---

Home Office

Answer

Dr. Vis: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many incidents of (a) self-injury and (b) attempted suicide have occurred in each of the segregation units in juvenile prisons in the last five years. [165400] Paul Goggins: Suicidal intent is difficult to establish. Data recording incidents of `attempted suicide' are subsumed within those for self-harm, which cover all acts of self-injury however serious. A new form for reporting self-harm was introduced across the prisons estate in December 2002. This has improved the consistency with which self-harm incidents are reported and, by broadening the range of questions that are asked, improved the detail and quality of the information collected. Prior to 2003, data on the location where the self-harm incident occurred were not collated centrally. The following table provides the information requested with respect to 2003 only. _________________________________________________________________________________________________. Establishment 1 Number of self-harm incidents involving juveniles in segregation Ashfield 48 Brinsford 1 Bullwood Hall 7 Holloway 4 Huntercombe 4 New Hall 34 Onley 8 Parc 2 Stoke Heath 7 Wetherby 2 Total 117 _________________________________________________________________________________________________. 1 The table provides detail of all establishments holding juveniles in 2003 that recorded incidents of juvenile self-harm in segregation. Note: The table records number of incidents, not number of individuals. Establishments showing particularly high numbers reflect individual cases of repetitive self-harm. A number of intervention strategies have been introduced into prisons, young offender and juvenile establishments for people who self-harm. These include counselling, support groups, and specialised psychological interventions. While evaluation of these interventions is, at present, very limited, evidence from research in non-prison settings suggests that male and female adolescents who self-harm repeatedly may benefit from group therapy. A network of establishments has been set up to develop interventions, facilitate evaluation and share good practice. Guidance to staff on managing people who self- harm has also been circulated to establishments.

Secondary information

Type

Written question

Reference

165400; 423 c552-3W

Session

2003-04

Subjects

Health services Prisons Young offenders Suicide Self-harm

Contains statistics

Yes

Link

View this Written question on www.publications.parliament.uk