Sugden: Almost half of NI's prisoners have addictions

Claire Sugden made a statement on the issue of mental health in prisons to the assembly on Monday

Half of Northern Ireland's prison population have a substance addiction, the justice minister has revealed.

Claire Sugden made a statement on the issue of mental health in prisons to the assembly on Monday.

She told MLAs there were currently 1,533 prisoners in NI jails and of those, 740 had an addiction, while 417 had a mental health illness.

She announced a review into services for vulnerable prisoners following five recent deaths in jail.

Four of those who died in custody took their own lives.

'Severe chronic mental health issues'

The justice minister said a community response plan was being developed which would involve the health and prison services with the aim of detecting a potential suicide cluster.

Ms Sugden said the needs of prisoners were "complex" and said addiction issues, mental illness and generally poor coping skills were higher among the prison population.

"However we portray it, the custody environment is not designed to deal with those experiencing severe chronic mental health issues," she said.

"Whatever level of training we provide to staff they remain prison officers.

It is understood that Barry Cavan, from Belfast, who was found dead in Maghaberry Prison last week, had taken his own life

"The Northern Ireland Prison Service cannot meet this challenge alone, we need the ongoing help and support of the Department of Health, other departments, and partners across the justice system, and in the wider community."

The justice minister said that following the most recent death of Barry Cavan in Maghaberry Prison, a meeting was held last Friday to develop a community response plan.

A similar model is adopted whenever there are potential clusters of suicides in the community, she said.

"The aim of using this approach is to detect a potential suicide cluster and thereby, prevent further deaths by suicide," she said.

"I also believe this is the first time this model, which has been used successfully in the community, has been adopted in a prison in Northern Ireland."

Objectives of community response plan for prisoners

• Identify and support those potentially at risk through timely and coordinated support from all sectors

• Co-ordinate local and additional resources throughout the response period

• Monitor and evaluate the response put in place

Ms Sugden said the prison service was working in partnership with the South-Eastern Trust, which delivers health care in Northern Ireland's prisons, to review the suicide and self-harm policy.

The minister said she, along with Health Minister Michelle O'Neill, would conduct an immediate review of vulnerable people in custody.

"Officials from both departments are now working together to define the structure, scope and timeframe of this review," she added.