Prisons in England and Wales are the most dangerous they’ve ever been

On average, one person dies every day in prison in the UK. Deaths in custody are the highest they’ve been since the pandemic (December 2021), despite the reduction in self-inflicted death the number still remains too high.  

One prisoner self-harms every seven minutes in England and Wales. In the 12 months to September 2024, there has been a 15% increase in the number of self-harm incidents – the highest it has been in 10 years. Over the same period there has been an 18% rise in the number of assault incidents compared with the previous year. 

Responding to the data release Campbell Robb, CEO of Nacro said: “Today’s data by the Ministry of Justice shows systemic failures across the prison system is putting the lives and wellbeing of prisons and staff in serious jeopardy.   

“The distressing increase in self-harm incidents reported underscores a crisis in prisoner mental health escalating at a worrying pace. The failure to adequately address the mental health crisis in our prisons is leaving people inside feeling as if there is nowhere to turn.  

“The reported increase in assaults, both prisoner-on-prisoner and assaults on staff, reveals a shocking systemic failure to create safe, secure environments conducive to rehabilitation. It is particularly disturbing to see the significant rise in assaults on staff, which grew by 19%.   

“While the overall prison population has decreased slightly, the spiraling increase in assaults and self-harm incidences speak to the intensifying pressures of overcrowding, lack of resources and meaningful activity, and the increasing complexity of the challenges the prison system faces.  

“We must recognize that the state of our prisons on the inside offers a glimpse into the future safety and cohesion of our communities on the outside. If the Government is serious about creating an effective prison system, we must have a secure environment in which people feel safe as this is an essential starting point for the rehabilitation interventions needed to reduce crime in the long-term.

“To do this we need long term investment in our criminal justice system that focuses on sending less people to prison, alongside creating a safer environment with more meaningful activity in instances where people are sent there. The focus now must be on the successful rehabilitation of people back into communities as opposed to building even more prisons.” 

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