Screaming without words?: Explaining self-injury among New South Wales Police Detainees

Abstract

Self-harm has been researched for decades as a lead indicator of suicidal behaviour. However, obvious differences in methodology, and even the individuals engaging in self-harm versus suicide, are ignored. This study focuses on self-harm as a behaviour in which the individual inflicts sometimes intricate but non-fatal injuries to themselves. External observations on the occurrence and prevalence of self-injury in the open community and special populations have continued to inform theory, treatment and management of this behaviour. Particularly, individuals in the forensic population have a higher incidence of self-injury than the open community. Findings from research in prisons have invoked changes in the architecture and culture of these institutions, to prevent and manage the behaviour and, hopefully, prevent instances of suicide. Study on individuals in police custody has been limited, however findings suggest that self-injury in this environment differs from that in the open community, and even prisons. The current study examines the behaviours and explanations for self-harm by NSW Police detainees in 963 incidents identified through complaint files. This has been undertaken in an attempt to understand this behaviour, and determine the extent of differences found in the police custody environment. The reliability of external observations in understanding this behaviour was also investigated through a survey of police officers.