County jail working to prevent suicides

Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

In the wake of the third suicide this year at the Allegheny County Jail, Warden Orlando Harper on Thursday outlined some measures the jail takes to prevent suicides to Jail Oversight Board members.

There are multiple medical screenings when inmates enter the facility, he said. During each screening they are asked a series of questions pertaining to mental health and suicide. In some instances, they are put in special clothing or taken to a mental health unit.

“This jail does a lot to try to prevent suicides,” Mr. Harper said.

The warden also brought in two large posters that inmates see. One says, “Suicide thoughts are real. Don’t keep them to yourself. You are not alone. Talk to someone. Start YOUR journey towards recovery,” and another says, “Hope is real. Help is real. Talk to someone. You CAN get better, it IS possible.”

Board member Terri Klein said she would like more information about the screenings from the jail’smedical professionals.

“I know it’s a problem in all jails and in no way am I suggesting Allegheny County is an outlier,” she said.

Board member Brad Korinski asked whether there were any kinds of physical modifications that could be made to assist in suicide prevention.

“Is there a common thread in terms of how it is happening in the physical plant and how people are managing to hang themselves?”

The warden declined to discussthose specifics.

There have been three suicidesat the jail this year.

Within hours of the hanging in September, jail officials sent a memo instructing officers to always carry cut-down tools — used to free someone who is hanging — when conducting rounds and also stating that no inmate could be housed alone while in an intake pod.