HellasCams - Combatting Inmate Suicide: A Need for an Integrated Approach

Call to cut prison suicides

Scotland's prison suicide rate is much higher than in England

Reducing the number of people held on remand in jails could result in fewer suicides, according to Scotland's Chief Inspector of Prisons.

Clive Fairweather said the mere fact of being in prison may contribute to the rise of vulnerable people taking their own lives, especially those awaiting trial.

Scotland's prison suicide rate has doubled since 1992 and is much higher than in England.

Mr Fairweather said the prison service had to protect the public but also had a duty to look after the safety of those individuals at risk.

"Remand prisoners do not get the best of conditions in prisons - they are often put in the most overcrowded part of the jail. They also have to deal with the anxiety of being incarcerated and having time to brood over their situation, including the anxiety of not knowing if the courts will find them guilty."

Mr Fairweather's comments, on BBC Scotland's Eye to Eye radio programme, come just days after the Scottish Office Home Affairs Minister Henry McLeish announced measures to tackle the suicide problem.

Source: BBC news ONLINE. 12 July 1998 (http://news.bbc.co.uk)

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