DEATH BEHIND BARS
Prisoners killing themselves have soared to record numbers
Self-inflicted deaths in prison have hit a record high with 119 deaths in a year - or one every three days.
It means the number of inmates taking their own lives has more than doubled in just five years.
Men accounted for 107 selfinflicted deaths in prison last year (89.9%) while women accounted for 12 (10.1%).
As recently as 2011 there were 58 occasions when prisoners took their own lives. Since then, selfinflicted deaths have risen sharply.
In 2012, 61 prisoners killed themselves. In 2013 it was 76.
A year later the figure had risen again, to 89 cases, and in 2015 there were 90.
Over the past six years, there have been 493 self-inflicted deaths in prisons.
While male prisoners still account for an overwhelming majority of self- inflicted deaths, the number of women taking their own lives is rising.
In 2011, there were two female prisoners who killed themselves compared to the 12 in 2016.
Hanging remains the most common cause of death in self- inflicted deaths, but between 2015 and 2016 two men killed themselves by refusing to eat. The majority of prisoners who take their own lives are those serving sentences. In 2016, this accounted for 85 deaths. There were 24 people who died before they were even tried in court. Nine prisoners killed themselves after being convicted but before sentencing, and one detainee - a person in custody or confinement took their own life. All staff in contact with prisoners are required to receive training on suicide and self-harm prevention, which has six modules. Since May, just 8% of 9,000 existing prison staff has completed all modules.
A prison service spokesperson said: “Every death in custody is a tragedy and we are redoubling our efforts to make prisons safe.
“All deaths are subject to a full and thorough investigation, and we have recently committed additional money to ensure these are as comprehensive as possible. “Funding for the Prison Safety Programme has been increased, which will deliver a number of improvements to address selfinflicted deaths and self-harm. “We have also increased support for vulnerable offenders – especially during the first 24 hours in custody – and invested more in mental health awareness training for prison officers.”