For people caught in the revolving door of prison, the risk of suicide often extends beyond custody, exposing the failure of justice, health and housing systems to support life after release.

“They just can’t do prison anymore."

That was how one person explained suicides occurring after release and before return to prison.

Suicide associated with imprisonment is commonly thought of as something that happens behind prison walls. But for people trapped in the “revolving door” of the justice system, the greatest danger lies in the exhausted space between getting out and going back.

Although their sentence has ended, prison often continues through supervision orders, police reporting requirements, curfews and the ever-present possibility of return.

Yet the consequences extend far beyond ongoing justice involvement. Repeated imprisonment erodes stability, relationships, coping capacity and hope. It separates people from the ordinary foundations of life: family, community, housing, employment and healthcare networks.

Over time, the boundary between prison and community begins to blur, and imprisonment becomes part of life’s structure rather than an interruption to it, leaving many caught between two worlds. It is within this vulnerable zone that risks of suicide, overdose, violence and injury become most acute.

Professor Stuart Kinner observed that deaths within a year of release are approximately ten times more numerous than deaths occurring in custody.

The issue affects Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal people alike, but because Aboriginal people are vastly over-represented among those entering, leaving and returning to prison, they bear a disproportionate share of its burden. Their experience reveals the problem........

© Pearls and Irritations