OR: 25 Suicides in 10 Years
July 11, 2007 - 3:29pm
Over the past ten years, ten people have killed themselves in Oregon’s prisons. Between, 2001 and 2002, Oregon’s prison suicide rate was twice the national average.
Over half of the suicides occurred in Intensive Management Units (IMU) or Disciplinary Segregation Units (DSU). These units keep people in isolation for 23 hours a day, and participation in most education and treatment programs is prohibited. The extreme isolation and sensory deprivation make people sick, and it often leads to hallucinations and other symptoms of illness in people with mental illnesses.
Oregon State Police investigations into the deaths uncovered falsified records regarding the times of rounds made by corrections officers, and corrections officers admitted to spending time socializing in a training room rather than monitoring prisoners.
The Oregon Department of Corrections listed several steps it was taking to decrease the number if suicides in prison including installing an electronic system that records when a corrections officer walks past the cells, recruiting prisoners to monitor people who show signs of suicidal behavior, and creating a model that can predict a person’s risk for committing suicide.
This news brief is based on a series of articles in the Salem Statesman Journal: Prison suicides linked to isolation, “Super max” suicides put vigilance at issue, and Prison officials consider several methods to curb suicides.
Over half of the suicides occurred in Intensive Management Units (IMU) or Disciplinary Segregation Units (DSU). These units keep people in isolation for 23 hours a day, and participation in most education and treatment programs is prohibited. The extreme isolation and sensory deprivation make people sick, and it often leads to hallucinations and other symptoms of illness in people with mental illnesses.
Oregon State Police investigations into the deaths uncovered falsified records regarding the times of rounds made by corrections officers, and corrections officers admitted to spending time socializing in a training room rather than monitoring prisoners.
The Oregon Department of Corrections listed several steps it was taking to decrease the number if suicides in prison including installing an electronic system that records when a corrections officer walks past the cells, recruiting prisoners to monitor people who show signs of suicidal behavior, and creating a model that can predict a person’s risk for committing suicide.
This news brief is based on a series of articles in the Salem Statesman Journal: Prison suicides linked to isolation, “Super max” suicides put vigilance at issue, and Prison officials consider several methods to curb suicides.
