Written Answers. - Prison Suicide.
Helen Keogh
Question:
39
Ms Keogh
asked the
Minister for Justice
the circumstances surrounding the suicide of a young prisoner and the attempted suicide of another over the weekend of 28 and 29 January 1995; the steps, if any, that are being taken to prevent the recurrence of such suicides, especially among addicted prisoners who are at high risk.
[2825/95]
I should first like to say that I am very concerned at any loss of life in prison custody, and particularly by suicide. Every such death is a tragedy not just for the relations and friends of the deceased but also for the prison service. I intend to do everything I can to support prevention strategies.
The person who was found dead in Mountjoy had been out on temporary release on 28 January 1995, in the company of a prison officer, to visit his mother at home. He honoured the conditions of the release. At unlock at 8.15 a.m. on 29 January 1995 the deceased did not respond and on examination appeared to be unconscious. He was removed by ambulance to the Mater Hospital where he was pronounced dead. There will be a coroner's inquest into this death, as there is in the case of all deaths in custody. The detailed circumstances will be made known to the coroner. However, the information at my disposal suggests that there is no basis at this time, for the suggestion that this death was a suicide. Without wishing to prejudice the coroner's findings, and out of concern for the family involved, it should be said that present indications suggest that there were natural causes involved in this case.
The person who attempted suicide in St. Patrick's Institution on 28 January 1995 was being held in a treble cell. At 11.30 p.m. the alarm was raised by the offender's two cell-mates banging on the cell door. Staff found the offender hanging in the toilet. He was lifted down and the ligature removed. The medical orderly attended to the offender until an ambulance arrived and removed him to the Mater Hospital at 11.40 p.m. He regained consciousness the following day. This attempted suicide was, fortunately, detected in time, and I should like to pay tribute to the cell-mates, staff of the institution and of the Mater Hospital for their success in saving this young life.
I am reviewing the preventive measures in place to deter suicides. I understand that 50 of the 57 recommendations of the Advisory Group on Prison Deaths which reported in August 1991 have been or are in the course of being implemented. The report of the advisory group was published and is available in the Dáil Library.
All deaths which take place in custody are, as I have indicated, the subject of a public inquiry in the form of a coroner's inquest. The circumstances of each death in custody are also examined by the suicide prevention group in each prison. These examinations cover the background and circumstances of each death. Their objective is to identify, where possible, measures which might be taken in the future to contribute to the prevention of tragic deaths of this nature. This is an important mechanism for absorbing the lessons to be learned in each case.
There are, also, procedures in place for identifying and providing for offenders at special risk. Such offenders are usually placed under special observation. However, we cannot escape the fact that where an offender is datermined to take his or her life, and not infrequently there is no prior warning of any such intent, the scope for prevention is limited. The advisory group itself acknowledged in chapter 4 "that it has to be accepted that if a person is sufficiently determined to take his own life, it is virtually impossible to prevent him".
Drug abuse, which has been mentioned specifically by the Deputy, is of course a serious problem in prisons and efforts must be made to deal with it. One of the unfortunate consequences of drug abuse is the risk of accidental or deliberate over-dosing. The best way to avoid drug abuse is to prevent all illegal drugs coming into the prisons. Steps which are being taken to keep drugs out of the prisons include a high level of staff vigilance, closed circuit video surveillance, screening of prisoners after visits and regular searches of the prisons.
The policy document The Management of Offenders — A Five Year Plan which was published in June last and which I broadly endorse contained in chapter 13 a discussion of the drug problem. It also indicated that it was planned, through the medium of the departmental steering committee which is in place to implement the recommendations of the Advisory Committee on Communicable Diseases in Prisons, to carry out a full review to establish how best to manage the problems of both access to drugs and the treatment — rehabilitation of drug-addicted offenders. I have asked that the work of this committee be speeded up so that we may assess the options available to us to tackle the drug problem in prisons.
