Weekly News

Suicides In Prison

A recent BBC News article addresses the hidden issue of suicide and depression in British prisons. The article (click here) discusses the incredibly high prison suicide rates and the possible causes for them. The article is specifically targeting the high suicide rates at Nottingham prison.

Within Nottingham prison 8 inmates have committed suicide in the past 2 years however it is said that there are about "two suicide attempts at the prison every week". Clearly this is horrendous and many of us may say not enough is being done, but who is to blame? Some may blame the prisoners themselves however with such high suicide rates there must be a link. Of course just the incarceration itself is likely to be a cause as this type of living would easily tip anyone over the edge. Perhaps not enough is being done by the government as rather than using prisons for rehabilitation they are simply used for punishment so little is done for the prisoners mental state. It is well documented the effect of incarceration on a persons mental state and so perhaps alternative approaches are necessary.

For example above is an image of a Danish prison cell in a maximum security prison. It almost looks like a university dorm complete with furnishings and a mini-fridge. The suicide rates in these prisons are ridiculously low. In fact no year in recent history have the number of suicides reached double digits across the whole country and the same goes for Sweden, Iceland, Norway and Finland. This can be put down to many factors such as the prison environment and the strong focus on rehabilitation as well inmates mental state with support groups and counsellors. Not only is this approach effective inside the prison but also on the outside. The re-offending rates are far less than those in the UK. Here over half of inmates will re-offend within 12 months of their release. However in Denmark only about a quarter will ever re-offend.

It's clear from this article that there is a problem here. The BBC blames the government for this especially due to the budget cuts made to prisons and prison staff. The article states that "more than half of the staff at HMP Nottingham had less than one year's experience" due to the low pay many experienced officers leave the field. 

There is also a direct correlation between the number of officers and number of suicides as this graph shows.

It's clear that the problem must be fixed. And that the responsibility is now in the hands of the government.