Self-harm and suicides in jail
What was claimed
Every week in prisons there are 600 incidents of self-harm, at least one suicide, and 350 assaults, including 90 on staff.
Our verdict
Correct, although suicides aren't measured precisely. 2015 was the worst year on record for these incidents.
“In a typical week [in prisons], there will be almost 600 incidents of self-harm; at least one suicide; and 350 assaults, including 90 on staff.”
David Cameron, 8 February 2016
These figures are correct for self-harm and assaults in England and Wales; suicides are less certain. 2015 was the worst year on record for these incidents.
In 2015 there were 590 incidents of self-harm a week and 360 assaults including about 90 on staff. The rate of self-harm and assault incidents hit record levels in the year ending September 2015 as well.
The government’s figure for suicides is actually measured as “self-inflicted deaths”—this can include people willingly taking their own lives and accidental deaths. Self-inflicted deaths were at least one a week in 2015 and happened at a higher rate than has mostly been the case in the past ten years.
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