Assessment of custodial suicide risk - Jail and prison suicides in Austria1975-1996

Objective: Although incarceration is a high-risk situation for suicide all over the world, hardly any results have been published concerning the situa tion of custodial suicide in German-speaking countries. Methods: We investi gated the case notes of all suicides occuring in Austrian prisons between 1 975 and 1996 (n=207). Beside an evaluation of gender and preferred methods of suicide the suicide risk of different circumstances of custody was studi ed. Suicide rates of distinguishable, important subgroups of prisoners were calculated using the official statistical data of the Ministry of justice. Results: The suicide rate for people on remand and offenders classified as mentally ill was 231/100 000 vs. 191/100 000, that was about eight times h igher than the suicide rate in Austria's general population. The suicide ra te for sentenced offenders was 80/100 000, about three times as high as the suicide rate in Austria's general population (1980 - 1990: 26.4/100 000). The suicide risk increased with the length of the announced sentence. Concl usions: The suicide rate in custody was highest for prisoners on remand and mentally ill offenders. Female offenders had a high suicide risk, too. The common assumption that the suicide risk in jails and prisons is highest sh ortly after admission should be confirmed based on better methodology or be reconsidered.