Innovative Prison Cost Savings

http://www.apa.org/monitor/jun05/suicide.html

Suicide watches by inmates benefit all

Prison suicide watches done by other inmates, instead of prison staff, reduce the frequency and duration of watches, benefit inmate observers and reduce costs, according to a study conducted by Federal Bureau of Prisons researchers that appears in the summer-fall issue of Psychological Services (Vol. 2, No. 1).

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In this case, the medical center saved over $300,000 in overtime pay by using inmate observers for a year.