§ Mr. RedmondTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what assessment he has made of the effect of installation of horizontal bars in prisons on the likelihood of prisoners attempting suicide by hanging.
§ Mr. Peter LloydResponsibility for this matter has been delegated to the director general of the prison service, who has been asked to arrange for a reply to be given.
Letter from Derek Lewis to Mr. Martin Redmond, dated 12 July 1993
The Home Secretary has asked me to reply to your recent Parliamentary Question about what assessment had been made of the suicide risk posed by horizontal bars in prison design.
It is the responsibility of prison governors to keep accommodation under review. Where unsafe features are identified consideration will be given to remedial measures, taking into account the resources available for refurbishment and minor works programmes and other priorities. We also have to balance the need to minimise the risk of suicide as far as we reasonably can against the importance of preserving a decent and humane living environment for prisoners.
Design standards for new prisons are set out in the Prison Design Briefing System (PDBS). PDBS makes provision for vertical bars in prisoner's living accommodation. For health care centres and segregation units at PDBS specifies additional anti-suicide features.
PDBS standards are kept under review in the light of new research and operation experience, including analysis of all prison suicides. A new anti-suicide cell window design is being tested which aims to make it even more difficult for prisoners to attach ligatures to any part of the window or bars.
We are not aware of any recent case in which a prisoner has been able to commit suicide by attaching a ligature to horizontal bars. If, however, you have any specific concerns about the use of horizontal bars in a particular establishment I should be grateful if you would draw them to my attention and I will arrange for the matter to be investigated.