September 4, 2004: Prison Suicides Reach Record High

With prison overcrowding at its highest recorded level, the BBC has reported that in August 2004, more prisoners killed themselves in prisons in England and Wales than in any other single month since records began. There have now been 70 suicides in prison since the start of 2004. According to evidence given to the House of Commons Joint Committee on Human Rights for their interim report on deaths in custody, 2004, almost two-thirds of prisoners who commit suicide have a history of drug misuse. About a third of suicides occur within the first week of a prisoner being imprisoned and no less than one in seven within two days of admission.

MIND evidence to the Joint Committee on Human Rights stated that:

“Incidences of suicide and self-harm often arise either due to inadequate care and support available to people whilst in a detained setting, or when conditions a person has been detained in are not conducive to minimising anxiety and ensuring they feel safe. This may result in suicide or self-harm, or alternatively in increased agitation or aggressive behaviour which may lead to physical restraint or increased medication being used which has in the past led to deaths.”

Prison Reform Trust evidence to the same committee stated that there was a clear link between the high prevalence of mental illness among prisoners and the level of suicides.

“Many prisoners have significant mental health problems. Research… has found that 40% of male and 63% of female sentenced prisoners show symptoms of at least one neurotic disorder, such as depression, anxiety and phobias. Nearly two thirds of male sentenced prisoners and half of female prisoners suffer from a personality disorder. These levels of mental illness are three times higher than among the general population… A high proportion of prisoners have been treated in psychiatric hospitals… one in five male sentenced prisoners and 15% of female prisoners have previously been admitted to a psychiatric hospital.”

From 1 April 2004, all deaths in prisons, probation hostels and immigration detention accommodation have been investigated by Stephen Shaw, the Prisons and Probation Ombudsman.