Staff Use of Mandatory Notification as a Means of Reducing Suicide and Self-Harm in NSW Correctional Centres

Abstract

Staff working within correctional services have a duty of care to provide safe and humane treatment for people who are incarcerated. Correctional staff are tasked with ensuring that self-harm is minimized for people who are incarcerated. The extent of self-harm behaviour in offenders managed by Corrective Services New South Wales (CSNSW) is explored in terms of staff response to behaviours. Self-harm is conceptualized along a continuum that can be described in four categories ranging from potentially lethal to preventative. Although staff do not overtly use this conceptual model, it is useful to describe self-harm behaviour in relation to CSNSW practice. The relationship between self-harm and violent and “breach of order” offences is explored. Finally, although not formally used by staff, risk of reoffending as measured by the Level of Service Inventory-Revised (LSI-R) is found to be significantly related to staff understanding of self-harm risk. Implications of these findings are discussed.