82 self-inflicted deaths in prisons in 2014

Safety in custody statistics due to be released this week by the Ministry of Justice will reveal that there were 82 self-inflicted deaths in prisons in England and Wales in 2014, reports The Guardian. That is seven more than in 2013 and the highest number since 2007. 

The figures follow a damning report last Autumn by Nick Hardwick, Chief Inspector of Prisons, which linked a sharp decline in prison safety to 'the conjunction of resource, population and policy pressures'. 

Similarly, Frances Crook, Chief Executive of The Howard League for Penal Reform, said of the recent safety in custody statistics:

'It is evident that people are dying as a direct result of the cuts to the number of staff, particularly more experinced staff, in every prison. Thje government has chosen to allow the prison population to increase whilst it custs staff, and that has led to an increase in people dying by suicide.'

Update 29/01/2015, 14.49: The data release actually showed there were 84 self-inflicted deaths in prisons in England and Wales in 2014.

We will be exploring the data on prison safety for England, Wales, Northern Ireland and Scotland in the next edition of UKJPR out in March 2015.