Suicide rate 10 times higher in prison
Source: http://www.insidetime.org/suicide-rate-10-times-higher-in-prison/
More than 100 people lost their lives through suicide in prisons in England and Wales in 2016, an all-time record since current recording practices began in 1978. The Howard League for Penal Reform says it was notified of 102 people dying by suicide behind bars between January and December 2016 – one every three days. The prison suicide rate, at 120 deaths per 100,000 people, is about 10 times higher than the rate in the general population.
Recommendations to tackle the problem are set out in a new report, ‘Preventing Prison Suicide’, jointly published by the Howard League and another charity, Centre for Mental Health.
The report states that urgent action is needed, and that prisons must become safer, healthier places to reduce suicide risk. The rise in the number of prison suicides has coincided with cuts to staffing and budgets and a rise in the number of people in prison, resulting in overcrowding. They say violence has increased and safety has deteriorated with prisoners spending up to 23 hours a day locked in their cells; the imposition of prison punishments has increased, and a more punitive daily regime was introduced in prisons at the same time as the number of deaths by suicide began to rise.
“No one should be so desperate while in the care of the state that they take their own life, and yet every three days a family is told that a loved one has died behind bars”
Frances Crook, Chief Executive of the Howard League for Penal Reform, said; “The number of people dying by suicide in prison has reached epidemic proportions. No one should be so desperate while in the care of the state that they take their own life, and yet every three days a family is told that a loved one has died behind bars. Cutting staff and prison budgets while allowing the number of people behind bars to grow unchecked has created a toxic mix of violence, death and human misery.”
Andy Bell, Deputy Chief Executive of Centre for Mental Health, said; “Every loss of life through suicide is a tragedy for everyone involved. Prisoners face a very high risk of suicide and it is essential that prisons and health services work together to prevent loss of life. This requires a fundamental change to the way prisons work, creating an environment that supports wellbeing and helps prison staff to care. We must recognise that many prisoners are highly vulnerable and that being imprisoned is a traumatic event that can have devastating consequences without the right help and support.”
The report calls for the revised Incentives and Earned Privileges (IEP) scheme, introduced in prisons in November 2013 by the then Secretary of State for Justice, Chris Grayling, to be scrapped as prisoners are being deprived of valuable coping mechanisms at a time when they most need it. Some prisoners, including all newly convicted prisoners spending their first two weeks in prison, have limits placed on family contact, physical activity and access to their money and possessions. It recommends that the revised IEP scheme should be replaced with a new incentive scheme that rewards positive behaviour, encourages participation and recognises the needs of the most vulnerable. Maintaining family relationships, physical exercise and socialising with others should be regarded as part of a normal, healthy life, not as privileges that have to be earned.
