Suicides in prison

In this module, we present and summarise evidence on the epidemiology, assessment and management of suicides in custody.

In the countries it has been investigated, suicide rates in prisoners are substantially higher than the general population. With the numbers of prisoners increasing in over 70% of countries worldwide, suicide in prisoners remains an important challenge to clinicians, mental health services, public health and policy.

This module explores:

• historical trends and current rates of suicide and self-harm in prisoners

• comparisons with rates of suicide in the general population

• motivations and precipitating factors for suicides and attempted suicides in prison

• demographic, criminological, clinical and environmental risk and protective factors

• key strategies to prevent and manage self-inflicted deaths in jail and prison.

Start the module