Inadequate data collection prevents health planning for released prisoners

To the Editor: Compared with the Australian population, all-cause mortality rates among prisoners are four times greater among men, and eight times greater among women.1 Fatal drug overdoses and suicides comprise the overwhelming majority of deaths in post-release cohorts;2 hence, a large proportion of post-release deaths are preventable. However, the information necessary to determine appropriate public health responses to the issue of post-release mortality is largely absent, because there is no routine nationwide collection of numbers of prison separation episodes as there is, for example, for prison receptions.3