45 suicides in Norwegian prisons since 2008
Since 2008, 45 inmates in 21 Norwegian prisons have taken their lives, and most suicides took place while in custody, VG reports.
An overview of the Correctional Service (KDI) that the Civil Ombudsman ordered earlier this year shows this, according to VG.
KDI has recorded 45 suicides among inmates at 21 Norwegian prisons since 2008 and 90 per cent of suicides have been committed while in custody.
“Being arrested and charged with a criminal offence is a demanding and heavy burden for most people. Such a situation is obviously degradative, and many feel that life is over. It is often in these vulnerable situations that suicide in prison takes place,” says Director Tom A. Enger at the department of regulatory and security in the KDI to the newspaper.
The statistics reveal that there is one suicide a year among inmates in Norway since 2008, but the figures show great fluctuations from year to year. In 2013, eleven inmates took their own lives, while last year, three inmates committed suicide.
“That so many inmates choose to take their own lives is obviously unfortunate. It is difficult to explain why the numbers fluctuate so much. Since there are individual circumstances underlying, it is impossible to compare the different cases and draw a conclusion,” he says.
© NTB scanpix / #Norway Today
