Deaths in custody: lessons must be learned once and for all

Commenting on today’s (10 March) Prisons and Probation Ombudsman report into self-inflicted deaths of prisoners 2013/14, Juliet Lyon, Director of the Prison Reform Trust said:

“People are sent to prison to lose their liberty, not their lives. Despite significant efforts by staff over the last decade to tackle suicides and self-harm it appears that this good work is in danger of being undermined and driven backwards. The Ombudsman’s report shows that the good work of first night centres and thought through induction procedures must be maintained and developed, not discarded. The Ministry of Justice should conduct an urgent review to ensure that prisons don’t slide into pits of hopelessness and despair. Lessons must be learned once and for all from this tragic rise in deaths in custody.”