Eight prison officers from eight Indian states have completed specialist training in correctional mental health at Rashtriya Raksha University (RRU), Gandhinagar, and will now train other prison staff in their home states.

The officers received Master Trainer certificates after a three-day residential Training of Trainers (ToT) programme held at RRU’s Lavad Campus from October 21 to 23. The course was the second national training under Project PRAHARI, which aims to help prison staff recognise signs of mental distress and respond to inmates who may need medical or psychological care.

The eight officers were nominated by prison administrations in Uttarakhand, Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, Haryana, Gujarat, Tamil Nadu, Odisha and Uttar Pradesh. Their ranks ranged from Assistant Jailor to Superintendent, including Jailors, Deputy Superintendents and Additional Superintendents.

Project PRAHARI stands for Psychological Risk Assessment, Health Awareness and Resilience Initiative. It is run by Global Correctional Administration Studies (GCAS), part of RRU’s School of Behavioural Sciences and Forensic Investigations (SBSFI).

The programme comes as prison authorities face the task of identifying mental health problems among people in custody, many of whom may have limited access to specialist care.

The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC), in its 2023 advisory on suicide prevention in prisons, called for mental health checks when prisoners enter jail, regular monitoring of those at risk and better training for prison staff. It also urged governments to fill vacancies among medical staff, psychologists and prison welfare officers.

The advisory placed prison staff at the centre of early identification efforts. Officers who work directly with inmates are often in a position to notice changes in behaviour, signs of distress or possible suicide risk before a medical team is called.

The October course covered seven modules. These included the basics of correctional mental health and the PRAHARI model, recognising psychological disorders and addiction, identifying warning signs linked to behaviour and suicide risk, and using trauma-informed communication during a crisis.

The training also dealt with prevention, record-keeping, and referral to health professionals. Other sessions focused on reducing stigma around mental illness, encouraging inmates to seek help and protecting the mental health of prison officers themselves.

The approach reflects a wider concern about mental health care in Indian prisons. The National Crime Records Bureau’s Prison Statistics India 2023 report recorded 5.30 lakh inmates in prisons across the country on December 31, 2023. Of these, 9,095 were reported to have mental illness, or around 1.7 per cent of the prison population.

Undertrial prisoners made up the largest group among those recorded as having mental health problems, with 5,293 inmates, or 58.2 per cent. Convicted prisoners accounted for 3,722 cases, while 66 were detenues.

These figures depend on cases identified and recorded by prison authorities. They do not necessarily show the full number of people who may need psychological care.

The NHRC has also pointed to the shortage of mental health professionals in prisons. Its recommendations include better staffing, mental health screening at admission and refresher courses for prison personnel. The Commission has called for a system in which trained staff can identify people at risk and seek help from qualified professionals.

Project PRAHARI follows this approach by preparing selected officers to act as first points of contact. They are expected to observe and identify possible risks, then refer inmates to trained health professionals when required.

The training does not replace the work of psychologists, psychiatrists or medical staff. Its purpose is to help prison personnel recognise when an inmate may need such care and respond in a suitable way.

The new Master Trainers will now conduct training for correctional staff in their respective states. Their work will extend the programme begun by the first cohort, in which officers from 12 states received certification in September.

A third cohort is scheduled to take place from November 18 to 20.

The wider aim is to spread basic mental health knowledge through prison administrations, where staff may have daily contact with inmates but limited access to specialist support.

The success of this model will depend on how far the training reaches prison staff, whether officers can put the lessons into practice and whether inmates identified as being at risk receive timely professional care.

For prison authorities, the task ahead is to ensure that early warning signs lead to action. Training officers to recognise distress is one step. Access to medical care, regular screening and support for inmates remain essential parts of the response.

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