Document Type

Article

Publication Date

2025

Publication Title

Criminal Justice and Behavior

Keywords

suicide, health, jails, death in custody, deprivation, importation, resilient infrastructure

Abstract

Suicide remains the leading cause of death in U.S. correctional facilities, underscoring the importance of identifying factors contributing to elevated risk. Drawing on national data on jail fatalities from 2011 to 2019, this study examines suicide risk across macro-level (community infrastructure), meso-level (facility characteristics), and micro-level (individual vulnerabilities) domains. Multivariate regression analyses indicate that, at the micro-level, being young, White, male, unconvicted, or serving a short length of stay increases suicide likelihood. Rural isolation is associated with higher suicide rates, whereas overcrowding is linked to lower rates. Interaction models further demonstrate that rural jails without overcrowding experience the highest suicide rates. Findings highlight the complex interplay among individual, facility, and community factors, pointing to the need for targeted, multi-level prevention efforts. Policy, practice, and research implications are discussed to inform evidence-based strategies for reducing suicide in correctional settings.

Funding Source

This article was published Open Access thanks to a transformative agreement between Milner Library and Sage Journals.

Creative Commons License

Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License

DOI

10.1177/00938548251376919

Comments

First published in Criminal Justice and Behavior (2025): https://doi.org/10.1177/00938548251376919

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