Prisons: Suicide

Lord Sheldon Excerpts

Monday 25th March 2013 Lords Chamber

Asked By

[Lord Sheldon]

To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many people have committed suicide in prisons since January 2000.

[The Minister of State, Ministry of Justice (Lord McNally)]

My Lords, the figures we hold on suicide are classified within the data on self-inflicted deaths. There were 960 self-inflicted deaths in prison custody between January 2000 and September 2012. Annual numbers have reduced from 92 per year in 2007 to 57 in 2011.

[Lord Sheldon]

My Lords, by last week there had been 982 suicides since 2000, including 15 children under the age of 18. Staff in prisons try to reduce those deaths but suicides continue.

[Lord McNally]

My Lords, inevitably it is true that suicides continue. But there has also been a concerted effort by the prison authorities and those with responsibility for the youth estate to try to avoid as far as possible these dreadful circumstances—dreadful for the prison staff who have to deal with them and dreadful for the families who have lost loved ones. The noble Lord makes the point that suicides continue. I would say that that is against a background of great efforts by the authorities to try to continue the welcome reduction of recent years.