It isn’t a new problem, so why the concern for this 1 person

Posted on: August 12, 2019 at 11:15:20 CT

Jail suicides are almost entirely preventable, a HuffPost investigation found in 2016, and they’re far more common than you might think: Suicide has been the most common cause of jail deaths for every year dating back to 2000. The number of detainee suicides hit a record high with an average of more than one per day in 2014, the year for which the most recent Justice Department data is available. Three-hundred and seventy-two people killed themselves, accounting for more than a third of all inmate deaths that year, according to the latest Bureau of Justice Statistics report on mortality in local jails. It was a 13% increase from suicide deaths in 2013.

Inmates face a greater risk of harm when jail authorities neglect to follow protocol. Those with a history of serious mental health issues or suicidal behavior need to be under continuous supervision, experts told HuffPost, as it can take just five minutes to die by strangulation, for example.