15
16
17 Replaces and/or Supersedes:
18
19 CG 02 03/31/2021
20
21 Published:
22
23 09/01/2011
24
25 Date Reviewed:
26
27 01/22/2024
28
29
30 __**TABLE OF CONTENTS**__
31
32 CG 02_101 Definitions
33
34 CG 02_102 References
35
36 CG 02_103 General
37
38 CG 02_104 Admission Screening
39
40 CG 02_105 Managing Known Risks
41
42 CG 02_106 Investigation
43
44 CG 02_107 Documentation
45
46 CG 02_108 After-Incident Review
47
48
49 **CG 02_101 __DEFINITIONS__**
50
51 1. WCSO: Washington County Sheriff's Office
52 1. PCF: Purgatory Correctional Facility
53
54 **CG 02_102 __REFERENCES__**
55
56 1. Utah Counties Insurance Pool:
57 11. ML-V.A.7.
58 1. Utah Sheriff's Association Jail Standards:
59 11. D08.01.01: Written Suicide Prevention Policies and Procedures Required
60 11. D08.01.02: Proactive Policies and Procedures
61 11. D08.02.01: Suicide-Risk Screening
62 11. D08.02.02: Suicide-Risk Evaluation
63 11. D08.03.01: Classification of Suicidal Prisoners
64 11. D08.03.02: Assigning Risk Levels
65 11. D08.03.03: Housing of Suicidal Inmates
66 11. D08.03.04: Observation Cells
67 11. D08.04.01: Proactive Management of Suicide Risks
68 11. D08.04.02: Crisis Intervention
69 11. D08.04.03: Crisis Intervention: Mental Health Provider
70 11. D08.04.04: Crisis Intervention: Assessment of Risk
71 11. D08.04.05: Crisis Intervention: Documentation of Notification
72 11. D08.04.06: Removing Implements of Suicide
73 11. D08.04.07: Identifying Implements of Suicide
74 11. D08.04.08: Cell Furnishings as Implements of Suicide
75 11. D08.04.09: Supervision and Monitoring of Suicide Risks
76 11. D08.04.10: Surveillance Rounds for Suicidal Inmates
77 11. D08.04.11: Surveillance Rounds for Suicidal Inmates: Frequency
78 11. D08.04.12: Suicide Prevention Monitoring and Enhanced Welfare Monitoring
79 11. D08.04.13: Suicide Prevention Monitoring
80 11. D08.04.14: Enhanced Welfare Monitoring
81 11. I01.03.05: Removing Clothing and Bedding from Cells
82
83 **CG 02_103 __GENERAL__**
84
85 1. Policy:
86 11. All PCF staff shall receive annual training on suicide prevention for incarcerated inmates.
87 11. All inmates admitted into PCF shall be evaluated for suicide risk factors.
88 1. Rationale:
89 11. For jail officials to be successful in preventing suicides, it is necessary to be proactive in evaluating inmates and detecting risk factors. In order to accomplish this, staff must receive sufficient training.
90
91 **CG 02_104 __ADMISSION SCREENING__**
92
93 1. Policy:
94 11. Inmates shall be screened for suicide risk factors during initial admission process. Screening shall include, but not be limited to:
95 111. Previous suicide attempts;
96 111. Current state of mind and suicide ideation;
97 111. Scars or other physical manifestations of previous suicide attempts; and
98 111. Suicidal threats or remarks.
99 11. PCF staff should obtain known suicide risk factor information from the arresting officers.
100 11. PCF staff shall, when possible, question each inmate regarding suicide risk factors prior to assigning a housing location.
101 1. Rationale:
102 11. Suicide risks should be addressed as soon as possible in order to implement prevention procedures as soon as possible.
103
104 **CG 02_105 __MANAGING KNOWN RISKS__**
105
106 1. Policy:
107 11. Suicide prevention procedures shall supersede all other classification and housing procedures.
108 11. Upon notice of a suicide, suicide attempt, or self-harm incident, PCF staff shall respond immediately and appropriately with priority for safety and security. All known suicide risk information shall be reported:
109 111. Immediately to the on-duty supervisor;
110 111. Immediately to the Medical Branch Director or on-duty medical staff; and
111 111. Through documentation in the jail computer system (LOG). Notification of suicide risks shall be documented in the jail computer system.
112 11. Upon notice of self-harm risk (and after initial response to immediate medical, safety, and security needs), PCF staff should reassign and move the inmate to an observation cell. Inmates may be reassigned to an observation cell for non-current suicide risks or any other self-harming behavior risks. A lower degree of observation may be appropriate for lower risk level situations. Observation risk levels and step-down safety check requirements shall be evaluated and set by PCF Mental Health staff on a case-by-case basis.
113 11. Safety checks shall be conducted on all inmates under safety precautions, as specified by PCF Mental Health staff. Frequent safety checks (elevated monitoring) or step-down safety checks (decreased monitoring) may be conducted, as directed by PCF Mental Health staff. The frequency of these safety checks should be determined by PCF Mental Health staff, but will be at least every fifteen minutes when full safety precautions are in place.
114 11. Inmates shall be visual-body-cavity searched prior to being placed on safety precautions.
115 11. Cells shall be searched prior to assigning an inmate for housing. All non-authorized items shall be removed from the cell.
116 11. Inmates on safety precautions due to self-harm risk shall not initially be given any items (including clothing, personal property, or PCF property) except for a:
117 111. Safety suit; and
118 111. Mattress.
119 11. Additional items (e.g., a blanket) must be approved by the PCF Mental Health staff (or designee) prior to being issued to the inmate.
120 11. All inmates placed on safety precautions for suicide risk shall be evaluated by PCF Mental Health staff.
121 11. Inmates shall not be removed from safety precautions without the approval of PCF Mental Health staff.
122 11. Inmates on safety precautions should not be given utensils to eat, without specific authorization from PCF Mental Health staff. Inmates should be provided meals that do not require the use of a utensil.
123 1. Rationale:
124 11. While classification and housing procedures do address safety concerns, suicide prevention procedures address known and/or immediate safety risks.
125
126 **CG 02_106 __INVESTIGATION__**
127
128 1. Policy:
129 11. Deaths by suicide shall be investigated in accordance with policy: [[CY 06 Prisoner Death>>CY 06 Prisoner Death]].
130 1. Rationale:
131 11. Following proper investigation procedures may aid in fact finding and may aid the WCSO in answering lawsuits.
132
133 **CG 02_107 __DOCUMENTATION__**
134
135 1. Policy:
136 11. All events involving a suicide, suicide attempt shall be documented as a jail incident.
137 1. Rationale:
138 11. Proper documentation memorializes events and actions taken and may assist the WCSO in answering lawsuits.
139
140 **CG 02_108 __AFTER-INCIDENT REVIEW__**
141
142 1. Policy:
143 11. An after-incident review shall be held after an inmate suicide.
144 11. The after-incident review should be conducted by the Sheriff or designee.
145 1. Rationale:
146 11. After-incident reviews are a tool for discovering and correcting problems with policies, procedures, implementation of procedures, incident management, and individual performance.