Mr. MarsdenTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many(a) suicides and (b) incidents of self harm there were among 15 to 17-year-old girls in prison in each year since 1997. [112519]
§ Paul GogginsThere have been no self-inflicted deaths in prison of female juveniles in the years since 1997. The following table covers the number of recorded incidents of self-harm by female juveniles between 1998 and 2002. Relevant data on self-harm before 1998 are not available.
988W
Self-harm among female juveniles: 1998–20021 Number of incidents 1998 8 1999 20 2000 44 2001 122 2002 107 1 Up to and including December 2002. The Prison Service has made improvements in the recording of self-harm incidents, including the implementation of a new monitoring system from December 2002.
The Prison Service has a duty of care to all prisoners in its custody and, recognising that self-harm is a particular problem among young female prisoners, is currently developing several interventions that may help them reduce and manage self-harm in prison. One such example is at Holloway prison where all prisoners, including juveniles, who have been identified as at risk of suicide or self-harm are offered individual crisis counselling.