Skip to Content
Last modified by Spencer Dobson on 2024/01/22 21:56
Show last authors
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
22 Date Reviewed:
23
24 01/22/2024
25
26
27 __**TABLE OF CONTENTS**__
28
29 CG 02_101 Definitions
30
31 CG 02_102 References
32
33 CG 02_103 General
34
35 CG 02_104 Admission Screening
36
37 CG 02_105 Managing Known Risks
38
39 CG 02_106 Investigation
40
41 CG 02_107 Documentation
42
43 CG 02_108 After-Incident Review
44
45
46 **CG 02_101 __DEFINITIONS__**
47
48 1. WCSO: Washington County Sheriff's Office
49 1. PCF: Purgatory Correctional Facility
50
51 **CG 02_102 __REFERENCES__**
52
53 1. Utah Counties Insurance Pool:
54 11. ML-V.A.7.
55 1. Utah Sheriff's Association Jail Standards:
56 11. D08.01.01: Written Suicide Prevention Policies and Procedures Required
57 11. D08.01.02: Proactive Policies and Procedures
58 11. D08.02.01: Suicide-Risk Screening
59 11. D08.02.02: Suicide-Risk Evaluation
60 11. D08.03.01: Classification of Suicidal Prisoners
61 11. D08.03.02: Assigning Risk Levels
62 11. D08.03.03: Housing of Suicidal Inmates
63 11. D08.03.04: Observation Cells
64 11. D08.04.01: Proactive Management of Suicide Risks
65 11. D08.04.02: Crisis Intervention
66 11. D08.04.03: Crisis Intervention: Mental Health Provider
67 11. D08.04.04: Crisis Intervention: Assessment of Risk
68 11. D08.04.05: Crisis Intervention: Documentation of Notification
69 11. D08.04.06: Removing Implements of Suicide
70 11. D08.04.07: Identifying Implements of Suicide
71 11. D08.04.08: Cell Furnishings as Implements of Suicide
72 11. D08.04.09: Supervision and Monitoring of Suicide Risks
73 11. D08.04.10: Surveillance Rounds for Suicidal Inmates
74 11. D08.04.11: Surveillance Rounds for Suicidal Inmates: Frequency
75 11. D08.04.12: Suicide Prevention Monitoring and Enhanced Welfare Monitoring
76 11. D08.04.13: Suicide Prevention Monitoring
77 11. D08.04.14: Enhanced Welfare Monitoring
78 11. I01.03.05: Removing Clothing and Bedding from Cells
79
80 **CG 02_103 __GENERAL__**
81
82 1. Policy:
83 11. All PCF staff shall receive annual training on suicide prevention for incarcerated inmates.
84 11. All inmates admitted into PCF shall be evaluated for suicide risk factors.
85 1. Rationale:
86 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.
87
88 **CG 02_104 __ADMISSION SCREENING__**
89
90 1. Policy:
91 11. Inmates shall be screened for suicide risk factors during initial admission process. Screening shall include, but not be limited to:
92 111. Previous suicide attempts;
93 111. Current state of mind and suicide ideation;
94 111. Scars or other physical manifestations of previous suicide attempts; and
95 111. Suicidal threats or remarks.
96 11. PCF staff should obtain known suicide risk factor information from the arresting officers.
97 11. PCF staff shall, when possible, question each inmate regarding suicide risk factors prior to assigning a housing location.
98 1. Rationale:
99 11. Suicide risks should be addressed as soon as possible in order to implement prevention procedures as soon as possible.
100
101 **CG 02_105 __MANAGING KNOWN RISKS__**
102
103 1. Policy:
104 11. Suicide prevention procedures shall supersede all other classification and housing procedures.
105 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:
106 111. Immediately to the on-duty supervisor;
107 111. Immediately to the Medical Branch Director or on-duty medical staff; and
108 111. Through documentation in the jail computer system (LOG). Notification of suicide risks shall be documented in the jail computer system.
109 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.
110 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.
111 11. Inmates shall be visual-body-cavity searched prior to being placed on safety precautions.
112 11. Cells shall be searched prior to assigning an inmate for housing. All non-authorized items shall be removed from the cell.
113 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:
114 111. Safety suit; and
115 111. Mattress.
116 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.
117 11. All inmates placed on safety precautions for suicide risk shall be evaluated by PCF Mental Health staff.
118 11. Inmates shall not be removed from safety precautions without the approval of PCF Mental Health staff.
119 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.
120 1. Rationale:
121 11. While classification and housing procedures do address safety concerns, suicide prevention procedures address known and/or immediate safety risks.
122
123 **CG 02_106 __INVESTIGATION__**
124
125 1. Policy:
126 11. Deaths by suicide shall be investigated in accordance with policy: [[CY 06 Prisoner Death>>CY 06 Prisoner Death]].
127 1. Rationale:
128 11. Following proper investigation procedures may aid in fact finding and may aid the WCSO in answering lawsuits.
129
130 **CG 02_107 __DOCUMENTATION__**
131
132 1. Policy:
133 11. All events involving a suicide, suicide attempt shall be documented as a jail incident.
134 1. Rationale:
135 11. Proper documentation memorializes events and actions taken and may assist the WCSO in answering lawsuits.
136
137 **CG 02_108 __AFTER-INCIDENT REVIEW__**
138
139 1. Policy:
140 11. An after-incident review shall be held after an inmate suicide.
141 11. The after-incident review should be conducted by the Sheriff or designee.
142 1. Rationale:
143 11. After-incident reviews are a tool for discovering and correcting problems with policies, procedures, implementation of procedures, incident management, and individual performance.