Research: Released prisoners seven times more likely to commit suicide than general population

Research on the mortality of released prisoners is sparse and what research has been conducted has mainly focused on drug-related causes of death. This is a systematic review to investigate the risk of suicide in recently released prisoners.

Released prisoners are almost seven times more likely to commit suicide than the general population, a review of international research has revealed.

A systematic review by UK academics of nine studies in Europe, the US and Australia found the increased risk is likely to be linked to high levels of mental illness among prisoners, combined with the stress of transition from prison to the community.

The review examined a total of 460,983 released prisoners to investigate the risk of suicide. All studies showed increased suicide mortality in this group, with 1,102 suicides out of a total of 7,511 deaths recorded.

Writing in the journal Mental Health Practice, the authors stated that suicide was the second most common cause of death, behind drug-related causes, and, worldwide, the increased risk of suicide is 6.76 times higher than in the general population.

Solutions for supporting this high-risk group include prison authorities working closely with probation, social and healthcare services in the community to ensure they have access to a complete service.

The researchers also call for the funding of randomised controlled trials to gather an evidence base for developing effective and cost-effective interventions.

Source: http://rcnpublishing.com/doi/abs/10.7748/mhp2013.11.17.3.20.e846