Suicide rates among convicts are unacceptably high, says an Italian study.
People under detention record significantly higher suicide rates than the general population, even though they are exposed to restrictive environments and subject to the relevant control measures.
A recent study carried out by Doctors Antonio Preti and Maria Teresa Cascio,
based on data on suicides and other self-harming behaviours occurred in Italian
prisons from 1990 to 2002, found that completed suicide rates in Italian
prisons were constantly about ten times higher than among the general
population. Overcrowded prisons had about ten times higher suicide rates than
non-overcrowded prisons. Finally, self-injuring acts without the intent to die
involved about 1 individual out of 10, with non-EU citizens about two times
more likely to recur to self-harm than residents.
Suicide is a hardly foreseeable event. Nonetheless it can be
prevented, and the risk of dying by suicide has, indeed, sensibly decreased for
some categories of people.
A better identification of the people suffering from mental disorders, and the reduction in prison overcrowding are two key issues that should be implemented to reduce the impact of suicide and self-harming behaviours among convicts, Drs Preti and Cascio concluded in their paper.
References:
Antonio
Preti, Maria Teresa Cascio
Prisons suicides and self-harming behaviours in
Medicine, Science and the Law,
2006; 46: 127-134.
Contacts:
Dr Antonio Preti
SchizophreniaProject
e-mail: apreti@tin.it