The Chief Inspector of Prisons, Sir David Ramsbotham, is to review the suicide prevention policy in jails throughout England and Wales.

The initiative follows news that the number of people killing themselves in British prisons has reached an all time high.

The Prisons Minister, Joyce Quinn, defends the current anti-suicide policy (3'24")

Within the past year, 83 people have committed suicide in prison, 68 of those in England and Wales.

According to recent figures, men in prison are six times more likely to commit suicide than those in the outside world. But young people and women are also increasingly at risk.

Sir David says the suicide figures are due to "a management failure"

Sir David says the number of suicides is due to a management failure to implement the correct measures.

"The guts of this problem is [the] prison service management which is not managing the suicide problem in a proper way with people responsible [for it] up and down the system."

He said he would conduct his review early next year and already had a clear idea of the kind of changes he would like to be made.

"In my view area managers should be responsible for checking that suicide proceedures are really being conducted properly.

"What is more, I would also make them sign a certificate to say that they have done so - so that they can be held accountable," he said.

Prison authorities argue that the rate of suicides has actually fallen in relation to a rising prison population and that it is impossible to prevent inmates who are determined to kill themselves from doing so.

But the Director-General of the prisons service, Richard TiIt, has welcomed the review and says he is open to any suggestions that could help reduce the number of deaths behind bars.
 

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