Research on custodial suicide has run into immense difficulties in its attempt to identify common characteristics of the suicide-prone inmate. In 1993, Haycock recognized these difficulties and called for comparative research to delineate the different risks posed by different sorts of confined populations. This paper contrasts the characteristics of different categories of confined inmates based on data collected by the Australian Institute of Criminology on deaths in custody within Australia between the years 1980 and 1993, inclusive. This form of research will lead to a greater understanding of the phenomenon of custodial suicide and the establishment of better preventive strategies tailored to the needs of specific groups and organizations.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.
References
1.
BackettS. A. (1987) Suicide in Scottish prisons. Br. J. Psychiat.151, 218–21.
2.
BilesD.McDonaldD. (1992) Deaths in Custody in Australia, 1980–1989. Canberra, Australian Institute of Criminology.
3.
BurtchB. E.EricsonP. (1979) The Silent System: an inquiry into prisoners who suicide, Toronto, Centre of Criminology, University of Toronto.
4.
BurvilP. W. (1975) Attempted suicide in the Perth statistical division 1971–72. Austr. and N. Z. J. Psychiat.9, 272–9.
5.
CopelandA. R. (1989) Fatal suicide hangings among prisoners in jail. Med. Sci. Law29, 341–5.
6.
CrazeL. (1990) Prison Suicide in New South Wales: 1880–1984. Paper presented at the 10th Annual Congress of the Australian and New Zealand Association of Psychiatry, Psychology and Law.
7.
DooleyE. (1990) Prison suicide in England and Wales, 1972–87. Br. J. Psychiat.156, 40–45.
8.
EastwellH. D. (1988) The low risk of suicide among the Yolngu of the Northern Territory. Med. J. Austr.148, 338–40.
9.
FischerE. P.ComstockG. W.MonkM. A.SencerD. J. (1993) Characteristics of completed suicides: implications of differences among methods. Suicide and Life-Threatening Behav.32 (2), 91–100.
10.
GaffneyB. P. (1993) Use of Coroner's reports for surveillance of accidental death. J. Pub. Health Med.15 (3), 272–6.
11.
GondlesJ. A. (1988) Jail suicides: working to prevent tragedy. Corrections Today, Dec., 36–40.
12.
GreenC.KendallK.AndreG.LoomanT.PolviN. (1993) A study of 133 suicides among Canadian federal prisoners. Med. Sci. Law33 (2), 121–7.
13.
HaycockJ. (1993) Comparative suicide rates in different types of involuntary confinement. Med. Sci. Law33 (2), 128–38.
14.
HayesL. M. (1983) And darkness closes in. Crim. Justice and Behav.10, 461–84.
15.
HayesL. M. (1989) National study of jail suicides. Psychiat. Q.60, 7–29.
16.
JonesI. H. (1972) Psychiatric disorders among aborigines of the Australian Western Desert. Soc. Sci. and Med.6, 263–7.
17.
JohnsonH. R. M. (1982) Deaths in police custody in England and Wales. For. Sci. Int.19, 231–6.
18.
JordanF. B.SchmeckpeperK.StropeM. (1987) Jail suicides by hanging. Am. J. For. Med. and Path.8 (1), 27–31.
19.
KennedyD. B. (1984) A theory of suicide while in police custody. J. Police Sci. and Admin.12 (2), 191–9.
20.
LesterD. (1987) Suicide and homicide in US prisons. Psychol. Rep.61, 126.
21.
LesterD. (1993) Availability of methods for suicide and suicide rates. Perceptual and Motor Skills76, 1358.
22.
LesterD.DantoB. L. (1993) Suicide Behind Bars: Prediction and Prevention. Philadelphia, The Charles Press.
23.
LieblingA. (1992) Suicides in Prison. London, Routledge.
24.
LieblingA. (1995) Vulnerability and prison suicide. Br. J. Crimin.35 (2), 173–87.
25.
LieblingA.KrarupH. (1993) Suicide Attempts and Self-Injury in Male Prisons. Cambridge, Institute of Criminology.
26.
McCannD. (1992) The range of findings open to the coroner. In: SallyH. (ed.) The Aftermath of Death. New York, Federation Press.
27.
MonkM. (1987) Epidemiology of suicide. Epidem. Rev.9, 51–69.
28.
PounderD. J. (1986) Death behind bars: an 11-year survey of prisoner deaths in South Australia. Med. Sci. Law26 (3), 207–13.
29.
RamsayR. F.TanneyB. L.SearleC. A. (1987) Suicide prevention in high-risk prison populations. Can. J. Crim.29 (3), 295–307.
30.
ReserJ. (1991) Aboriginal mental health: conflicting cultural perspectives. In: ReidJ.TrompfP. (eds) The Health of Aboriginal Australia. Sydney, Harcourt Brace Jovanovich.
31.
Royal Commission into Aboriginal Deaths in Custody (1991) National Report, Commissioner Elliott Johnston. Canberra, AGPS.
32.
WallerK. (1994) Coronial Law and Practice in New South Wales, 3rd Edition. Sydney, Butterworths.
33.
WinfreeL. T. (1987) Toward understanding state-level jail mortality: correlates of death by suicide and by natural causes, 1977 and 1982. Justice Q.4 (1), 51–70.
34.
WinklerG. E. (1992) Assessing and responding to suicidal jail inmates. Comm. Ment. Health J.28 (4), 317–27.
35.
WoolR. J.DooleyE. (1987) A study of attempted suicides in prisons. Med. Sci. Law27 (4), 297–301.
