Police in Edinburgh are working with Breathing Space to try to offer more support to vulnerable people in custody.

The Breathing Space phone number and website address will be painted on cell walls in St Leonards custody suite as a contact for people who are feeling down, depressed or anxious.

On leaving the cell, vulnerable individuals will also be given a Breathing Space card so they can contact the service's trained advisers who will talk to them about their problems or direct them to other support in their area.

Around 22,000 people a year pass through the custody suite at St Leonards. Many of the people who come into custody share the same characteristics of those most at risk of suicide – males between the ages of 18-44 with drug or other problems in their life.

In 2008, there were 843 undetermined deaths and deaths by suicide in Scotland and 75 per cent of those were men, with younger men being at particular risk. People living in areas of deprivation are also at the highest risk of suicide.

The launch of the initiative coincides with Suicide Prevention Week, which runs from September 7th to 13th.  World Suicide Prevention Day is on September 10th.

The scheme will be piloted at St Leonards Police Station, where the majority of vulnerable prisoners are taken to, however Lothian and Borders Police plan to roll out the scheme in the other custody suites throughout the force – Livingston, Dalkeith, and Hawick.

It is the first time a Scottish Police Force has introduced such measures, and it compliments the existing set-up at St Leonards, where NHS nurses have been working in the custody suite for the past three years.

The nurses provide care and intervention with prisoners who are identified as vulnerable either through their behaviour or circumstances of their arrest.

Force Custody Manager, Chief Inspector Tony Beveridge, said: “There is an opportunity to intervene in a positive sense in some people’s lives whilst they are in custody. A large proportion of the prisoners we see here are young men who have physical or mental health problems including drug and alcohol abuse and in many ways they are very vulnerable.

“We deal with a lot of cases where prisoners try to harm themselves and we carry out individual risk assessments and have specialised clothing and cells to try to minimise instances of self harm.

"Our nurses all have significant experience in working in mental health or custodial environments and they do an excellent job in providing advice to prisoners and trying to divert them from self-destructive habits.

“Our partnership with Breathing Space offers another route for diversion and is aimed at providing prisoners with information about where they can get help when they leave custody. Painting the Breathing Space website and phone number in the cell will hopefully remind them that there are people who are willing to help and we will reinforce this by supplying them with a card with those details on their departure.”

Breathing Space national coordinator Tony McLaren said: "This increased support for people in custody is a simple but effective way to offer help and advice to individuals who are struggling with complex problems and often living difficult and chaotic lives.

"The new service reinforces the message that help is available for some of the most vulnerable in our society at a period in their lives when they may be experiencing extreme anxiety or feelings of isolation.

"On leaving custody, we'd urge anyone who is struggling to cope to pick up the phone and speak to one of our advisers, who can listen, offer advice and give information. Our phone line is free, confidential and anonymous.

"We are delighted to be working alongside the police at St Leonard's to provide this opportunity for people to access the help they need. No matter how desperate a situation seems, it is our belief that people can recover and get their lives back on track."

Sandra de Munoz, Choose Life Coordinator for Edinburgh has also been involved in this initiative. She said: "We are aware that there are certain groups of people who are at higher risk of suicide. These include people living in poor areas and people with drug and alcohol problems as well as those with mental health problems.

"For those who end up in the custody suite they may feel very vulnerable due to the circumstances that have brought them into contact with the police and they may also have a number of problems they find difficult to talk to their family or friends about. 

"It is encouraging that the police are working in partnership with Breathing Space and Choose Life to offer support to those in custody by making them aware of the confidential service of Breathing Space”.

Suicide Prevention Week in Scotland is led by Choose Life, the 10-year strategy and action plan aimed at reducing suicide in Scotland by 20 per cent  by 2013. It was launched in 2002 and is funded by the Scottish Government.