Epidemiological survey of suicide ideation and acts and other deliberate self-harm among offenders in the community under supervision of the Probation Service in England and Wales.
BACKGROUND
There is a dearth of information on suicidal thoughts and acts or other acts of deliberate self-harm by offenders under community supervision.


OBJECTIVE
The objective of this study is to estimate lifetime and one month prevalence of deliberate self-harm and to determine ongoing risk among offenders in the community under probation supervision.


METHODS
One hundred and seventy-three randomly selected offenders under supervision by the probation service in one county in England were screened for mental illness. All 88 screened cases and a one-in-five sample of non-cases were interviewed according to the Mini International Neuropsychiatric Inventory Module-B. False negatives (n = 17) were used to weight calculations and estimate prevalence for the whole group.


RESULTS
A third of the interviewed sample (n = 56) had a lifetime history of suicide attempts, and 9 (5%) had self-harmed in the month prior to interview. Lifetime suicide history was associated with suicidal ideation and deliberate self-harm in the prior month.


CONCLUSIONS
Our adjusted findings indicate that 25-40% of offenders serving all or part of their sentence in the community have a lifetime history of self-harm, which is similar to the rate among prisoners, and are at very much higher risk of further such acts or completed suicide than the general population. At a time of change in delivery of probation services the implications are that rates of suicide and other forms of deliberate self-harm should be continually assessed in all probation areas, particularly with reference to service changes;the relationship between deliberate acts of self-harm, suicidal ideation and completion of suicide should be investigated prospectively in larger studies;probation services are likely to need mental health expertise to manage these risks.
Universidad San Francisco de Quito, Quito, Ecuador.
Graham
G
Pluck
Charlie
C
Brooker
D000328:Adult; D057237:Criminals / Q000523:psychology* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D004739:England / Q000453:epidemiology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D008297:Male; D001523:Mental Disorders / Q000453:epidemiology; D015995:Prevalence; D011329:Prisoners / Q000523:psychology* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D012111:Residence Characteristics; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D012307:Risk Factors; D057566:Self Report; D016728:Self-Injurious Behavior / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000523:psychology; D059020:Suicidal Ideation; D013406:Suicide, Attempted / Q000523:psychology / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D014852:Wales / Q000453:epidemiology