Ten die in South Yorkshire jails in 2021 as national figure hits 40-year high, says Howard League

Ministry of Justice figures show 371 people died in prison in 2021 across England and Wales, a 17 per cent rise on 2020, according to the Howard League for Penal Reform.

In South Yorkshire, Doncaster Prison saw five deaths, Moorland Prison four, and Moorland Open Prison recorded one death. Lindholme recorded none.

Nationally, the figure exceeds the previous high, 354 deaths in 2016, when the prison population was around 85,000. It was 79,303 last week.

Nationally, suicides rose 28 per cent, from 67 in 2020 to 86 in 2021.

The Howard League says figures reveal the impact of Covid-19 on jails. From the start of the pandemic in March 2020 to the end of December 2021, 177 people in prison have died within 28 days of having a positive Covid-19 test or where medics said Covid-19 was a factor in their deaths.

It has called for prisons to be included in the inquiry into the government’s handling of the pandemic.

Doncaster, Moorland, Moorland Open and Lindholme

Andrea Coomber, chief executive of the Howard League, said: “For the first time since current recording practices began more than 40 years ago, people in prison are dying at a rate of more than one per day.

“While the full impact of the pandemic will only become apparent in the years to come, there is plainly a mental health crisis in our prisons with suicides up nearly 30 per cent in the past year.

“Tens of thousands of people have been held in overcrowded conditions or solitary confinement for months on end. It is almost impossible to fathom the mental distress that this will have caused. This is devastating for the prisoners, their families and the staff looking after them.’

Prisons assaults fell 18 per cent nationally to 20,049

A Prison Service spokesperson said: “Our decisive action has kept prisoners safe in difficult circumstances, with video calls and in-cell education rolled out in recognition of tough but necessary restrictions.

“We continue to improve mental health support – with more than 25,000 staff trained in suicide and self-harm prevention so far, while a new taskforce is dedicated to reducing high levels of self-harm in women’s prisons.”

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