Suicide in custody: occurrence in Maori and nonMaori New Zealanders.

AIMS

To assess whether Maori people are particularly vulnerable to suicide in custody.

METHODS

Suicides in New Zealand prisons (1973-88) and police cells (1980-91) were analysed in order to compare the risks for Maori and nonMaori men.

RESULTS

Among prisoners, the risk of suicide for Maori men was very similar to that for nonMaori (38.7 Maori and 40.4 nonMaori suicides per 100,000 male distinct prisoners received per year). Maori men were, however, six times more likely than nonMaori to be in prison, with half of all sentenced prisoners being Maori. This explains why the proportion of the entire Maori population who died as a result of prison suicide was eight times higher than that for the nonMaori population. For police cells it was not possible to calculate suicide rates except as proportions of the entire Maori and nonMaori populations. The proportion of Maori men who died in police custody was nine times higher. Suicide in custody accounted for about a quarter of all suicides in Maori men aged 15-49 years, but only 1.7% of suicides in nonMaori men.

CONCLUSION

These results suggest that reduction of Maori suicides in custody is most likely to be achieved by tackling the overrepresentation of Maori people in custody.