Prevention of self-harm and suicide among persons serving sentences in minimum security correctional institutions of the penal enforcement system of the Republic of Kazakhstan

Abstract

Relevance. The article discusses the possibilities of preventing self-harm and suicide among convicts in conditions of minimum security institutions of the penal system of the Republic of Kazakhstan. The statistics of annual cases of self-mutilation and the commission of acts of suicide confirm the need to find directions in the work to prevent them using various tools: psychological, technical and legislative.The purpose of the study is to determine the possibilities of preventing self-mutilation and suicide among persons serving sentences in correctional institutions of minimum security of the penal system of the Republic of Kazakhstan.Materials and methods. In the course of the research, general scientific methods such as analysis, induction, deduction, comparison were used, as well as the logical method and the method of generalization. The principles of the methodology of systemic and structural-functional approaches are applied to identify cause-and-effect relationships. Such a method of visualization of concepts as drawing up an intelligence map is used, organizational and managerial conditions for the implementation of psychological work with convicts are highlighted.The results of the study. Autoaggression is most often singled out as the most relevant destructive form of behavior in correctional institutions of the penal system. To understand the phenomenon of autodestructive behavior, the paper presents an intelligence map of this concept, which displays its specifics, areas of its research and study, types, and also highlights areas for the prevention of such behavior.Discussion of the results. The paper presents an example of psychological work to reduce cases of self-harm and suicidal risks, taking into account the individual psychological characteristics of the convicts' personality. The use of traditional measures and new scientific and technological achievements, in particular, chipping, contributes to the effectiveness of control and supervision of convicts prone to suicide and self-harm. The expediency of applying measures of a criminal executive nature is also being considered. Of fundamental importance is the mandatory assignment of responsibility for the implementation of measures to prevent self-harm and suicide of convicts to all services of the correctional institution.Conclusion. The author concludes that the implementation of the formulated proposals, as well as the control and coordination of activities to prevent self-harm and suicide among convicts by the management staff will reduce them to a minimum. This, in turn, will positively affect the elimination of one of the threats to the personal safety of convicts.