Prison homicides and self-harm incidents soar as overcrowding crisis deepens
By showing new figures, as the extreme crowd deepened, murders, attacks and self -harmful events have increased in prisons in England and Wales.
Compared to the previous year, seven prisoners were killed until June 2025. According to the security of custody statistics of the Ministry of Justice, there are usually three or less murders per year.
After 401 people died in prison in the same period, general deaths increased by 30 percent. This includes 86, whose deaths went down from 93 the previous year.
77,898 Self-damaging event until the end of March 2025 for 12 months-equivalent to each other per minute.
In the same period, prisons increased by nine percent, including 3,402, which was seriously classified. Personnel attacks increased by 7 percent and 10,568 attacks were recorded.
About one of the five adult prisons in the UK and Wales comes because there are serious concerns about their performances, which have been the highest number since the start of the existing inspection system.
Approximately 22 prisons were given the lowest possible performance ranking in March from 15 in the last 12 months. 37 prisons were evaluated until 35 years.
The findings of the Ministry of Justice, as ministers continue to deal with extreme crowds, violence and drugs in prisons, the increase may be a reflection of the pressures faced by the prison land ”.
At the beginning of this month, Charlie Taylor, the chief inspector of the prisons, placed HMP Pentonville in special measures on the “chaotic” conditions.
According to the guard, the North London Prison, which was invaded by mice and cockroaches, was the 10th to offer an emergency notification since November 2022.
Howard Criminal Reform League warned that “prisons cannot continue like this ve and said that“ much more ”should be done to reduce the pressure on the prison population.
Campaign Director Andrew Neilson said: ısında In addition to a major increase in detention deaths, it is indisputable to see the sudden increases in self -harm and attacks.
“What is behind the shelters is not a way to prepare people to unsuccessful institutions where deaths, troubles and violence are normally, to prepare individuals for a safe and innocent life to be released.”
The investigation, a charity that investigates state deaths, said the figures are more evidence of a prison property in the crisis.
“These figures are another destructive claim of the terrible situation of the prison system, and the destructive social damages produced for people in the prison regimes, Değ says Deborah Coles, the investigation director.
On Monday, the trial of TASERs in prisons used by expert officers began as a part of their efforts to prevent violence against prison officers.
The government, which promised to create 14,000 new prison places by 2031, announced a new £ 900,000 cash increase to fight drones that brought drugs and weapons to prisons.
Following a major report by David Gauke, Justice Secretary Shabana Mahmood accepted a series of suggestions that would see that some criminals were detained in comprehensive reforms that are expected to alleviate the pressure on prisons.
“These statistics once again left the scope of the crisis faced by our prisons-the level of violence, attacking the staff and self-harm.
“The government has clearly demonstrated that we will do our best to protect our hardworking personnel – so we try the tasters in prisons and the compulsory protective body armor for prison officers working with the most dangerous criminals.
“But a fundamental change is needed, so we make reforms in our prisons, so they create better citizens, not better criminals.”
