January 5, 2006: Prison Suicides Fall, Says Howard League

The Howard League for Penal Reform have just published figures indicating that 78 people committed suicide in prisons in England and Wales during 2005. This is 17 fewer lives lost than in 2004, and represents the lowest number of prison suicides since 2001. The youngest person to die was a 16 year old boy at Lancaster Farms Young Offender Institute, the oldest a 64 year old man. The average age at which people took their own lives was 32.  Nearly one third of those who killed themselves were subject to formal suicide and self-harm monitoring processes

Figures released by the Howard League showed that during 2005:

• 12 of those who took their own lives were under 21 years of age, including two children (one aged 16 year and one aged 17 year old)
• The 16 prisons which experienced more than one suicide during the year accounted for 60% of all suicides
• The proportion of suicides by black and minority ethnic prisoners has risen from one in ten of all prison suicides in the last five years to over one in five during 2005. 14% of those who killed themselves were classified as black, 5% as Asian and 3% as mixed race.
• Four women took their own lives, compared to 13 in 2004
• Over half of those who took their own lives were on remand (that is, had either not been convicted or had been convicted but not yet sentenced)
• In addition, prison staff successfully resuscitated 131 people following an incident of serious self harm

The sharp reduction in the number of women taking their own lives follows an easing of the pressure on the female estate during the course of the year and is a major factor in the fall in the overall number of prison suicides.

The prison authorities have endeavoured to make positive changes to the way in which they to care for those considered to be at risk of suicide or self-harm. For example, by attempting to reduce the overall levels of distress as well as providing more personal attention to individual prisoners, as opposed to peering through a cell window at 15 minute intervals.

Despite these changes, the pressure in overcrowded local prisons, where over 80% of suicides occurred, remains high. Howard League director Frances Crook commented:

“Whilst this long-overdue fall in the number of prison suicides is welcome, it should not obscure the fact that 78 men, women and children still died during the course of the year. What the figures really show is how low things had sunk in recent years for the authorities to be hailing the fact that “only” 78 people took their own lives during 2005. The Home Office should not lull itself into a false sense of security by believing that they have cracked the problem of suicide in prison. There is clearly a long way still to go”.