Adolescent Substance Abuse Articles
Exposure to the criminal justice system may increase the risk of suicide
By Staff Writer
Individuals who have had contact with the criminal justice system may have experienced trauma that makes them more likely to commit suicide than the general population, according to new research.
These findings were based off of data that was collected by researchers from the University of Manchester, England. National registries were used to identify 27,219 Danish individuals who committed suicide between 1981 and 2006. In addition, 524,899 matched controls were selected for comparison.
It was found that 34.8 percent of men who had been exposed to the criminal justice system took their own life, compared to 24.6 percent of control group. Of the women who had a history with the system, 12.8 percent died by suicide compared to 5.1 percent of the controls.
Based on these findings, the researchers believe that contact with the criminal justice system may elevate an individual's risk of suicide. In addition, they believe that there needs to be an increase in the amount of mental health services provided to people who have been through this system, even if they were not found guilty.
The researchers also believe that there should be better coordination between public services in order to deal with co-occurring health and social problems in a more effective manner. An individual who shows signs of suicidal ideation may require an intervention.
