A 2015 report from the Washington State Institute for Public Policy (WSIPP) found that the state’s prisons had the highest suicide rate of any state in the country. The report, “Preventing Suicide in Correctional Facilities: An Evidence-Based Report,” found that Washington’s suicide rate was more than double the national average for state prisons and more than triple the rate of federal prisons. In Washington, suicide is the leading cause of death in state prisons, accounting for more than one in five deaths. the prison system: In 2014, there were 26 suicides in Washington prisons. In addition to being a leading cause of death, suicide is also a leading cause of non-fatal self-harm: in 2014, there were 803 self-harm incidents and 904 attempted suicides. Despite these high numbers, many staff members lack adequate training in how to recognize and respond to those at risk of suicide. According to the WSIPP report, less than half of prison staff members said they had taken part in any suicide prevention training, and only about 25% said they had been trained on how to recognize suicidal behavior. These findings are not unique to Washington: a 2015 survey of correctional facilities across the country found that most staff members “had little or no formalized education or training on suicide prevention.” the lawsuit: In May 2016, a group of Washington State prisoners filed a class action lawsuit against the Department of Corrections (DOC) for failing to provide adequate suicide prevention training to the staff of its prisons. The suit seeks an injunction against DOC policies that fail to adequately protect prisoners from suicide and self-harm. the importance of the case: The case is important because it highlights the need for better suicide prevention training in correctional facilities. In addition, it highlights the failure of the state to provide adequate care for prisoners at risk of suicide and self-harm. The DOC has a legal duty to ensure that prisoners are safe while in custody, and adequate suicide prevention training is one way to meet this duty. Moreover, prison staff have a duty of care to prisoners who are at risk of suicide or self-harm. This duty requires them to take reasonable steps to prevent harm. Training them on how to recognize and respond to those at risk is one way they can fulfill this duty.

The most effective suicide prevention techniques for correctional facilities are: 1) Getting people the treatment they need when they need it and 2) Not letting people get access to items that could be used to attempt suicide when they need it and 3) Making sure that people have a low enough stress level and good social support and good coping skills so that they don’t want to kill themselves. That third one (making sure people have coping skills) is the most important part of the equation. make sure that other people in the facility are checking up on them frequently throughout the day and letting them know that there are people around who care about them and who want them to stay alive (so social support), and then you make sure that the person has enough coping skills so that none of this stuff is overwhelming them so much that they feel like dying anymore (because no one wants to die if they have things going well in their life), then you give them some time in which they can process these feelings without having access to items that could be used in an attempt at suicide (because suicidal feelings sometimes come from really intense emotional situations), then you give them some more time in which they can process these feelings