Suicide is the leading cause of death for jail inmates, according to the U.S. Suicide Prevention Resource Center.

The seasonal peak in suicide is evident in Schuylkill County prison, where the number of inmates on suicide watch more than doubled between February and May, rising from 16 to 33."Generally, suicide observation numbers are contingent upon the commitments," Warden Eugene Berdanier says.In February there were 281 inmates; as of May 21, there were 323.Whatever the reason, it's something he keeps a close eye on.Berdanier says every inmate undergoes suicide screening upon admission. They are asked questions that include whether they feel depressed, have they ever considered or planned suicide, and whether they are under the influence of drugs or alcohol.If the screening indicates an inmate may attempt to take his own life, he is isolated in the front section of the prison, and corrections officers check the as often as every 15 minutes and log his activity."Initially, they are put into a suicide (prevention) smock. No clothing or bedding, just the smock and a blanket," Berdanier says. "A mental health worker meets with the inmate almost daily."Suicide smocks are made of tear-resistant fabric that closes via hook-and-loop tabs so an inmate cannot use it to harm himself.The inmate is screened several times and is not placed back into the general population until mental health professionals are confident he will not attempt suicide.Even with those precautions, which have been in place for years, suicides in prison happen. In October, an inmate hanged himself with a shoelace.After inmates in 2004 and 2005 hanged themselves by tying sheets to air vents, Berdanier had the vents covered with protective mesh.In Carbon County, an inmate, Travis Schoenberger, 27, committed suicide in late April, less than two weeks into a three to six month sentence for disorderly conduct.Warden Timothy Fritz said his prison has much the same precautions in place as Schuylkill."We have a series of questions we ask all new inmates, about their family life, if they have any family history of mental illness or suicides, their thoughts at the time, and we do a visual observation. Also, we sometimes receive any information from the arresting agency (about the inmate's risk)," he said."They are screened by our medical department, and if we feel they may be at risk, they are put on suicide watch, and placed in a suicide smock in a cell with glass front so they can be constantly monitored until they are cleared by a psychiatrist," Fritz said.Although screening, special cells and smocks are effective, they are not guaranteed because an inmate's risk for suicide can fluctuate over the course of his confinement, the Resource Center says.Most inmates who end their lives do so by hanging, according to the Suicide Prevention Resource Center.Brain death can occur within four minutes.