‘Alarming’ increase in prison suicides

Press, 7 February 1986, Page 4

‘Alarming’ increase in prison suicides

An alarming increase in the number of prison suicides had occurred since 1983, when Oakley Hospital changed its policy on taking patients from tbe prison system, said the Minister of Justice, Mr Palmer, last evening.

Mr Palmer told the New Zealand Association of Psychotherapists and Counsellors that a new psychiatric medical facility would be set up to provide a better environment for prisoners with self-mutilation tendencies. Mr Palmer said there had been 29 suicides in New Zealand prisons since 1971. More than half the cases occurred in 1984 and 1985. Seven prison suicides occurred in 1984 and eight in 1985, he said. “A record of 29 suicides

in 15 years in a prison system is rather alarming. It is clear from the figures that the incidence of suicide is tending to increase,” he said. Prison officers were vigilant in preventing suicides, but it was almost Impossible to stop prisoners hanging themselves.

Incidents of self-mutila-tion were also relatively common in New Zealand prisons, and such prisoners had a disruptive effect.

“They are very difficult for the prison officers to deal with. Their behaviour disrupts the routine of the institution and is highly destabilising. Special watch has to be kept over them,” said Mr Palmer.

“It is noticeable that both suicide and mutila-

tion have tended to increase since Oakley Hospital changed its policy in January, 1983, of not taking patients from the prison system,” he said. - The Government had approved in principle a new psychiatric medical facility for such prisoners and planning approval was being sought by the Justice Department. Mr Palmer said that psychotherapists and counsellors could assist the Justice Department by discovering why people went to prison in the first place.

Re said that another important question that must be answered was how effective all areas of counselling were. Mr Palmer said the Justice Department spent about $360,000 in the last financial year counselling

cases referred by the Family Court. This was a 66 per cent increase on the figure for the previous year. ■ - S The Increase resulted from a greater use of private counsellors and a rise in the level of fees paid to private practitioners. It could also be partly attributed to the greater use of counselling facilities as people became more familiar with them.

There might be a need for more extensive counselling than was provided through the Family Court, but there was, at present, no way of measuring the effectiveness of counselling.

The department would seek applications from persons interested in evaluating court-referred counselling, Mr Palmer said.