Prisoner self-harm doubles in 5 years
T h e number of prisoners self-harming in Scott ish jails has doubled over the past five years.
Across the country, 532 incidents were noted last year compared with just 277 in 2013, according to figures released under Freedom of Information laws.
Scottish Lib Dem justice spokesman Liam McArthur has called for better jail mental health services.
He said: “The Scottish Prison Service have been active in improving the identification and recording of self- harm but it is still troubling to see the extent to which self-harm is taking place in Scotland’s prisons.
“Reform of prison mental healthcare is urgently needed.
“A year ago, I wrote to the Justice Secretary calling for action to address this self-harm epidemic yet, in his parting salvo this week, chief inspector of prisons David Strang warned prisoner healthcare remains an issue.
“Incarceration doesn’t mean people should be deprived of the same access to health care as anyone else in the community. Yet there has long been a sense that this is the case.”
Since 2013 there have been 1855 recorded selfharm incidents, with the number rising year-on-year.
The f igure for HMP Edinburgh has trebled over that period.
A Scottish Prison Service spokesman said: “A wider range of incidents are now recorded as self-harm than previously would have been.”