Young offenders institutions

Suicide prevention & family contact


Suicide prevention

Talk to Me

Talk to Me is the Scottish Prison Service (SPS) (2016) prevention of suicide in prisons strategy, the aims of which are to:

To achieve this, numerous key areas are focused on including:

Following a death in custody

The involvement of families

Improved family involvement where an individual has given consent is one of the priorities of Talk to Me. Families are often concerned about the mental health and wellbeing of young people in custody, may notice changes in behaviour of concern, and the breakdown in family relationships can be a factor in suicidal ideation and behaviour.

The SPS has a procedure for handling contact from families who express concerns about a family member. The Families Outside information sheet Are you worried about a prisoner’s health? contains further information and the SPS family contact officers and Chaplains can offer support and signpost.


Family contact

Research by Smith, Dyer and Connelly (2014) highlighted the importance of family members as a source of support for young males in custody and the prevalence of young people returning to their families of origin on leaving custody. While this may be less likely for young women, relationships are crucial to stability and desistance post-release (Bateman and Hazel, 2014). Maintaining contact with family can however be difficult for various reasons, which may include:

Likewise, family contact cannot be assumed to be positive for the child or young person and/or family members. An assets-based genogram is a useful starting point for discussing and assessing relationships.

Children and young people in custody can be supported in respect of family contact by their Personal Officer, family contact officers, in some cases parenting officers, community-based social work and wider staff involved with the child or young person. Support to promote and in respect of contact should also be made available to family members (see Weaver and Nolan (2015), Framework for the support of families affected by the Criminal Justice System, and McGillivary (2016)).

Information for children

Regardless of whether a family wishes to maintain contact, discussing a family member’s imprisonment with children is often difficult. Information about how to approach this and publications for children and young people are available from Families Outside and KIN (see resources below).

Family work and family support

Where a child or young person:

Work with their family should be included as part of the Child’s Plan as appropriate (Scottish Government, 2011). This can include support from third sector organisations.

The impacts of imprisonment on children, families and relationships can be significant and wide ranging but is influenced by a variety of factors (Weaver and Nolan, 2015). It is therefore important children and families of prisoners are identified, individualised and holistic assessments are completed, and that support is provided (Weaver and Nolan, 2015; CJAs, 2015; McGinley, 2018 ). This should include support in their own right as detailed in Good Practice Guidance for the Support of Families Affected by Imprisonment and Framework for the support of families affected by the Criminal Justice System. The third sector has an invaluable role in providing information and support for families. For example, Families Outside offer an independent support and advice helpline and information about contact (see resources below). In addition, each YOI in Scotland has at least one family contact officer, who should be available as a contact point for families, and staffed visitor centres outside the YOI.

Resources for this page

Suicide prevention


Family contact