Prison staff seek support to deal with jail deaths

Prison officers who have to deal with the death of an inmate often experience a “ripple effect” in their personal lives, and many would like to the see the Irish Prison Service employ dedicated peer support officers.

A study to be published later this year looks at the experiences of 20 prison service staff of varying grades and degrees of experience in relation to their experience of inmate deaths.

It found that while many welcomed the progress made in relation to peer support in recent years, more could be done, in particular, following the example of the Defence Forces in having dedicated peer support personnel.