According to a study conducted in twenty four high income countries between 2011 and 2014 and published in the December 2017 issue of Lancet, the number of suicides in prisons amounts to approx. 1,000 incidents per year. During his lecture, Professor Graham Towl from Durham University will focus on the issue of suicides in prisons in England and Wales, in the context of policy and practice.
Free admission. Registration required.
Lecture in English with consecutive interpreting into Polish.
The presentation will cover the policy and practice context of suicide in prisons whilst also outlining some of the main research findings in England and Wales. In particular the results of the largest empirical records based study undertaken in the UK will be shared alongside subsequent actions to ensure that the research is impactful in policy and practice. The applications of such evidence informed policy and practice will be articulated in terms of future improvements.
Graham Towl – Professor of Psychology at Durham University (DU) and visiting clinical professor at Newcastle University. His current primary research area is mental health, particularly prisoner suicide. He is an expert member of the Ministerial Independent Advisory Panel on deaths in state custody including hospitals and prisons. He is a Council member of the Health and Care Professions Council, the statutory regulator for 16 health and care professions. Uniquely he is the recipient of the British Psychological Society Awards for Distinguished Contributions to both Professional Practice and Forensic Academic Knowledge. He is included in A&C Black's Who's Who for exceptional contributions in the field of equality and diversity. In 2003, he was acknowledged in a national peer survey as the most influential forensic psychologist in the UK. He has practical experience of working in hospitals and prisons. As a former Senior Civil Servant, he has thorough understanding of the machinery of government. His most recent post at the Ministry of Justice was as Chief Psychologist, where he enjoyed international reputation for innovations in service delivery. He devised and established a national infrastructure for more effective delivery of psychological services across prisons and probation services in England and Wales. He has maintained his research whilst undertaking the role of pro-vice-chancellor on DU's Executive Committee. He has overseen a number of innovative change-management programmes, e.g. giving DU national presence on provision of support services for university students who have experienced sexual violence.
Date and Location
June 11, 2018 r., 12.00-13.45
SWPS University in Katowice, room 204
Techników 9, Katowice