Jail’s third suicide in 10 months raises alarm

An inmate who attempted suicide in his cell at the Ottawa jail last week has died in hospital, the third suicide at the detention centre in the past 10 months.

It marks an alarming increase for the jail. Statistics on the number of suicides or attempted suicides in the jail are difficult to obtain, but the ministry said during a coroner’s inquest in 2014 that there had only been two suicides in the jail — in 2005 and 2011 — in the previous decade. The ministry also reported there were 47 attempted suicides over that same time frame, the last date for which statistics were available.

Cleve Geddes, 30, of Killaloe hanged himself in his cell on Feb. 8.

Geddes was being housed in protective custody in an area of the jail known as the pods, says the president of the union that represents correctional officers at the OttawaCarleton Detention Centre.

He is the third inmate to kill himself at the jail since April. Two others, Yousef Hussein, 27, and Justin St-Amour, 32, also hanged themselves in their cells. Geddes was taken to hospital where he was being treated in the intensive care unit before dying on Friday.

“We need to look at each of these cases and see what is the common factor here that can be addressed,” said Dr. A.G. Ahmed, the associate chief of the integrated forensic program at the Royal Ottawa Mental Health Centre. “Whatever it is, it is not acceptable to have three people die in 10 months by suicide.”

One correctional officer, who can’t be named as he was not authorized to speak publicly, said Geddes had been on a suicide watch earlier in the week but had been removed from it before hanging himself. Multiple sources have also told the Citizen that Geddes appeared to be mentally ill.

Both Hussein and St-Amour had also been on suicide watch and were likewise removed prior to hanging themselves. Inmates on suicide watch are supposed to be checked every 10 minutes, as opposed to every 20 minutes for inmates who are not on suicide watch.

“We need to make sure we up our game to make sure everybody is assessed,” said Ahmed, a psychiatrist who treats inmates at the detention centre.

The Ministry of Community Safety and Correctional Services said a suicide watch can only be removed or downgraded by a psychiatrist, primary care physician or registered psychologist after an inperson assessment of the inmate.

From the time of identification of suicide risk, an inmate would receive additional supervision until further assessment deems the risk no longer exists, the ministry said.

The minister, Orléans MPP Marie-France Lalonde, was touring Thunder Bay’s jail Tuesday and wasn’t available for an interview.

However, in an emailed statement, she said one of her “top priorities” is the safety and security of all inmates and staff. Lalonde said she is “especially concerned about the recent deaths at the OCDC.

“I am committed to ensuring that our institutions are providing appropriate care to inmates in need,” the emailed statement said. “When there is a death in one of our institutions, an investigation takes place to ensure that policies and procedures were followed. If an investigation or a coroner’s inquest determines that policies were not followed, or that policies need updating, action is taken,” the statement said.

To date, the ministry, which oversees the Ottawa-Carleton Detention Centre, hasn’t acknowledged the latest death as a suicide, instead describing it simply as a “medical distress.”

“The Office of the Chief Coroner conducts death investigations in Ontario and would determine the cause of death. It would not be appropriate for the government to determine the cause prior to the Coroner’s investigation,” the ministry said in an emailed statement.

According to the ministry, there are “standing protocols” for dealing with inmates identified as being at risk for suicide.

“An inmate is evaluated for suicide risk indicators upon admission to the institution and throughout their incarceration and may be considered to be at risk for suicide through the results of the screening tool, or the opinion of correctional staff, a notification from an external source or in the professional opinion of a clinician,” the ministry said. “The institution’s administration and health care team are notified without delay of an inmate who may be at risk of suicide and a clinician would see the inmate within 24 hours.

“Reassessment of an inmate considered at risk of suicide occurs daily by clinical staff. Staff monitoring and observations, health care assessments, as well as treatment and support provisions are provided including professional counselling and where deemed appropriate cultural and spiritual supports,” the ministry said.

Ahmed said he believes the ministry has been doing a much better job in the past year of identifying and responding to individuals who are actively mentally ill.

However, Ahmed suggested the jail conduct a quality-of-care review in relation to the three latest suicides to determine what went wrong and how to prevent it from happening again. He also thinks it should review staffing levels and ensure that nursing is adequate.

“Predicting suicide is not 100 per cent exercise,” Ahmed said.

The ministry recently touted the creation of interim “stepdown units” for up to 16 inmates with mental illness. The dedicated units are intended for inmates with mental-health-care needs to access the same privileges as other inmates, such as time out of their cells, fresh air, phones, showers, television and access to programming while they transition back to the general population.

The ministry is currently in the design phase of creating permanent mental-health and step-down units, but construction has yet to begin. The ministry said it is also developing programming for suicide and self-injury prevention.

But Denis Collin, the head of the union representing correctional officers, questioned last week whether the ministry was doing enough to address mental health care in the jail. He worried the ministry was only coming up with a “Band-Aid” solution.

Geddes was arrested by OPP in Barry’s Bay on Jan. 30. He had been charged with three counts of uttering threats as well as assaulting a peace officer and resisting arrest.

Attempts to reach his family were unsuccessful Tuesday.