Shocking safety and prison performance figures reveal crisis behind bars

The number of people dying in prison rose by 30% in the past year, official data seen by the Howard League for Penal Reform reveal today (Thursday 31 July).

A statistical bulletin, published by the Ministry of Justice, shows that 401 people in prison died in the 12 months to the end of June 2025. They included 86 people who died in circumstances recorded as “self-inflicted”. An unprecedented seven homicides were recorded in the same time period.

Prisons saw a record high of 77,898 incidents of self-harm in the 12 months to the end of March 2025, at a rate of one every seven minutes. The rate of self-harm rose by five per cent in men’s prisons and rose by six per cent in women’s prisons.

Over the same period, prisons recorded 30,846 assaults – a nine per cent rise on the figures for the previous 12 months.

Annual Prison Performance Ratings for 2024/25, published the same day, reveal that 22 (18.5%) prisons were given a rating of serious concern. This is the largest number of prisons rated as of serious concern since these performance ratings were introduced.

Andrew Neilson, Director of Campaigns at the Howard League for Penal Reform, said: “Prisons cannot go on like this. It is unconscionable to see the huge rise in deaths in custody, as well as continued spikes in self-harm and in assaults.

“What is happening behind bars matters to all of us, as exposing people to failing institutions where deaths, distress and violence is the norm, is no way to prepare individuals for a safe and crime-free life on release.

“These statistics cover most of the government’s first year in power. While action is being taken to reduce pressure on the prison population and stabilise regimes, far more must be done, and urgently, to save lives and ensure prisons work to cut crime, rather than create it.”

Notes to editors

1. The Howard League for Penal Reform is the oldest penal reform charity in the world. It is a national charity working for less crime, safer communities and fewer people in prison.
2. The Howard League and another charity, Centre for Mental Health, worked together on a joint programme on preventing people losing their lives through suicide in prison. Further information about the programme can be found on the Howard League website at: https://howardleague.org/our-work/transform-prisons/preventing-deaths-in-prison/inquiry-into-preventing-prison-suicides/
3. The Ministry of Justice statistical bulletin, Safety in Custody Statistics, England and Wales: Deaths in Prison Custody to June 2025 Assaults and Self-harm to March 2025, can be accessed online at: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/safety-in-custody-quarterly-update-to-march-2025/safety-in-custody-statistics-england-and-wales-deaths-in-prison-custody-to-june-2025-assaults-and-self-harm-to-march-2025
4. The Annual Prison Performance Ratings 2024/25 can be accessed online at: Prison Performance Ratings: 2024 to 2025 – GOV.UK

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