An ecological analysis of prison overcrowding and suicide rates in England and Wales, 2000–2014

Abstract

Prisoners are at a greatly increased risk of suicides compared to the general population. Differences in suicide risk can be partly explained by individual risk factors, but the contribution of prison characteristics remains unclear. Overcrowded prisons have higher suicide rates, but this may be related to prison function, security level, population size and turnover. The aim of the current study was to investigate the contribution of each of these prison characteristics to suicide rates, using data from the Ministry of Justice for adult prisons in England and Wales from 2000 to 2014. Negative binomial regression analysis showed that larger population size, higher turnover, higher security and public management were associated with higher suicide rates. When controlling for these factors, overcrowding was not found to be related to suicide rates. Questions remain about the causal mechanisms underlying variation in prison suicides and the impact of the lived experience of overcrowding. Further research is needed to examine the relative contribution of prison and prisoner characteristics to suicides.

Prisoner suicide: a multilevel problem

“…The high rates of short-term repeated incarceration have a multitude of negative health effects for Aboriginal families, communities, and wider society. 4 Fewer Aboriginal than non-Aboriginal people report having received any help with mental health problems before imprisonment. 5 This finding is consistent with evidence that Aboriginal Australians do not access mental health and drug and alcohol services in the community at a level consistent with their need.…”

“…5 Many Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people who come into contact with the criminal justice and health systems have experienced multiple life stresses and levels of trauma, including intergenerational trauma and the legacy of colonisation. 4 Prolonged exposure to repeated trauma is now recognised to have a profound effect on the way people feel, think, act, and relate to others. 7 A trauma-informed approach recognises that some people's disturbed behaviours are manifestations of distress and trauma, and that it is important to avoid traumatisation or reactivating traumatic experiences.…”

“…In the prison system of England and Wales, institution-level factors predicting higher suicide rates included larger population size, lower security rating, and higher population turnover. 4 The inclusion of institutionlevel factors in multilevel analyses of suicide rates might prove useful in further identifying sources of variation that could be targeted in prevention interventions.…”

Suicide and suicides attempts in Italian prison epidemiological findings from the “Triveneto” area, 2010–2016

“…The number of inmates in each prison and the statutory capacity of each prison were those of 31 th December of each year considered (2010-2016), and were considered separately for male and female prison sections. Although it would be more precise to measure prison population on a monthly basis, our data provided a measure of prison population only on yearly basis, in line with Van Ginneken et al ((van Ginneken, Sutherland, & Molleman, 2017).A prison establishment was deemed to be overcrowded when the percentage of overcrowding was greater than 1%. Security levels were divided in ordinary, protected, high security and cooperative witnesses, following the classification used by the Italian Penitentiary Department.…”

La jurisprudence de la Cour européenne des droits de l’homme

“…Cette conception amène la Cour à n'exiger qu'un suivi médical pour les détenus en proie à une crise suicidaire et à se focaliser de manière synchronique (et non diachronique, c'est-à-dire historique) sur la surveillance physique du geste suicidaire afin de s'assurer de sa non-matérialisation. À l'inverse, l'appel à une approche processuelle et historique en termes de réaction sociale impliquerait de prendre en considération entre autres l'influence de la prise en charge des détenus par les autorités pénitentiaires et de leurs possibles rébellion et protestation (Cliquennois et Chantraine, 2009), les effets de leur stigmatisation lors de leur interpellation policière et du déroulement du procès pénal (et de son retard), l'impact du nouveau management public (van Ginneken, Sutherland et Molleman, 2017), le poids de l'architecture carcérale et de la primauté de la punitivité et de la sécurité passive au sein de certains commissariats de police et d'établissements pénitentiaires (van Ginneken et al, 2017), ainsi que la différenciation des régimes de détention (Cliquennois, 2013). De même, le recours au paradigme de la réaction sociale pour la prévention du suicide supposerait de mettre l'accent sur l'augmentation de la sévérité pénale et de l'échelle des peines et leurs conséquences sur la dégradation des conditions de détention et sur la surpopulation carcérale qui sont associées à une occurrence suicidaire plus élevée comme le démontrent les études les plus récentes (Opitz-Welke, Bennefeld-Kersten, Konrad et Welke, 2013 ; Rabe, 2012).…”