“By placing an individual in lawful custody and effectively depriving that person of their liberty, the State assumes responsibility for the care of that person”. State correctional and health agencies have a responsibility to provide care to those who have been incarcerated and this includes taking steps to identify and manage their suicidal thoughts and behaviours. Suicidogenic and criminogenic risk factors overlap significantly meaning what makes an individual vulnerable to offending can make them vulnerable to suicidal thoughts and behaviours, particularly in an environment in which they must contend with minimal control, limited choices, social isolation and potentially being off country. The combination of individual, environmental and population risk factors means that prison suicide rates have historically been three to eight times higher than that of the community. Justice Health NSW, in partnership with Corrective Services NSW (CSNSW) are implementing a range of strategies to create a suicide prevention safety net to reduce the risk of those in custody ‘falling through the cracks’.
The suicide prevention safety net was created by tailoring the LifeSpan and Zero Suicides in Care frameworks to the prison setting. Justice Health NSW’s suicide prevention plan is directed by five themes: build organisational capability, focus on person-centred safety, measure the impact of specific suicide prevention interventions, empower the prison population and promote collaborative interagency relationships. Key interventions that have been undertaken include the trial of Inmate Peer Workers and informal peer support, the introduction of the Suicide Prevention Outreach Team (SPOT) who work with those who have attempted suicide, been found with means of suicide or have expressed suicidal thoughts as well as enhancements to data collection so that both Justice Health NSW and CSNSW understand the breadth of the issue and can appropriately direct resources and energy to address this. A brief overview of the more compelling interventions and their outcomes will be provided in this presentation.
This presentation will discuss the opportunities and complexities associated with working in the custodial environment. It will encourage attendees to consider the importance of tailoring suicide prevention initiatives to settings and the importance of acknowledging power disparities between staff and the people who access their services. Attendees will also be encouraged to consider their biases when it comes to suicide and the offender and prison populations.