title: An ecological analysis of prison overcrowding and suicide rates in England and Wales, 2000-2014.
abstract: Prisoners are at a greatly increased risk of suicides compared to the general population. Differences in suicide risk can be partly explained by individual risk factors, but the contribution of prison characteristics remains unclear. Overcrowded prisons have higher suicide rates, but this may be related to prison function, security level, population size and turnover. The aim of the current study was to investigate the contribution of each of these prison characteristics to suicide rates, using data from the Ministry of Justice for adult prisons in England and Wales from 2000 to 2014. Negative binomial regression analysis showed that larger population size, higher turnover, higher security and public management were associated with higher suicide rates. When controlling for these factors, overcrowding was not found to be related to suicide rates. Questions remain about the causal mechanisms underlying variation in prison suicides and the impact of the lived experience of overcrowding. Further research is needed to examine the relative contribution of prison and prisoner characteristics to suicides.
authors.affiliation: Institute for Criminal Law and Criminology, Leiden University, P.O. Box 9520, 2300 RA Leiden, the Netherlands. Electronic address: e.f.j.c.van.ginneken@law.leidenuniv.nl.
authors.forename: Esther F J C
authors.initials: EF
authors.lastname: van Ginneken
authors.affiliation: RAND Europe, Westbrook Centre, Milton Road, Cambridge, CB4 1YG, United Kingdom. Electronic address: alex_sutherland@rand.org.
authors.forename: Alex
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Sutherland
authors.affiliation: Custodial Institutions Agency (Prison Services), Ministry of Security and Justice, P.O. Box 30132, 2500 GC, The Hague, the Netherlands. Electronic address: t.molleman@dji.minjus.nl.
authors.forename: Toon
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Molleman
mesh_terms: D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D003441:Crowding / Q000523:psychology*; D004739:England; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D011330:Prisons / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D012306:Risk; D012637:Security Measures / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence; D013405:Suicide / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence* / Q000523:psychology / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D014852:Wales
keywords: Mortality; Overcrowding; Prison; Security; Suicide; Turnover