NCJ Number
173714
Journal
CRISIS Volume: 18 Issue: Dated: Pages: issue (1997)-156
Date Published
1997
Length
5 pages
Annotation
This study focused on inmate suicides committed in the Greek prison system from 1977 through 1996, in particular the prisons in Korydalos, which is located in the greater Athens area.
Abstract
The system includes prisons, mental hospitals, and other general hospitals that house Greek inmates. The prison system of Korydalos was selected because approximately 20 percent of the total Greek prison population is housed there, and data on inmate deaths are more likely to be found in this prison than in other Greek correctional facilities. The data were collected primarily from the Book on Deaths, from statistical records of the prison population for the years examined, and from data on the National Statistical Service of Greece related to causes of death in the general population. In addition, a limited number of interviews were conducted with a prison social worker, a prison psychiatrist, an attorney, inmates, and other correctional personnel at the Korydalos prison. The data showed that there were 457 deaths in the Greek prison system over the past 20 years. Of these deaths, 93 were recorded as suicides. This amounts to an average of 4.65 suicides per year or 112 per 100,000 inmates classified as convicted, on remand, or hospitalized. The suicide rates fluctuated widely, from a low rate of 32.3 in 1982 to the high rate of 390.8 in 1979 (11 total suicides, 10 of which occurred in prison hospitals). Despite a noticeable decrease in the suicide rate in the years 1995 and 1996, the limited data suggest that the suicide rate in the Greek prison system has basically remained stable over the past 20 years. Implications are drawn for future research. 3 tables and 8 references