Rise in self-harming in Scots prisons

Self-harming in Scotland's prisons has almost doubled in the last four years, new figures show, with Liberal Democrats calling on ministers to do more to tackle the "troubling" rise in such incidents.

 

Justice spokesman Liam McArthur made the plea after prisoners were recorded self-harming on 532 occasions in 2017 - the equivalent of

about 10 incidents a week.

 

Figures obtained by the Liberal Democrats using Freedom of Information showed in Cornton Vale, Scotland's only all-female prison, incidents of self-harm increased from 27 in 2013 to 59 in 2017.

 

In Barlinnie Prison in Glasgow the total went from seven to 20 over the same period, while staff at Edinburgh's

Saughton Prison recorded 74 self-harm incidents last year, up from 26 in 2013.

 

In the new Grampian Prison in Peterhead there were 121 incidents of self-harm recorded in 2017, the highest number in any jail that year.

 

Overall self-harming in prisons increased from 277 recorded incidents in 2013 to 532 in 2017.

 

Mr McArthur said urgent reform of mental health care in Scotland's jails was now needed.

 

He stated: "The Scottish Prison Service have been active in improving the identification and recording of self-harm but it is still troubling to

see the extent to which self-harm is taking place in Scotland's prisons.

 

"Reform of prison mental health care is urgently needed. A year ago I wrote to the Justice Secretary calling for action to address this self-

harm epidemic yet in his parting salvo this week Chief Inspector of Prisons David Strang warned prisoner health care remains an issue.

 

"Incarceration doesn't mean people should be deprived of the same access to health care as anyone else in the community. Yet there has

long been a sense that this is the case.

 

"Prison staff are working incredibly hard to help people but they don't have the resources they need. The Scottish Government agreed more

than a year ago to Liberal Democrat demands to put mental health workers in every prison but there is no sign yet of when this will happen.

 

"I appeal to the Scottish Government to recognise the scale of the challenge that these figures represent. Alleviating poor mental health in

our justice system would benefit both these individuals and the wider communities that they will return to."