It takes only 3 to 5 minutes to kill yourself, ... We have (almost) 700 inmates. To check every one of them 24 hours a day, no more than 3 to 5 minutes apart? I'd need triple the staff to guarantee never a suicide. But our operational goal is to prevent as many suicides as we can . . . if somebody attempts it, we do everything we can to eliminate the problem and then treat the inmate.

James Tracy