UK : prison suicides in England and Wales reach record high

Ministry of Justice figures show 119 inmates killed themselves last year, and assaults and self-harm also rose.
A record 119 people killed themselves in prisons in England and Wales in 2016 – an increase of 29 (32%) on the previous year, according to Ministry of Justice figures.

The record number of self-inflicted deaths in prison – equal to one every three days – compares with the previous high of 96 in 2004 and represents a doubling of the jail suicide rate since 2012.

The latest official “safety in custody” statistics show that an epidemic of violence has swept prisons in the 12 months to September, with a 40% rise in assaults on staff and a 28% increase in prisoner-on-prisoner assaults. The rise in jail suicides has been accompanied by a 23% increase in incidents of self-harm, to a total of 37,784.

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