Suicide rates in our prisons twice as high as the European average
This shows that the suicide rate in our prisons is twice the European average.
In 2020, more than 15 prisoners per 100,000 inhabitants in our country died by suicide. For the prison of Bruges, there were six cases between 2016 and now. The Council of Europe’s report on the prison population refers, among other things, to overpopulation as one of the factors. Currently 800 people are locked up in Bruges, while there are only 626 places in that prison. The prisoners are also abandoned in the field of mental health care.
Minister Van Quickenborne: “In order to prevent suicides, it is first and foremost necessary to invest in mental health care. I can’t do that alone. I am also counting on the support of the Flemish and the federal ministers of health for this. People need to invest more in mental health care. If someone in prison has the flu, they are taken care of. And with a mental problem, it is not looked at. We need to put together care teams with psychologists, psychiatrists and educators who can help detainees with their mental problems.”