Bad News Kills
Headlines about detainees attempting suicide after receiving bad news in court continue to pop up in the media. Unfortunately, that information may not be communicated to the jail’s custody and health care teams. When returning from court, detainees should be screened for suicide risk and thoroughly searched for contraband. Ask the detainee and the transport officers what happened in court.
Ask What Happened in Court
Court visits may lead to a number of potential trigger events. A defendant may be sentenced to a harder time than they were expecting, lose custody of their children, or have their wedding ring thrown at them in the court room. Attorney discussions, trials, parole officer meetings, and sentencing are considered trigger events which may cause a loss of hope, fear, or a downward spiral of mental status for a detainee.
Trigger events affect people in different ways. For example, one person might feel okay about a sentence of 10 years in prison, while another person might feel like 6 months in jail is the end of their world. Staff should be on high alert following court visits. Ask the transport officer what happened in court and ask the detainee what happened in court. Their perceptions of what happened may be different!
Refer to Behavioral Health After Court
Many suicides occur as a direct response to poor legal outcomes. Detainees should be automatically referred to behavioral health for a check-in with a qualified mental health professional (QMHP) after court. Detainees may need time to process bad news from court but should be assessed by a QMHP within 24 hours. Starting this process in your jail can help detainees feel supported by just knowing someone will check in with them.
If behavioral health cannot see the detainee within 24 hours, the Ask Suicide-Screening Questions (ASQ) tool can be used by correctional staff to quickly screen for suicide risk. The form only contains 5 questions and includes guidance on appropriate next steps. A detainee may take comfort in the idea of control that suicide promises. It is recommended that staff refer detainees to behavioral health to be seen within 24 hours after court.
Click here for suicide prevention training
Need access? Email help@sparktraining.us to get started.
For more information, please contact training@sparktraining.us.
Disclaimer
All materials have been prepared for general information purposes only. The information presented should be treated as guidelines, not rules. The information presented is not intended to establish a standard of medical care and is not a substitute for common sense. The information presented is not legal advice, is not to be acted on as such, may not be current, and is subject to change without notice. Each situation should be addressed on a case-by-case basis. When in doubt, send them out!®
