Episode 10 - Suicide

Snowball's shocking suicide follows a period of self-harm, food refusal and of course, her previous suicide attempt as part of the pact she had with Ritchie Atkins. As a result of all this she had been placed on 'suicide watch'.

Suicide and self harm are serious problems in prison. Prisoners are isolated from the people they usually get support and love from - their friends and families - and not all of them find strong and supportive relationships like the Julies or Yvonne and Denny's in prison. Their crime, the court process and their separation from loved ones create enormous sadness and tension. Many women in prison also suffer from mental health and/or drug problems. All these factors place them at higher risk than women in the community for self-harm and suicide. Despite major efforts in the prisons and at Prison Service headquarters to prevent suicide and self-harm the number of suicides rose last year. Between 1st January and the end of June 2003 ten women died in prison in England and Wales.

Every prison has a suicide prevention co-ordinator. Their roles include making sure that staff are trained in current suicide prevention procedures and reviewing how the procedures are working. They also work with outside agencies such as the Samaritans to make sure that prisoners have access to someone to talk to on a confidential basis when they need it. In most prisons the Samaritans train and support prisoners to act as 'Listeners' or 'Befrienders' to offer help and emotional support to other prisoners who may be at risk of self-harm. Listeners are given access to prisoners in distress who want to see them. Some prisons have Listener 'suites' which are more comfortable than ordinary cells and allow Listeners and the distressed prisoner to spend time together, overnight if necessary.

Of course watching vulnerable prisoners who may be at risk has a role to play, and careful records are kept to make sure that this is properly done, but the approach to prisoners at risk is mainly about offering them emotional support these days.

The prevention of self-harm and suicide depends on good communications between police or escort services bringing prisoners to the prison, between prison staff, and between others who are concerned about prisoners and those who can help them.

Families and friends of prisoners who may be at risk of harming themselves should contact the prison to talk about their concerns. Sometimes this may seem difficult because the prisoner might have asked them not to, but prison staff can only help if they know about the prisoner's distress.

For further information and support contact the Samaritans.