Headlines

Suicides and Other Deaths in Prisons in France Between 2000 and 2010

Prisoners constitute a particularly vulnerable population: they are in poorer health than the general population, starting from the moment they enter detention. A significant proportion of the prison population appears to be socially disadvantaged, facing multiple risk factors associated with precarious living conditions. They are also exposed to risks associated with incarceration and deprivation of liberty, which may be exacerbated by prison conditions. The deteriorating health of prisoners constitutes a public health issue in its own right, given the clinical needs identified by somatic and mental health professionals during initial intake consultations.As part of its work on health in prisons in collaboration with the prison administration, Santé publique France has just published a report on the study "Suicides and Other Deaths in Prisons in France Between 2000 and 2010. Contribution of death certificates to understanding and monitoring mortality" (1). This report shows that, over a 10-year period, half of the 2,541 deaths among inmates were suicides. This rate is significantly higher than in the general French population (7 times higher for men and 20 times higher for women). In contrast, mortality from “natural causes,” excluding AIDS, was lower among incarcerated individuals than in the general French population. In more than half of the death certificates for individuals who died by suicide while incarcerated, no somatic or psychiatric condition was mentioned; psychiatric conditions, mentioned in only 15.5% of cases, were likely underreported.This original study, resulting from the cross-referencing of death certificates from the CépiDc-Inserm national mortality database with information provided by the prison administration, represents a step toward an epidemiological surveillance system for suicides in detention. Improving the reporting of medical information, particularly regarding any (psychiatric or somatic) conditions associated with suicide, would enable the analysis of environmental factors related to incarceration and factors linked to the morbidity of incarcerated individuals.