Mental Health: Suicide in the Criminal Justice System – Prevalence, Risk Factors, Prediction, and Prevention

McKinnon, I; Holmes, J; Shaw, J

doi:10.1016/B978-0-12-800034-2.00296-2

Mental Health: Suicide in the Criminal Justice System – Prevalence, Risk Factors, Prediction, and Prevention

Lookup NU author(s): Dr Iain McKinnon ORCiD

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Abstract

At a population level suicide is rare; however, increased rates are observed in criminal justice populations. Suicide prediction and prevention among individuals in contact with the criminal justice system is notoriously difficult. The detailed investigation of deaths in prison and deaths in and following police custody are lengthy and seek to establish potential criminal liability for organizations and individuals. Therefore it is important that clinicians and custodial staff are skilled in the assessment of suicide risk. In this chapter we explore some of the challenges in these assessments and the known risk factors in these populations.