The prison service has been urged to do more to detect early warning signs of mental ill health among prisoners after it was revealed there have been 28 apparent suicides in Scotland’s jails over the past three years.
Official Scottish Prison Service (SPS) figures collated by the Scottish Liberal Democrats showed there were 13 apparent suicides in 2010/11, eight in 2011/12, and seven in 2012/13.
All but one of these were male prisoners, and only two of the total of 28 were placed on the SPS’s suicide prevention strategy, ACT 2 care.
Before a death in custody can be formally recorded as suicide, a Fatal Accident Inquiry (FAI) must be held to legally determine the cause of death.
Of the 28 apparent suicides, eight have been legally determined by FAIs.
Figures also showed there had been 61 attempted suicide incidents over the same three-year period.
Liberal Democrat justice spokeswoman Alison McInnes said: “Every suicide in prison is one too many.
“The Scottish Prison Service must ensure that staff are able to identify the early warning signs.”
An SPS spokeswoman said: “The SPS invests extensively in training our staff in risk management and ACT 2 Care. We treat suicide very seriously.”