Cela fait plus de cinquante ans que l’Administration Pénitentiaire (AP) française fait de la prévention des risques suicidaires en détention. Elle est sans doute l’une des administrations qui prend le mieux en compte ces risques aujourd’hui. Elle en a même fait l’une de ses priorités. Cela passe, d’une part, par l’élaboration d’un dispositif de formation initiale et continue sur cette thématique et, d’autre part, par la mise en place de mesures de prévention basées sur l’évaluation du potentiel suicidaire de toute personne arrivant en prison. Elle a ainsi mis en place des dispositifs de prévention et de postvention face au risque suicidaire qui lui sont propres. Si l’ensemble de ces mesures donnent des signes encourageant en termes de résultats, il n’en demeure pas moins qu’un certain nombre de décès par suicide en prison se produisent encore chaque année. Il est donc nécessaire pour l’AP de prendre également des mesures de postvention afin d’en diminuer au maximum l’impact psychologique sur la détention et sur les personnels directement concernés par la découverte d’un détenu suicidé.

The French Prison Administration has been doing suicide prevention in prison for over 50 years. It is undoubtedly one of the administrations, which best takes these risks into account today. She even made it one of her priorities. On the one hand, by developing an initial and continuous training system on this subject, and on the other hand, by implementing preventive measures based on the assessment of the suicidal potential of anyone arriving in prison. It has thus set up prevention and postvention devices in the face of its own suicide risk. While all of these measures give encouraging signs in terms of results, the fact remains that a certain number of deaths by suicide in prison still occur each year. It is therefore necessary for the prison administration to also take postvention measures in order to minimize the psychological impact on prisoners and on personnel directly concerned by the discovery of a suicide prisoner. The prison staff has an obligation of means with regard to the medical care of detained persons. Several legal texts, European and French, legislate this obligation and lay down the broad outlines. The prevention of suicidal risks in the prison environment is based on the assessment of the suicidal potential of detained persons, upon their arrival in detention. Each inmate is assessed for the risk, urgency and suicidal dangerousness he presents during this incoming interview. Depending on the results, measures specific to the prison administration can be taken to limit, or even prevent, any risk of suicide. All personnel in initial training at the national school of prison administration (ENAP) are made aware of this evaluation method. There after, additional training, throughout their career, is offered to them in continuous training so that they develop their skills in this area. But when a suicide, or an attempt, occurs in detention, postvention measures are put in place for all those affected by this event, in particular prison staff, fellow prisoners and families. The prison administration has been working on suicide prevention in detention for over fifty years, making it one of the French administrations most involved in suicide prevention.