Prisoners and the Authorities in England and Wales - Essay Example

 Prisoners and the Authorities Examine the problem of suicide in prisons in England and Wales and the role of the prison authorities in reducing it. “A reduction in the number of self-inflicted deaths has been rated as the Service’s highest priority (Her Majesty’s Prison Service, 2004, Pg. 20).” Introduction In the modern western civilisation, and especially considering the social order which is present in the UK, a person may be put into prison once a crime has been proved against him/her and that is the end of society’s concern with that individual. There are not too many who care about what will happen to that person once s/he is in the custody of the wardens and that person’s identity and life is often lost to the system of corrections (Valette, 2002). However, there is still a life which goes on behind bars and an entire system which governs how that person is to be treated, what rights are given and what restrictions are placed on him/her (Duke, 2005). While a prisoner is certainly placed under boundaries of law, s/he does not stop being a human being and it must be noted that s/he has the same right to be treated humanely and with as much importance as those who are not with him/her in prison. The treatments and the rights are controlled by those who are supposed to manage Her Majesty’s prisons and even though things such as the Human Rights Act 1998 and the European Convention on Human Rights have improved conditions for many prisoners, there is still a lot more which can be done (Valette, 2002). Statistics There are some very telling statistics which show that there is a problem with prison suicides Stewart and Hatloy (2007) reported that: “In 2002, there were 94 suicides in prisons in England and Wales: 85 men and nine women. Prison suicide increased by 40 per cent during the 1990s. The number of self-inflicted deaths in 2002 was the highest in the last 10 years. This rate translates as being over 12 times the total male suicide rate (Stewart & Hatloy, 2007, Pg.1).” These figures clearly show that there is something very wrong with our prison system which is highlighted by the fact of increased numbers of prison suicides in recent years (HMPS, 2004). This is certainly recognised in the corporate objectives outlined by the UK Prison Service but it must also be noted that the external environment of the world at large and the UK in particular is changing rapidly and in the next ten to fifteen years significant alterations can be expected. There are political, economic, social, technological, environmental and legal changes which impact the various stake holders in the prison system which include the government, inmates of the prison system, managers, policy makers and the public at large (Hill and Ham, 1997). A lack of resources often compounds the problem for most prisoners even in terms of health services provided to them (Hall, 1993). It is the culmination of these factors which influence how prisons are managed and how prisoners are treated which leads to the eventual answer of why some prisoners commit suicide. Why Prisoners Commit Suicide The reasons for suicide in the general population are many and are often quite complex. Thinkers and sociologists from ancient times till modern day have given their ideas as to why individuals commit suicide. With the prison population, psychologists can eliminate some of the factors which may influence a person’s decision to end their life in free society but additional factors such as confinement and a feeling of helplessness are certainly added to the equation. While there is no method by which we can know exactly why a prisoner might kill him/herself we are told by the Royal College of Psychiatrists that there are certain risk factors associated with individuals who have previously committed suicide in prisons (RCP, 2005). Unsurprisingly, these factors are similar to those which are found in the free population and can be listed as: Youth Male gender Clinical depression Alcoholism Recent loss of a dear one Lack of support from the prison regime The lack of support from the prison authorities can have several influences which push a prisoner on the brink to committing suicide. For instance, if a prisoner is seen as being at risk for suicide the need for a constructive relation between the prison authorities and the prisoner is strongly recommended. In fact, positive relationships are the most important means for preventing prison suicides as is a programme within the prison system which works for suicide prevention. Role of the Authorities The prison situation and handling prisoners is seen as a responsibility of the government and there are certainly political implications in how they are handled. For example, the Economist (2006) reported on issues which the prison system is facing and the problems associated with handling prisoners becoming a political issue for the government. In fact, the labour government’s home secretary Charles Clarke had to listen to calls for his resignation based on his handling of the prison service and the question of foreign prisoners. The prison authorities as well as the political stakeholders (who are the government of the day) have to come to terms on how prisoners are going to be treated. They can not afford to spend more money on them without angering those who think that the same money might be better spent elsewhere (Cohen et. al., 2006). At the same time, there are those who are seeking more rights for prisoners since they deserve to be treated in a human manner (Valette, 2002). Therefore changes in the political factors will certainly affect how prisons are managed. Although the current image of prison management and prison managers are certainly more humane than they used to be (HMPS, 2004), a different government may ask them to change their approach entirely. The authorities can do a lot to prevent prison suicide and a number of methods have been outlined by government agencies as well as private partied. The primary suggestions come from the studies as per the risk factors which lead prisoners to commit suicide and then recommending ways in which those factors can be mitigated. The risk factors which are faced by prisoners can be physical as well as mental in terms of how they are expected to perform in prison (Hatry, et. al. 2001). Research reports such as the ones given by Hatloy & Stewart (2007), Scott (2001), as well as studies monitored by the BBC (2005) have pointed towards a set of characteristics and backgrounds which were common to the prisoners and these can be used to prevent further suicides. For example, the authorities were blamed for placing a lot of stress on some prisoners even before they were confined. The prisons had no provided means by which individuals could seek help if they were feeling depressed and warning signs for those who might have killed themselves were ignored. The study done by Hatloy & Stewart (2007) also pointed out that approximately a third of the prison population had one kind of mental problem or another which in itself is a risk factor for suicide. The total yearly input to the British prison system as reported by the BBC (2005) is 135,000 individuals and this is indeed a huge number to evaluate in terms of mental conditions. The prison authorities have been given guidance in this matter by researchers as well as government commissions and the recommendations include things such as suicide risk screening and risk management plans. These are supposed to point out individuals who might be considering suicide and therefore need help from doctors in the prison system. Interventions may be necessary where the risk factors are extreme if mental health screening is conducted for all prisoners. Prisoners may also need psychiatric and situational help which lets them cope with their custody and the stress of imprisonment. Finally the recommendations include involving the whole community as a support group for prisoners in need of assistance (Hatloy & Stewart, 2007). Society’s Apathy Of course, all these measures require more money but politicians do not seem ready to spend more money on prisons because individuals within the community seem less prepared to spend money on prisons. As discussed by Cohen et. al. (2006), the public are more willing to spend money on the prevention of crime and keeping individuals out of the prison system rather than to have them in prison in the first place. It seems that the society thinks that the money which is supposed to be spent on the rehabilitation of prisoners can be better spent if it is spent on the prevention of youth offenders, reducing drugs on the street and generally ensuring that our cities remain safe. Overall, Cohen et. al. (2006) summarise that: “In our nationally representative sample, we found overwhelming public support for more money being devoted to youth prevention, drug treatment for non-violent offenders, and more police. The typical respondent would not allocate any new money to building more prisons and would not avail of a tax rebate if the money were spent on youth prevention, drug treatment, and police (Cohen et. al., 2006, p. 332-333).” In such situations, where prison authorities are placed under a clamp to tighten their budgets it seems unlikely that they will be able to afford psychiatric help for prisoners who are suicidal. Judge Tumin who was the Chief Inspector of Prisons was asked by the government to carry out a study on the Prison Service and the rising rate of suicides seventeen years ago. His report tellingly concluded, “Current Prison Service policy fails to communicate the social dimension to self-harm and self-inflicted death. Above all, it fails to give weight to the need to sustain people during their time of custody, the importance of relationships between inmates and between staff and inmates in providing support (Hatloy & Stewart, 2007, pg.1).” As mentioned in the beginning of this paper, prison suicide still remains a top priority for the prison service and it is clear that things have not changed much over time. The Future of Prisons and Suicides Of course a deeper understand on a sociological or psychological level of why individuals commit suicide would also be important in knowing additional signs which can help wardens know if a prisoner is contemplating suicide or is about to kill him/herself but that would necessitate additional training and education for the individuals managing the prisons. While the future may hold significant changes for how prisons are managed and operated with new advances in education or the management of prisoners in general (Bayliss, 2003), the situation concerned prison suicides might not be efficiently resolved until the government is willing to spend more money on prisons. Racial tensions and social issues continue to be present in our prisons and even though a lot has been done to prevent violence as well as self inflicted harm in the prison service, the main problems remain unsolved (Beckford, 2005). This is not because the problems themselves have no solutions or that the prison service or the government does not have the drive to solve the issues concerning prison related suicide, it is simply because there is not enough money to go around to prisoners who may be helped with some words coming from a professional therapist. I feel that volunteer organisations may be called in to help in such situations until the government find enough money to support the prison system. Till then it is very likely that the problems will persist and instead of sending out rehabilitated individuals back to society, prisons will only give young offenders another reason to end their lives. Word Count: 2,178 Works Cited Bayliss, P. 2003, Learning behind bars: time to liberate prison education, Studies in the Education of Adults, 35(2), p. 157-172. BBC. 2005, ‘Shock over prison suicide rates’, [Online] Available at: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/4245354.stm Beckford, J. 2005, Muslims in the Prisons of Britain and France, Journal of Contemporary European Studies, 13(3), p. 287-297. Cohen, M. et. al. 2006. Prevention, Crime Control or Cash? Public Preferences Towards Criminal Justice Spending Priorities, Justice Quarterly, 23(3), p. 317-335. Duke, K. 2005, Déjà vu? Opportunities and obstacles in developing alcohol policy in English prisons, Drugs: Education, Prevention & Policy, 12(5), p. 417-430. Economist. 2006. Labour's Black April, Economist, 379(8475), p. 12-13 Hall, P. 1993. Medicine and UK prisons, Lancet, 342(8862), p. 43-44. Hatry, M. et. al. 2001. HM prison healthcare needs assessment. Journal of Forensic Psychiatry, 12(3), p. 639-645. Hill, M and Ham, C. 1997, The Policy Process in the Modern State, Prentice Hall. HMPS (Her Majesty’s Prison Service), 2004. Corporate Plan. [Online] Available at: http://www.hmprisonservice.gov.uk/abouttheservice/ RCP (Royal College of Psychiatrists), 2005, ‘Suicide in prisons’ [Online] Available at: www.rcpsych.ac.uk/files/pdfversion/cr99.pdf Scott, 2001, ‘Two deaths at suicide-prone women's jail’, [Online] Available at: http://society.guardian.co.uk/crimeandpunishment/story/0,,584679,00.html Stewart and Hatloy, 2007. ‘Suicide in prisons’, [Online] Available at: http://www.mind.org.uk/Information/Factsheets/Suicide/ Valette, D. 2002, AIDS Behind Bars: Prisoners' Rights Guillotined, Howard Journal of Criminal Justice, 41(2), p. 107-123. Read More