100 prisoners ‘tried to kill themselves’

MORE than 100 prisoners attempted suicide in jails and detention centres in 2002, a report has found.

The majority of those who tried to kill themselves (95%) were aged between 15 and 39. The annual report of the National Parasuicide Registry found the most common form of self harm was cutting, followed by hanging. It also found drug overdose was rare because of the “restricted access” to medicines in prisons.

Of the 107 inmates who attempted suicides, 19 tried to kill themselves more than once. The rate of repetition among female prisoners (29.2%) was twice that of males (14.5%). The monthly average suicide attempts was 12.