Sharp rise in jail violence and self-harm

THE rising tide of violence and selfharm in prisons has been laid bare in new figures which reveal sharp increases in attacks and apparent suicides behind bars.

A host of “shocking” findings provided a fresh indication of the scale of the task facing the Government in its efforts to reform jails.

The data covering England and Wales, released by the Ministry of Justice, showed there were:

A total of 100 apparent self-inflicted deaths in the year to March - the highest level for more than a decade;

Six apparent homicides, up from four in the same period in 2015, and the largest number for a year to March since current records started in 2000;

32,313 reported incidents of selfharm last year - a jump of 25% on 2014;

More than 20,000 assaults in the 12 months to December last year, a rise of 27% year-on-year, including 2,813 which were “serious”;

Nearly 5,000 attacks on staff - a jump of more than a third compared to 2014.