[Suicide in convicts in Buenos Aires Province]

From January 2000 to July 2002, there had been 29 cases of suicide in prisons and forensic psychiatric hospitals of the Penitentiary Service of the Province of Buenos Aires. In the year 2000, the annual suicide rate in convicts was 14 times higher than that of the general population of the province of Buenos Aires. Ninety-three per cent of the suicides were committed by males. In this study, several characteristics and conditions associated with suicide are described. Among other findings, it is reported that forensic psychiatric population is at high risk for suicide.