It’s Official – There Have Been no Suicides in Immigration Detention This Year

Immigrants: Detainees: Written question – HL3822

Asked by Baroness Hamwee

To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many detainees in Immigration Removal Centres (IRCs) have committed suicide in the last 12 months; and what was (1) the name and nationality of the person committing suicide, and (2) the IRC where they were detained, in each case.

Answered by: Baroness Williams of Trafford

Any death in immigration detention is subject to investigation by the police, the coroner (or Procurator Fiscal in Scotland) and the independent Prisons and Probation Ombudsman.

In the period 1 October 2016 to 30 September 2017 there have been no deaths in immigration removal centres, or shortly after release, where a coroner has yet determined the cause of death to be self-inflicted.

Staff at all immigration removal centres are trained to identify those at risk of self-harm so that action can be taken to minimise the risk. All incidents of self-harm are treated very seriously and every step is taken to prevent incidents of this nature. Formal risk assessments on initial detention and systems for raising concerns at any subsequent point feed into established self-harm procedures in every IRC, which are in turn underpinned by the Home Office Operating Standard on the prevention of self-harm and Detention Services Order 06/2008 Assessment Care in Detention Teamwork (ACDT).

Information on incidents of self-harm where the intent of the self-harm attempt is suicide is not readily available from central statistical records and could only be obtained at disproportionate cost.

Hansard, 04/12/2017, http://bit.ly/2nMu9rQ