People are placed on suicide watch when it is believed that they exhibit warning signs indicating that they may be at risk of committing bodily harm or purposefully killing themselves.
They may be stripped of anything with which they might hurt themselves or use as a noose, including belts, neckties,[4] bras, shoes, shoelaces, socks, suspenders, glasses, necklaces, bed sheets and other items.
In the most extreme cases of self-harm, only when all other avenues have not worked or are impracticable,[citation needed] "chemical restraint" drugs may be used to sedate the inmate.
[citation needed] Inmates are often placed naked in suicide cells, which are usually bare concrete, often without bedding (to prevent hanging by using bedsheets), and under frequent or continuous observation by guards.
Unsanitary conditions are also common since toilet paper, underwear and tampons (all potential means of choking) are restricted.
Being exposed without any way of covering oneself, coupled with being under constant observation, can aggravate mental distress, particularly if the inmate has been a victim of sexual abuse.
These harsh conditions came to light in 1998 when Elizabeth B., an inmate of Framingham prison in Massachusetts, USA, called a radio talk show to describe how she had been treated while on suicide watch: I was ... put on eyeball status, stripped of belongings, clothing, placed naked in a room with nothing but a plastic mattress on the floor.
The door was forced open, I was physically restrained in four-point restraints - arms, legs spreadeagled, tied to the floor, naked, helmet on head, men and women in the room.