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Welcome to the EuroPris Knowledge Management System. The table below shows questions and responses from European National Agencies. Select a question for more information or use the filters on the left to narrow down questions based on Agency or Category.
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Introduction: The mortality rate for people in prison is as much as 50% higher than for people in the community. Penal Reform International and the University of Nottingham are embarking on a new programme to research the many issues that arise with prison deaths. Data and information are critical to understanding the problem. As a first step we are trying to get a picture of the how deaths in prisons are dealt with in different jurisdictions, so we are looking for information on causes and state processes (if any) around deaths. This query is being facilitated by EuroPris as part of the Memorandum of Understanding signed by EuroPris and Penal Reform International.
The Inspector of Prisons investigates all deaths in custody, each report is submitted to the Minister for Justice and published on the Dept of Justice website. On occasion Deputies request information on number of prisoners who have died in custody, the responses are published on the Oireachtas website.
What is classified as a death in prison?The Irish Prison Service record all prisoners who are in the Prison System whether they be in custody, on temporary release or unlawfully at large.
What are the main causes of prisoner deaths in prison? If the data are available, what percentage of deaths are due to these causes?The main causes of prisoners deaths are: natural causes, misadventure and suicide. The data in relation to the percentages is not available.
Are prisoner deaths investigated? If so, what local and/or national bodies undertake the investigations? Are their findings published?All deaths in custody are the subject to a Garda investigation and subsequently an inquest is held in a Coroner's Court. All deaths in custody are also subject to an independent investigation by the Inspector of Prisons. These include the death of a person whose death occurs within one month of temporary release from prison custody. The Inspector of Prisons report into each death in custody in sent to the Minister for Justice and is published on the Dept of Justice's website.
Every year an epidemiological report on mortality and its causes is published by the General Subdirectorate for Prison Health. The report is available to all citizens by requesting it through the Transparency Portal of the General State Administration.
What is classified as a death in prison?Those that happen under the custody of officials of Penitentiary Institutions or the State Security Corps. This includes those that occurred in penitentiary centers, in reference hospitals or during their transfer to them. Additionally, those that occurred during the enjoyment of a prison leave, under telematic control, in community reintegration institutions or similar situations are studied.
What are the main causes of prisoner deaths in prison? If the data are available, what percentage of deaths are due to these causes?The main causes of death of people deprived of liberty during the year 2020 (consolidated data) and their percentage is the following: - Natural (circulatory, tumors,...) 53.4% - Suicide 25.0% - Adverse reaction to psychoactive substances 15.2% - Accidental 2.9% - Aggression 1.0% -Undetermined 2.5%
Are prisoner deaths investigated? If so, what local and/or national bodies undertake the investigations? Are their findings published?All those that occur in the penitentiary center are investigated by the investigating court of the place where the penitentiary center is located. Investigation is not usually carried out in those deaths certified by the reference hospital where the inmate was admitted when he died, the hospital issues a report that is sent to the prison. Not all courts forward the conclusion of their investigations to the prison, for reasons of confidentiality. This is the reason why in 2020 there are 5% of undetermined causes. They are also subject to analysis by the Ombudsman.
The number of deaths among clients in the SPSS are relatively few per year. During the period 2013–2021 there were a total of 38 deaths in and out of custody and 55 deaths in and out of prison. Deaths outside the prison or institution can for example, be when staying in hospital. Among the clients in custody almost half of all deaths were suicides. Among clients in the institution was about one of five deaths during the reported period suicide. Statistics on deaths in the Swedish Prison and Probation Service are presented annually in a public publication called "The Swedish Prison and Probation Service and statistics". The publication can be downloaded from the Swedish Prison and Probation Service's website: https://www.kriminalvarden.se/forskning-och-statistik/statistik-och-fakta/kos--kriminalvard-och-statistik/ Inmates in The Swedish Prison and Probation Service (SPSS) are a group in society where health problems are very common. Both physical and mental illness is common among clients in custody, prison and probation. Some belong to the risk group for self-harming acts and suicide. A report from 2014 that looked at suicide after completion of imprisonment showed that just the fact that a person has served time in prison increased the risk of suicide by 3 times. During the period 2016-2021, there were a total of 7 suicides in custody and 2 suicides in prison. Through adaptations and control of premises and furnishings can risks in the physical environment be minimized. In the prison population, suicide is as common as in others society while the frequency is 3-4 times higher for clients placed in custody. In general, the mental strain is higher in custody and in closed environments where the physical room for maneuver is limited. Against this background, the Swedish Prison and Probation Service focuses in particular on addressing risks in residential areas in custody and prison. Experience shows that suicide in institutions and prisons is almost exclusively completed in living quarters and by the self-throttling method. Against this background, the Swedish Prison and Probation Service is working to standardize the living spaces so that they are designed in such a way that the possibilities for self-harm and suicide are minimized as far as possible. This happens, among other things by minimizing attachment points such as sink with faucet, lamp fixture, controls for blinds, hooks, door handles, shower racks and the like.
What is classified as a death in prison?In addition to suicide, the death in prison may be due on, among other things, overdose, sudden death or death after long-term illness.
What are the main causes of prisoner deaths in prison? If the data are available, what percentage of deaths are due to these causes?The question is answered under questions 1 and 2.
Are prisoner deaths investigated? If so, what local and/or national bodies undertake the investigations? Are their findings published?In the event of a death, an incident investigation is conducted. These are carried out by a special section for special investigations at the Swedish Prison and Probation Service's security department. Prior to the investigation, a request must be made to the police for a copy of the police investigation and to the doctor a request for a death certificate, cause of death certificate and, where applicable, a statement due to a clinical autopsy or forensic examination. In other words, the Swedish Prison and Probation Service, the police, doctors and the National Board of Forensic Medicine are involved in the event of death in an institution. The incident investigations are published at regular intervals, in a short version, on the Swedish Prison and Probation Service's intranet. The investigations are intended to function as a knowledge base for learning purposes.
Information on deaths in custody are published each year in the NIPS Annual Report. All deaths in custody are investigated by the Prisoner Ombudsman (Northern Ireland) and are published on the Prisoner Ombudsman’s website.
What is classified as a death in prison?A death is a death in custody if the person dies in custody or an incident that leads to the person’s death occurs in prison and the person subsequently dies in hospital while still in the custody of the prison.
What are the main causes of prisoner deaths in prison? If the data are available, what percentage of deaths are due to these causes?These data are not readily available as cause of death is determined by the Coroner and there is currently a considerable backlog in inquests for prisoner deaths.
Are prisoner deaths investigated? If so, what local and/or national bodies undertake the investigations? Are their findings published?See response to Q1
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Information is avalible, and published by the Directorate of Correctional Service. Recently an interesting article on the theme; Suicide in Prison and after release by Bukten and Stavseth was published in European Journal of Epidemology 2021. The information about deaths in prisons are of course avalible in the Council of Europe Annual Penal Statistics - SPACE- Table no 28.
What is classified as a death in prison?A medical doctor defines the death of a person in a prison.
What are the main causes of prisoner deaths in prison? If the data are available, what percentage of deaths are due to these causes?The main causes are natural deaths according to ICD-10 chapter A-Q, and unnatual deaths according to ICD-10 chapters V-Y. Over a periode of 17 years from 2000-2016 53 % of all deaths in prisons are suicieds.
Are prisoner deaths investigated? If so, what local and/or national bodies undertake the investigations? Are their findings published?Police is always notified in case of deaths. Usually an investigation is done in all these cases. The police makes their registrations, but does not publish this separatly.
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Data on deaths of persons serving prison sentence and pre-trial detention (hereinafter only “inmates”) are published annually on the webpage of the Corps of Prison and Court Guard (hereinafter only “Corps”), which is publicly available.
What is classified as a death in prison?A death in prison refers to the death of an inmate during pre-trial detention or prison sentence execution. When assessing the number of mentioned deaths, the place of death (prison facility, civilian medical facility and similar) shall not be decisive.
What are the main causes of prisoner deaths in prison? If the data are available, what percentage of deaths are due to these causes?Due to the fact that it is not clear from the question in what time period you are interested in, below you can see the table with the number and types (causes) of deaths for 2021. Year 2021 Cause of death Number of deaths % COVID-19 4 10.80 % cardiovascular diseases 13 35.14 % respiratory failure 1 2.70 % liver cirrhosis 1 2.70 % Cancer (tumour diseases) 3 8.11 % Metabolic disruption 2 5.41 % Suicides: - hanging/ suffocation 10 27.03 % - cutting 2 5.41 % - drug poisoning 1 2.70 % Total 37 deaths (including 13 suicides) In the past year (2021), the Corps recorded 37 deaths of inmates, including 13 suicides, which represents 35.14 % suicide share on the inmate mortality rate. The main cause of deaths were cardiovascular diseases (35.14% share from the total number of inmate deaths). Similarly, the cardiovascular diseases are the main cause of death within the civilian population in Slovakia.
Are prisoner deaths investigated? If so, what local and/or national bodies undertake the investigations? Are their findings published?In the event of the death of an accused serving pre-trial detention of a convict serving prison sentence, an investigation of the stated case is obligatory carried out under the Criminal Procedure Code. The investigation is carried out from the medical point of view by performing a forensic autopsy at the forensic department of the Health Care Surveillance Authority and, from the criminal-legal point of view by an investigation of the competent law enforcement authority. Within the Slovak legal system, depending on the circumstances of the death of the inmate, it may be most often an investigator of the factually and locally competent District Directorate of the Police Force of the Slovak Republic or an investigator of the Police Force assigned to the Office of Inspection Service. Depending on the circumstances of the death of the inmate, there is also the possibility that the suspected crime in question can be also investigated by an investigator assigned to the Regional Directorate of the Police Force or an investigator from the National Criminal Agency, which is an organisational unit of the Presidium of Police Force of the Slovak Republic. The findings or specific decisions of the law enforcement authorities are not made public. The General Directorate of the Corps elaborates a special file on each death of the inmate, where is described not only the previous health status of the deceased, but also the exact cause of death and findings of the investigation by surveillance authorities. These information are not made public.
The information of the prison deaths is public on a statistic level in annual reports and rewiews.
What is classified as a death in prison?Everything else is classified information, except the number of deaths by prison and the cause of death. The reports state whether the cause of death is a crime, suicide, natural causes of death or obscure.
What are the main causes of prisoner deaths in prison? If the data are available, what percentage of deaths are due to these causes?The main causes of prison deaths are suicide and natural cause. In the years 2010 - 2021, a total of 67 prisoners died in Finnish prisons. The causes of death were distributed as follows: suicides 43,28 %, natural causes 37,31 %, crime 1,49 % and obscure cause 17,91 %. The number of obscure cases is relatively high, because the prison authorities do not necessarily receive information from the health authorities or the police.
Are prisoner deaths investigated? If so, what local and/or national bodies undertake the investigations? Are their findings published?All the deaths are investigated by police. The findings are not published. In addition, the central administrative unit of the Criminal Sanctions Agency conducts internal investigations into suicide cases and crimes. The internal investigation mainly examines the legality of the actions of the prison authorities and whether official duty has been neglected in the case.
Data on deaths in custody is published quarterly here: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/safety-in-custody-statistics As well as the quarterly update there is an annual publication of detailed tables and a death data tool that allows readers to conduct their own analysis of the information.
What is classified as a death in prison?Detailed information about definitions is include in the ‘Guide to Safety in Custody Statistics’, available at: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/1073439/Guide_to_Safety_in_Custody_Statistics.pdf
What are the main causes of prisoner deaths in prison? If the data are available, what percentage of deaths are due to these causes?Our system for classifying deaths is explained on pp17-19 of the ‘Guide to Safety in Custody Statistics’. Table 1.1 of the most recent annual summary provides information about the numbers in each category and is available at: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/1071687/Deaths_in_prison_custody_1978_to_2021.xlsx
Are prisoner deaths investigated? If so, what local and/or national bodies undertake the investigations? Are their findings published?Deaths in prison custody are investigated by the police and the Prisons and Probation Ombudsman (PPO), and are subject to an inquest by the local Coroner. The PPO publishes the reports of investigations here: https://www.ppo.gov.uk/document/fii-report/
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There is no publication by the penitentiary administration. Deaths are reported annually to the Council of Europe Annual Penal Statistics and published as part of the Space report.
What is classified as a death in prison?Deaths are categorized as follows: - Suicide - Accidental - Violent death - Natural death - Overdose
What are the main causes of prisoner deaths in prison? If the data are available, what percentage of deaths are due to these causes?The three main reasons of deaths from 2019 to 2021 were: - Natural death (50.42%) - Suicide (27.73%) - Overdose (18.48%)
Are prisoner deaths investigated? If so, what local and/or national bodies undertake the investigations? Are their findings published?After every death in a correctional institution, the police are informed. In most cases, a forensic autopsy is ordered. In the case of suicides, a specialist group is commissioned to analyse the suicide together with selected prison staff. A psychological autopsy report is drawn up with the most important findings and preventive suggestions and finally made available to the prison.
It is indeed published and made available to the general public on the Catalan Ministry of Justice website. in particular, is part of the paged devoted to statistical information of the Directorate General of Prison Services https://www.gencat.cat/justicia/estadistiques_serveis_penitenciaris/12_pob.html It contains a section on the number of deaths in prison per year from 2010 until 2022. Below, there are the statistics on the different causes of death per year. In particular, for every year data are provided about the number of deaths caused by HIV, other illnesses, drug overdose, suicide, accident, assault by another person, as well as a number of deaths whose cause is yet to be determined.
What is classified as a death in prison?Any death that has occurred inside a prison facility is included in the statistical data.
What are the main causes of prisoner deaths in prison? If the data are available, what percentage of deaths are due to these causes?There is data available on the main causes of death in prison as mentioned in answer to question 1. The information is available to the general public on the Ministry of Justice website https://www.gencat.cat/justicia/estadistiques_serveis_penitenciaris/12_pob.html In particular, the main causes of death in 2021 were under the category of “other ilnesses” and suicide. The causes of death that are recorded are HIV, other illnesses, drug overdose, suicide, accident, assault by another person, as well as a number of deaths whose cause is yet to be determined. In addition, there is data available as for the place where the death happened, being that a prison facility, the hospital, health centre, on leave, with the family, on conditional release and others.
Are prisoner deaths investigated? If so, what local and/or national bodies undertake the investigations? Are their findings published?All the deaths that happen inside a prison facility are investigated as it is described below. The deaths of inmates when being hospitalised or in a leave, are not investigated. When a death takes place inside a prison facility it is immediately reported to the judicial authorities. Simultaneously the Inspection Unit of the Secretariat of Criminal Sanctions, Rehabilitation and Victim Support, initiates an internal investigation process (Informació Reservada) with the aim of investigating the circumstances surrounding the fact and carry out a thorough revision of whether all the required protocols and processes that had to be implemented by the prison administration and prison staff, were being complied with. The Inspection Unit is responsible for determining whether the public service was properly delivered. In all cases, the prison management will gather all the information relevant to the fact and transfer it to the judicial authority and the Inspection Unit. If there is any relevant finding resulting from the judicial proceedings, this will be integrated in the internal investigation process. When the death has been caused by suicide, in addition to all of these, the Directorate General of Prison Services (both the prison regime and the rehabilitation managers) together with the staff of that prison, conduct a thorough assessment to analise whether the service and attention to the inmate was properly provided. The aim of such additional assessment is to identify ways to improve early detection and follow-up protocols. The decisions of the judicial authority on the particular matter are public and are notified to the parties involved in the process. Conversely, the findings of the internal investigation by the Investigation Unit are not being published in accordance with the personal data protection legislation. Such investigation process culminates with a decision where the main conclusions are presented and it is signed by the Secretary of Criminal Sanctions, Rehabilitation and Victim Support. In addition to all of the above, monitoring bodies such as the Catalan and the Spanish Ombudsmen, or the Committee for the Prevention of Torture, can themselves initiate investigations on any particular issue they deem relevant includign a death in prison.
Annual public reports by the Belgian Prison Services contain basic statistics about deaths per prison per year.
What is classified as a death in prison?The published data distinguishes between two categories: natural cause of death and suicides. Included in the statistic are the deceased who were staying in prison under a ‘normal regime’ – those who are expected to be inside the prison. This includes inmates who were transferred directly from a prison to a hospital.
What are the main causes of prisoner deaths in prison? If the data are available, what percentage of deaths are due to these causes?There is no systematic data publicly available regarding the main causes of death, because of their private (medical) character. In the data management system of the Belgian Prison Services, a distinction is made between natural deaths, confirmed suicides, deaths while outside of prison (leave, electronic monitoring…) and other deaths (including death by means of violence or a criminal act).
Are prisoner deaths investigated? If so, what local and/or national bodies undertake the investigations? Are their findings published?All deaths in prison are communicated to the competent authorities. According to their assessment of the individual case a doctor designated by these authorities carries out a preliminary investigation. Based on these results an investigating judge can be designated and a more comprehensive post-mortem can be carried out by a forensic medical pathologist.
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Each year, a request for information is received for the annual public report, where one of the questions is the number of deaths for the reporting year, as well as the cause of death (chronic illness or suicide). The data is available on Latvian Prison Administration website https://www.ievp.gov.lv under annual public reports.
What is classified as a death in prison?A death in prison is the death of a prisoner in the place of imprisonment, in the Latvian Prison Hospital or in a medical institution outside the place of imprisonment, if the prisoner was taken to hospital during the emergency phase or was taken to a medical institution outside the place of imprisonment due to deterioration of his/her health condition.
What are the main causes of prisoner deaths in prison? If the data are available, what percentage of deaths are due to these causes?The main cause of prisoner death is chronic diseases. In 2021 26 deaths were recorded, of which: - 20 due to disease, - 6 due to suicide. Medical causes of death due to disease were malignant tumor, acute cardiovascular insufficiency, myocardial infarction, pneumonia, cirrhosis of the liver, HIV and other chronic diseases.
Are prisoner deaths investigated? If so, what local and/or national bodies undertake the investigations? Are their findings published?Deaths of prisoners are investigated if violence has occurred or if a crime is suspected. If the death was due to illness, no investigation is carried out. Investigations shall be carried out by officers of the Investigation Unit of the Latvian Prison Administration.
Yes, it is. Here: https://wp.unil.ch/space/space-i/annual-reports Statistik 2020 (kriminalforsorgen.dk)
What is classified as a death in prison?Incidents where an inmate in the custody of the Danish Prison and Probation Service has died or committed suicide.
What are the main causes of prisoner deaths in prison? If the data are available, what percentage of deaths are due to these causes?Number of deaths in prisons in Denmark 2021- Deaths: 5; Suicides: 4 2020- Deaths: 0; Suicides: 4 2019- Deaths: 2; Suicides: 10 2018- Deaths 3; Suicides: 5 2017- Deaths: 5; Suicides 4 The majority of suicides are caused by hanging. And the deaths are caused by a lot of different reasons. Some of them unknown, over doze, cancer, heart attack etc.
Are prisoner deaths investigated? If so, what local and/or national bodies undertake the investigations? Are their findings published?Yes, there will always be a police investigation in any criminal circumstances connected to deaths in the Danish prisons. The Danish Parliamentary Ombudsman receives notification of all deaths and suicides among inmates in custody in agreement with the Danish Prison and Probation Service. The ombudsman assesses whether the Directorate or its institutions have acted in violation of applicable law or otherwise been guilty of errors or omissions in connection with such incidents. The incidents are first investigated by the Danish Prison and Probation Service itself to assess whether there is a need to implement preventive measures or make improvements etc. If a case is of general legal interest, the Danish Parliamentary Ombudsman publishes the case. These will typically be matters of principle or general importance.