The charity Samaritans has called for government action to tackle sharp rises in the rates of self-harm and suicide in jails in England and Wales in the past year as prison staff numbers continue to fall.
Self-inflicted death rates in prisons rose by 20% in the past year to the highest level in eight years, the charity said. Self-harm is up by 27% in the year to June 2016; meanwhile, the number of prison staff has fallen by 25% over the last six years, it said.
On the 25th anniversary of the launch of its prison listener scheme – which trains prisoners to provide emotional support to peers who are struggling to cope – Samaritans said its volunteers regularly witnessed the effects of a reduced number of prison staff.
The suicide rate in prison is estimated to be between seven and 12 times that of the general population, and prison suicide costs the taxpayer potentially £160m-£300m a year, it said.
In the 12 months to June this year, 105 prisoners took their own lives. The charity said it believed the impact of low staffing levels in prisons had contributed to the rising suicide rates.
Ruth Sutherland, chief executive of the Samaritans, said: “We are concerned about the impact of the problem of low staffing levels in prisons. We believe that this problem has contributed to the rising suicide rates among prisoners and needs to be addressed.
“A shortage of prison staff leads to prisoners spending longer locked in their cells, reduces access to work or education, which helps with rehabilitation, living conditions are poorer, and it is more difficult to access healthcare. Prisoners also struggle to contact friends and family under these circumstances.”
The listener scheme, which is delivered by Samaritans and the National Offender Management Service, began in Swansea prison in 1991 and now runs in 117 jails, with training and support provided by 95 Samaritans branches. Last year prisoners trained as listeners had 90,000 confidential contacts with their fellow inmates.
The early days in custody are a time of heightened suicide rick, and the Samaritans says it is crucial that awareness of the scheme and access to it is embedded into all reception and induction processes for new prisoners.
Research shows the scheme helps to create an “enabling culture” whereby prisoners feel that they can talk, and by talking there is a reduction in frustration and anger and a building up of trust between prisoners, which helps to create a calmer and safer environment. Prisoners most commonly used listeners during the night or when locked up.
Through the scheme, Samaritans said its volunteers were in a unique position to see the impact of reduced staffing levels.
Sutherland said: “Staff-prisoner relationships are vital for ensuring prisoner safety and preventing prison suicides and these relationships cannot be built when staff are so badly under resourced.
“The rapidly rising rates of suicide, which is at its highest in eight years since 2007, show that conditions in our prisons needs improving.“
The House of Commons justice select committee has also suggested that low staffing levels contribute to overall declining prison safety including an increase of self-inflicted deaths, self-harm and assault incidents.
• In the UK, the Samaritans can be contacted on 116 123. In the US, the National Suicide Prevention Hotline is 1-800-273-8255. In Australia, the crisis support service Lifeline is on 13 11 14. Helplines in other countries can be found here
