Inmate suicide figures expose human toll of

prison crisis
Data obtaned by Guardan reveas more than sx prson sucdes a
month
Stores behnd statstcs show young men and mentay at hgh rsk
Omcas bame budget cuts for nadequate stah numbers and ack of
tranng
Men who ked themseves n prson n recent years (cockwse from top
eft): |ohn Staber, Kevn Scarett, Krk Dubose, Mathan Vadveaagan,
Matthew Stubbs, Satheeshkumar Mahathevan, Steven Davson, Greg Reve.
Photograph: Varous
Frday 17 October 2014
The human to of the crss grppng prsons n Engand and Waes s
exposed wth new gures obtaned by the Guardan reveang that 125
prsoners have ked themseves n 20 months - an average of more than
sx a month.
For the rst tme the Guardan has dented the ndvduas behnd the
statstcs that show sucde s at ts hghest rate n prsons for nne years,
and there s no sgn that the scae of the tragedy s beng checked.
The nvestgaton, whch examned a sucdes between |anuary 2013 and
28 August 2014, found four women and 121 men, aged between 18 and 74,
ked themseves n the adut prson system.
Snce then and up to 2 October another nne men, aged between 21 and
46, ked themseves, brngng the tota number of sef-ncted deaths
snce |anuary 2013 to 134. Three peope ked themseves on one day, 1
September 2014.
The prson servce
ombudsman, Nge Newcomen, descrbed the deaths as "uttery
unacceptabe" n a modern age and sad they reected the "rsng tde of
despar" across the prson system. He sad hs recommendatons to save
future ves were beng gnored.
There s no queston the prson servce s more chaenged now than |t has
been| n a generaton," Newcomen sad. "My |ob s to draw essons from
these ndvdua human tragedes and I dont thnk that adequate heed has
been taken of them."
He sad the "appang upsurge n sucdes" meant there was a need to
revew the approach wthn prsons, ncudng "more resources beng
apped".
The Guardan ooked at every case of sucde n the prson system over the
20-month perod. Incuded among those peope are:
A 22-year-od rst-tme ohender who ked hmsef wthn eght hours of beng ocked up on remand. He tod guards he was feeng sucda but no care pan ntated for hm. A 31-year-od who ked hmsef whe on remand for steang a T-shrt from TK Maxx. He had warned omcers he was gong to hang hmsef and an nquest concuded that the prson servce faed to take reasonabe steps to prevent hs death. A 21-year-od wth no crmna record and a serous menta heath probem who ked hmsef after beng sent to prson "for hs own safety". A 55-year-od man n the 18th year of an ndetermnate fe sentence wth arecommendaton that he serve a mnmum of seven years. He ked hmsef after beng moved wthout expanaton from an open prson to segregaton n a cosed estabshment.
More than a quarter of those who ded, 26%, were on remand awatng tra,
compared wth 10% of the prson popuaton overa, and young men were
most at rsk.
Chrs Grayng, the |ustce secretary, has repeatedy camed that there s no
pattern to the rse n sucdes n the ast 20 months. But the Guardan has
dented dstnct themes n many of the deaths, after examnng reports
from nquests, speakng to famy awyers and reatves, and anaysng the
nvestgatons by the prson servce ombudsman.
These ncude: faures n the assessment of rsk n the face of obvous
warnng sgns, ack of tranng for prson stah, nadequate montorng once
rsk was dented, and nsumcent communcaton wth fames,
partcuary n the case of vunerabe young nmates. Many of those who
took ther own ves had menta heath probems.
Lynda Davsons 21-year-od
son, Steven, hanged hmsef n HMP Gen Parva, n Lecestershre. He had
been sent there "for hs own safety" after attemptng to cut hs throat.
She sad: "I ddnt expect them to ove hm, but I dd thnk they woud ook
after hm unt he came home to get proper treatment."
The presdent of the Prson Governors Assocaton, Eon McLennan-Murray,
sad governors fet t was not a concdence that the peak n sucdes was
happenng when the servce was facng ts greatest nanca chaenges for
30 years.
There are stah shortages across the estate, prsoners are ocked up more,
they dont get to actvtes, they dont engage wth a constructve regme.
Stah have ess tme to nteract wth them, thngs are mssed," he sad.
"Stah are human, they are under extreme pressure, the servce s under
extreme pressure, and sometmes there are tragc consequences."
Severa fames of those who have ded are sung the Mnstry of |ustce,
aegng that ts faure to act s a breach of ts obgatons under artce 2 of
the Human Rghts Act to safeguard ves.
Chrs Toppng, from |ackson Canter soctors, s sung the Mo| and prsons
contractor G4S on behaf of the fames of four men who ked themseves.
He sad: "There are dherent trggers to each death but the common
themes are that there s often a cavaer atttude to the need to provde a
consstent eve of menta heath care.
Prsons are ceary no pace for those who suher from any sort of menta
heath ssue. Stah are nadequatey traned. There seems to be a ack of
compasson wthn the system . where systems do exst t s a matter of
chance as to whether they work."
Patrca |arman, whose son Kevn Scarett, 30, had serous menta heath
probems and hanged hmsef n HMP Woodh, Bucknghamshre, after
serous fangs n hs care, sad the government needed to be made
accountabe.
It fees ke Kevn was seen as a statstc, a faceess ndvdua, another
dmcut person who coud not be heped. The prson servce has our oved
ones and they dont know how to cope wth them, they are not traned
propery to dea wth menta heath and they havent got the stah to cope."
The rsng eve of
sef-ncted deaths comes amd an ncrease n voence across the prson
estate and a reducton n stamng eves of up to 40% n some nsttutons,
accordng to gures from the Howard League for Pena Reform.
Sef-harm has ncreased by 26% between 2009-13 to 17,213 ncdents;
voence aganst prson omcers has rsen by 45% from 2010-13, and there
has been a 72% ncrease n the number of tmes specast squads have
been caed to dea wth prson rots snce 2010.
Earer ths month a rot broke out at Swaesde prson on the Ise of
Sheppey - where an nspecton recenty reveaed stah shortages were
ahectng every aspect of the prson - and an omcer was stabbed n the
head before a Home Omce Tornado rot unt brought the stuaton under
contro.
Whe the government nssts stah shortages are not ahectng the eve of
sucdes, some cases examned by the Guardan show ths factor coud be
one key to the faure to protect vunerabe prsoners.
At the nquest ast month nto the sef-ncted death of the Sr Lankan
refugee Satheeshkumar Mahathevan at HMP Pentonve, a prson governor
sad that because of cuts there were now not enough stah to assgn a
persona omcer to every prsoner to ook after ther wefare.
Deborah Coes of Inquest sad: "Behnd the statstcs are stores of
preventabe tragedes. The ndherence and compacency of the |ustce
secretary to ths ssue s deepy nsenstve to those fames whose hghy
vunerabe reatves have been faed by crmna |ustce poces that
mprson them n nsttutons -equpped and -resourced to keep them
safe."
The prsons mnster Andrew Seous sad reducng the prson sucde rate
was a key prorty.
We are workng hard to understand the reasons for the recent rse, but
there s no smpe expanaton. As s the case n socety, the reasons behnd
any sucde are compex and ndvdua.
Young aduts are a partcuary chaengng and vunerabe group, and that
s why we have commssoned an ndependent revew nto the deaths of 18-
to 24-year-ods n prson custody.
The vast ma|orty of recommendatons from the prsons and probaton
ombudsman and HM Inspectorate of Prsons are accepted and acton s
taken to address them. We aso take very serousy the concerns rased by
coroners and take acton where approprate."
He sad: "Bye bye, I ove you", and that was t
Steve
n Davison, 21, who hanged himself in Glen Parva prison. Photograph: Family
Steven Davson shoud never have been n prson. Wth a hstory of acute
menta heath probems, the 21-year-od was |aed "for hs own safety"
after attempts to nd hm a secure menta heath bed faed. He had no
crmna record, and was charged wth possesson of an ohensve weapon
after he tred to cut hs own throat.
The serous personaty dsorder whch ahected Steven ckered nto hs
parents conscousness when he became grpped by paranoa at the age of
10. In hs md-teens, the voces n hs head became reentess and powerfu,
and ed to mutpe ncdents of sef-harm, sad Lynda and |eh Davson, who
ve n Loughborough.
He caed them the dev and hs dscpes," hs father sad. "They tod hm
to do thngs. He started to medcate hmsef wth whatever he coud get hs
hands on to get rd of the voces. Steven used to ask for hep; he wanted
hep. The menta heath crss team woud come out one day, but not the
next. There was no consstency, no treatment, no support."
Steven, who was dysexc and eft schoo at 16 unabe to read or wrte, was
we known to the oca poce because of hs hstory of sef-harm. But ast
year he was charged wth possesson of an ohensve weapon when he tred
to cut hs throat - somethng whch threw hm nto the crmna |ustce
system. When no secure bed was avaabe, a |udge remanded Steven to
HMP Gen Parva unt a specast facty coud be found.
He tod hm: Youre not a crmna, you are not gong to go down the bad
route. You are gong to go down the menta heath route," hs father sad.
Despte hs hstory, Steven was assessed as beng of ow rsk on arrva at
the prson. In the na weeks of hs fe he harmed hmsef twce - on one
occason carvng words nto hs egs, and the other tme tryng to set aght
hs arms. He aso receved a ca from hs grfrend who tod hm that hs
grandfather had ded and that she was eavng hm. Yet he remaned
assessed as ow-rsk.
The prson made no attempt to communcate wth the famy as hs menta
heath deterorated.
We coud have tod them how at rsk he was," hs mother sad. "I ddnt
expect them to ove hm but I dd thnk they woud ook after hm unt he
came home and coud start hs treatment."
On the afternoon of 29 September ast year, Lynda was out buyng bedroom
furnture for her sons return when he phoned her. "He |ust seemed reay
down," she sad. "I tod hm I was comng to see hm on Monday, I asked
hm f he needed any money. He kept sayng: No, I be a rght, I am
comng home. Then he sad: Bye, bye, I ove you, and that was t."
An hour ater, hs mother receved another ca teng her to go to Lecester
hospta where Steven was beng admtted to ntensve care. She dd not
make t n tme. "A nurse rang as I was on my way and sad: Im so sorry,
we have |ust ost hm."
At hs nquest ast month, the |ury concuded that Stevens ndvdua needs,
rsks and vunerabtes had not been appropratey understood, assessed
or recorded n Gen Parva (where eght young men have ked themseves
n four years), that he was not assessed by a sutaby quaed menta
heath doctor, and that he shoud have been transferred to a safe ce wth
no gature ponts.
|eh confronted the governor, Ason Cark, afterwards. "She was sayng
sorry to me. I |ust tod her: Dont be sorry. Do somethng. Thats when she
started cryng and tod me: Im tryng, Im reay tryng."
Samaritans can be contacted on 08457 90 90 90, via email at jo@samaritans.orgor the details for your local branch can be found at www.samaritans.org. The chief executive, Catherine ohnstone, said the Samaritans has been !or"in# alon#side the $rison service for more than t!o decades !ith the common #oal of su$$ortin# $risoners !ho are stru##lin# to co$e, by $rovidin# someone to turn to and s$ace to tal", round the cloc" every day of the year. Their %risoner &istener Scheme is a $eer su$$ort scheme !hich involves trainin# $risoners to deliver a su$$ort service inside $risons. 'n $rovidin# this su$$ort throu#h listenin#, $risoners are mirrorin# the !or" of Samaritans volunteers on the outside. (lmost every $rison in the )* has a listener scheme, !ith more than +500 active listeners handlin# 74000 re,uests for su$$ort from inmates on avera#e each year.