Campaigners say latest official figures for England and Wales are a ‘national scandal’

This article is more than 7 months old

This article is more than 7 months old

Levels of self-harm in prisons have hit a new high, with more than 60,000 incidents in a year, official figures show.

The number of self-harm incidents was up 16% to 61,461 in the 12 months to September 2019, when there were 53,076, according to data released by the Ministry of Justice (MoJ).

Prison reform campaigners have criticised the government for failing to respond effectively to serious mental health problems and called Thursday’s figures a “national scandal”.

According to the MoJ’s statistics, the number of prisoners self-harming increased by 2% in the latest 12 months, to the highest recorded figure of 12,740 individuals. The number of self-harm incidents per individual rose by 14% from 4.2 to 4.8.

Separate figures also published on Thursday showed the number of self-harm incidents in youth custody rose by 3% to 1,841 in the year to March.

The latest figures show that the number of deaths in prison fell by 8% in the 12 months to December, down to 300 from 325 in the previous period. Of these, 84 were self-inflicted, a 9% drop from 92 in the previous period.

The number of assaults dropped for the first time in six years, reducing by 2% in the year to September to 33,222. Attacks on prison staff remained at similar levels to the previous period, but the 10,059 assaults recorded is still a record level, rising from 2,937 recorded incidents in 2010.

Deborah Coles, the director of the charity Inquest, said: “Despite investment and scrutiny, the historical context shows that still more people are dying in prison than ever before. A slight recent reduction in the number of deaths comes alongside unprecedented levels of self-harm, while repeated recommendations of coroners, the prison ombudsman and inspectorate are systematically ignored.

“This is a national scandal and reflects the despair and neglect in prisons. Despite this, the health and safety of people in prison appears to be very low on the agenda of the new government. Prioritising prison building and punitive policies will only do more harm and exacerbate this already failing system.”

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Peter Dawson, the director of the Prison Reform Trust, welcomed the decrease in levels of assault, but was critical of rising rates of self-harm. He said: “A failure to ensure decent and humane conditions, as well as respond effectively to the large proportion of people in prison with serious mental health problems, is being paid for in human misery and distress.

“Too many people are held in overcrowded conditions with too little to do. The government needs a plan to restore purpose and hope to our prisons. Sending more people to prison longer will make matters worse.”

The prisons and probation minister, Lucy Frazer QC, said: “While self-harm remains a major cause for concern, I want to thank our hardworking prison staff for their efforts in reducing violence on the wings.

“Staff and prisoner relationships play an important role in tackling violence and self-harm, and the key worker scheme, which gives offenders a dedicated officer for extra support, is already having an impact.”