No way to prevent self-harm, suicide by detainees in absence of clear signs

Gladwin Samuels

In the absence of clear behaviour suggesting that a person may self-harm or commit suicide, there is no way for officers of the prison service to know whether a person who has been arrested is likely to engage in either action, according to Director of Prisons Gladwin Samuels.

Nonetheless, Samuels maintains that the Guyana Prison Service (GPS) is doing all it can prevent suicides by detainees in lock-ups.

His pronouncements came in wake of another detainee recently taking his own life.