Prison suicides rise as early custody proves most distressing

Six prisoners have died by suicide in Finnish prisons this year, Yle reports. Riitta Kari, director of operations at the Finnish Criminal Sanctions Agency, said the number of suicides has increased as the prison population has also risen sharply.

Between 2021 and 2025, 15 prisoners died by suicide, while 17 others died from other causes, according to Kari. The Criminal Sanctions Agency previously reported that 24 suicides occurred in Finnish prisons between 2015 and 2024, or about two or three per year. Some years have recorded no prisoner suicides.

The agency does not identify the prisons where suicides occurred because of the high risk that the deceased could be identified.

Kari said contributing factors include mental health and substance abuse problems, overcrowding and the large number of prisoners. Finnish prisons have space for about 3,000 people, but currently hold 3,900 prisoners, hundreds of whom are foreign nationals.

Remand prisoners face a particularly high risk

The risk of suicide is especially high among remand prisoners. The first weeks in custody are considered the most distressing, while prisoners may not know how long their detention will last.

Yle visited Vantaa Prison, which is filled with remand prisoners and receives thousands of prisoners each year. Remand custody there lasted an average of nearly four months last year. Its length depends on the progress of the criminal process, and the Criminal Sanctions Agency cannot influence it.

Annika Finnberg, head of the Vantaa Prison unit, said the need for drug-sniffing dogs was not decreasing. The remark reflects the prisoners’ drug problems and attempts to smuggle narcotics into the prison.

Minna Saukko, director of the Häme and Pirkanmaa Criminal Sanctions Centre, said every possible measure was being taken to prevent suicides. However, she said there was an acute shortage of psychiatric nurses.

Prisoners spend substantial periods alone in their cells, Saukko said, creating an opportunity for suicide. If a prisoner’s suicide risk is assessed as high, they may be placed under observation in a cell equipped with a camera.

The Criminal Sanctions Agency said the most serious consequences of self-destructive behaviour cannot be prevented entirely, even in prison cells. When a person is found dead in a cell, the investigation into the cause of death is immediately transferred to the police.