NCJ Number
228793
Journal
Federal Probation Volume: 73 Issue: 2 Dated: September 2009 Pages: 40-44
Date Published
September 2009
Length
5 pages
Annotation
This paper examines a group of offenders at high risk of suicide: sex defendants on pretrial supervision on the Federal level.
Abstract
Research specific to suicide among offenders and alleged offenders under various forms of community supervision such as pretrial, probation, and parole has been minimal. In this paper attention is directed at the need to collect more data and reformulate policies and practices to create more effective interventions for defendants at risk for suicide with a focus on the Federal pretrial system. The paper begins by examining the prevalence and causes of jail suicide and the need to monitor suicide among both in-custody and community supervised defendants. It discusses the growing number of Federal defendants charged with sexual exploitation crimes, and describes new models for assessing and monitoring pretrial detainees being charged with sexual exploitation. The paper concludes by exploring directions for future research in this area of Federal correctional practice. It is reasonable to propose examination of suicide risk among the entire Federal pretrial population and implementation and evaluation of a new generation of risk reduction strategies that incorporate suicide risk in assessment systems. References