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Home Office

Answer

Tom Cox: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many female prisoners, held in HM Holloway prison, have (a) attempted suicide and (b) committed suicide in each of the last five years; and if he will make a statement. [201853] Paul Goggins: The reasons why people self-injure is complex, and it is difficult to distinguish between acts of self-harm that were attempts at ending life, and those which occurred for other reasons. It is not possible, therefore, for the Prison Service to determine from recorded incidents of self-harm those acts that could be described as attempts at suicide. The following figures for self-harm include all acts of self-harm, however serious. HMP Holloway _________________________________________________________________________________________________. Number of self- inflicted deaths1 Number of recorded incidents of self-harm2 1999 2 122 2000 1 245 2001 1 604 2002 1 907 2003 0 3958 _________________________________________________________________________________________________. 1 The Prison Service employs the term "self-inflicted death' rather than suicide. This includes all those deaths where it appears the person acted intentionally to take his/her own life. 2 These figures record the number of incidents of self-harm, not the number of individuals. Some individuals repeatedly self-harm. 3 In December 2002, a new form for reporting self-injury (the F213SH) was introduced across the prisons estate in England and Wales, which is known to have improved reporting practices. Please note therefore that much of the increase in reported self- harm in 2003 may result from the change in reporting procedures rather than reflect an actual increase in incidence of self-harm. Up to 2 December 2004, there have been two apparently self-inflicted deaths at Holloway; up to the end of September, 725 incidents of self-harm were reported at the establishment. The prison population, and the female prison population in particular, includes a large number of individuals with a combination of psychiatric disorders, alcohol and drug dependency, family background and relationship problems, histories of self-harm and previous abuse, all of which raise their risk of suicide and self-harm. A targeted and separate suicide prevention and self-harm management strategy is being developed for women prisoners. Holloway has a First Night in Custody Project that focuses on the needs of women at the vulnerable stage of entry into prison. The Project was established in October 2000 and is run by the Prisoner Advice and Care Trust. It employs a full-time project worker and two link workers to help identify women at risk of self- harm or suicide. The project sees over 100 prisoners a month and makes referrals to services in and outside the prison on housing needs, mental health problems, drug or alcohol problems. Holloway is also piloting Dialectical Behaviour Therapy, an innovative programme developed for women with "borderline personality disorder" who also self-harm or engage in suicidal behaviours.

Secondary information

Type

Written question

Reference

201853; 429 c299-302W;429 c299-300W

Session

2004-05

Subjects

Suicide HMP/YOI Holloway Self-harm

Contains statistics

Yes

Link

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