The validity of open-source data when assessing jail suicides

Health & Justice
Amanda L ThomasJeff Mellow

Abstract

The Bureau of Justice Statistics' Deaths in Custody Reporting Program is the primary source for jail suicide research, though the data is restricted from general dissemination. This study is the first to examine whether jail suicide data obtained from publicly available sources can help inform our understanding of this serious public health problem. Of the 304 suicides that were reported through the DCRP in 2009, roughly 56 percent (N = 170) of those suicides were identified through the open-source search protocol. Each of the sources was assessed based on how much information was collected on the incident and the types of variables available. A descriptive analysis was then conducted on the variables that were present in both data sources. The four variables present in each data source were: (1) demographic characteristics of the victim, (2) the location of occurrence within the facility, (3) the location of occurrence by state, and (4) the size of the facility. Findings demonstrate that the prevalence and correlates of jail suicides are extremely similar in both open-source and official data. However, for almost every variable measured, open-source data captured as much information as official data did, if not more. Further, ...Continue Reading

References

May 3, 2002·Psychiatric Services : a Journal of the American Psychiatric Association·J Richard GossBenjamin B Brodey
Sep 9, 2010·Suicide & Life-threatening Behavior·Kuan-Chiao TsengMing-Been Lee
Aug 11, 2011·Journal of Forensic Sciences·Alan R Felthous
May 10, 2012·Journal of Correctional Health Care : the Official Journal of the National Commission on Correctional Health Care·Lindsay M Hayes
May 15, 2013·International Journal of Law and Psychiatry·Lindsay M Hayes
Sep 24, 2016·The Journal of Forensic Psychiatry & Psychology·Karen E SchaeferJune P Tangney

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Citations

Feb 13, 2021·The Lancet. Public Health·Shaoling ZhongSeena Fazel

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