Good relationships and support essential to reduce risk of suicide among prisoners, research claims

Prisons need to change to enable staff to build relationships with prisoners and reduce the risk of suicide, according to research.

Preventing Prison Suicide: Perspectives from the inside, published jointly by the Howard League for Penal Reform and Centre for Mental Health, focuses on the views and experiences of current and former prisoners about what contributes to vulnerability and increases or reduces their risk of suicide. It is one of a series of briefing papers by the 2 charities from research funded by The Monument Trust.

The past two years have seen a marked increase in the number of suicides in English and Welsh prisons, with 89 prisoners taking their own lives in both 2014 and 2015. This was the highest number of suicides since 2007.

Relationships between staff and prisoners are key, according to the report. Prisoners need to feel supported, cared for and able to confide in and trust staff. Prisoners reported that staff shortages, inexperience and lack of training can all increase the risk of suicide.

Prisoners described a culture where distress was often not believed or responded to with compassion. Arrival, being released and being transferred were all cited as times when prisoners felt most vulnerable.

The report concludes that change needs to happen across the system to recognise the influence of the prison environment on people’s vulnerability. It finds that prisons should strive to create a psychologically informed environment with an emphasis on the quality of relationships.

It also finds that prisons need more staff, with specialist skills, and better training in mental health awareness; more opportunities for prisoners to tackle isolation and boredom; a bigger focus on the wellbeing of prisoners, especially in the first few weeks; and better support for prisoners to transition into society upon leaving prison.

Current and former prisoners who contributed to the research told of their experiences of imprisonment and the effects on their mental health. One former prisoner said: “I was in my 40s when I first went to prison, I had already had a break down [before prison], I didn’t know what to expect... I was in a bad way and did consider suicide for the first time ever in my life... I learned to cope, but not everyone does.”

Dr Graham Durcan, associate director for criminal justice at the Centre for Mental Health, said: “With growing concerns about suicide in prison, it is vital that the experiences of prisoners are heard in devising solutions and reducing the risk of more tragic losses of life.

“Current and former prisoners are clear that good quality relationships are key to reducing the risk of suicide in prison. We also need to take action to reduce the risk of suicide among people leaving prison and provide ‘through the gates’ support at this critical time in their lives.”

Andrew Neilson, director of campaigns at the Howard League for Penal Reform, added: “This report points at some key principles that should inform the government’s prison reform agenda, which was announced in the Queen’s Speech last week.

“Prevention of suicide in prisons is an issue of grave importance as the number of people taking their own lives behind bars is at its highest level since 2007.”