McArthur reveals scale of prison self-harm as he marks 1,000 days since suicide strategy expired

Scottish Liberal Democrat justice spokesperson Liam McArthur has today (Wednesday 25th September) marked 1,000 days since the prison suicide strategy expired by unveiling research that shows that in the last three years there have been more than 2.300 self-harm incidents in Scottish prisons.

A freedom of information request submitted by Scottish Liberal Democrats has revealed 2,341 incidents of self-harm in Scottish prisons, including more than 2,000 cutting incidents, more than 100 incidents of self-harm by overdose and more than 150 occasions of swallowing items.

On 31st December 2021, the Scottish Government’s 2016-2021 “Talk to Me” strategy, designed to prevent suicide in prisons, expired. Although ministers committed to a revised strategy by spring 2023 and then delayed it until October 2023, it has never been published.

Following a parliamentary question by Mr McArthur in the spring, the government confirmed it had only completed the first stage of a review for the new strategy.

Mr McArthur said:

“Scotland locks up more of its population than anywhere else in Europe, remand levels are through the roof and rates of self-harm continue to rise.

“This is bad for both prisoners and communities because overcrowding threatens staff safety and makes it harder to successfully rehabilitate people.

“Scottish Liberal Democrats want a properly-funded justice system. To save lives and restore faith in the system, ministers must accelerate progress on this strategy, ensure it contains proper checks and balances and roll out mental health professionals across the prison estate.”