Prisons, 74 people have killed themselves since the beginning of 2022: never so many since this figure has been recorded

ROME – Since the beginning of the year – we learn fromAntigone Association, a political-cultural body to which magistrates, prison workers, scholars, parliamentarians, teachers and citizens belong – 74 people committed suicide in a prison. Never so many since this data was recorded. The previous dramatic record was in 2009, when 72 people had committed suicide as of December 31st. Today, at the end of the year, there are still two months left. In addition to the value in absolute terms – we read in a document of theAssociationwho fights for the rights and guarantees in the criminal system – the main indicator for assessing the trend of the phenomenon is the so-called suicide rate, ie the relationship between the number of cases and the average number of people detained during the year.

The suicide rate is 13 per 10,000 inmates. Since 2022 has not yet ended, we can now calculate the suicide rate only between January and September, i.e. when the last update on the prison population dates back. With an average number of presences equal to 54,920 inmates and 65 deaths in these nine months, the suicide rate is now about 13 cases per 10,000 people detained: this is the highest value ever recorded. More than 21 times more people are killed in prison than in the free world. When 72 people committed suicide in 2009, there were about 7,000 more inmates.

An increase also among female prisoners. Another dramatic figure is that of suicides in the female prison population. There have been five so far. With a rate higher than that of men, equal to almost 22%. In 2021 and 2020 “only” two had taken their own lives. None in 2019. Almost 50% of the cases of suicides were then committed by people of foreign origin. If about a third of the prison population is foreign, then we see how the incidence of suicides is significantly higher among these prisoners. From the little information available, it would appear that about one third of suicide cases involved people with a known or suspected psychiatric disease and / or addiction to substances, alcohol or drugs.

In Foggia and San Vittore the highest number of suicides. The Prison Houses of Foggia and Milan San Vittore remain the two institutions with the highest number of suicides during the year, with four deaths each. The institutes in Rome Regina Coeli, Monza, Florence Sollicciano, Turin and Palermo Ucciardone follow with three deaths. Obviously it is not possible to trace the acceleration of the phenomenon this year to specific reasons. Each story is in itself, the result of personal pain and personal considerations. What we can certainly say, however, is that most of the people who enter a prison already have very complex situations behind them: social and economic marginalization, psychological problems and addictions characterize a large part of the prison population. In recent years, Antigone in its visits has collected an ever-increasing number of reports relating to the increase in people in prison with psychiatric pathologies and the difficulty of intercepting and managing such situations, often due to lack of adequate resources and the inadequacy of the prison as a place for their location.

Responsibilities for the pandemic. To all this has been added in recent years the pandemic and the various effects it has had on the entire population, contributing in many cases to widening and exacerbating situations of loneliness and suffering. For those who were already in prison and have suffered the closure of activities and external contacts for a long period, but also for those who were outside and arrive at detention with greater mental fatigue than presumably in the past.

The proposals. In addition to favoring alternative paths to intramural detention, especially for those with psychiatric and addiction problems, it is necessary to improve life within the institutions, to reduce as much as possible the sense of isolation, marginalization and the absence of hope for the future. In this sense, interventions should be favored which generally have a positive impact on the entire prison population and which can obviously have an even stronger effect on people with profound suffering. Antigonein this sense, a year ago he presented a document putting forward some proposals for the reform of the prison regulation, in order to support the need to pay more attention to some aspects of prison life, so that the suicidal risk can be controlled and reduced.

Greater care and openness to relations with the outside world. To this end, the regulation should first of all provide for greater care and openness to relations with the outside world: more phone calls (to be made at any time, directly from their prison room, not only to family members and third parties who represent significant ties, but also to the supervisory authorities) and in the same way more interviews. Particular attention should also be paid to the time of entry and exit from prison, both particularly delicate phases and during which, again this year, numerous cases of suicide have occurred. The introduction to the life of the institution must take place slowly and gradually, so that the person has the opportunity to acclimate to the new condition and the staff the time necessary to identify any problems and risk factors.

Each institution should have ad hoc departments for newcomers. A structured reception service in which they are informed about the rights and rules within the penitentiary, the use of interviews with psychologists and / or psychiatrists and greater contacts with the outside world. Greater attention should also be paid to the preparation phase for release at the end of the sentence, so that especially for people who do not have a solid network outside, it does not constitute a traumatic moment to be faced in the total absence of support. The person must be accompanied on their return to society and equipped with the main necessary tools. Institutions must thus equip themselves with a proper preparation service for issuance.