Assaults on prison staff and deaths of inmates at record levels

Attacks on prison officers and the number of inmate deaths in England and Wales have soared to record levels according to official figures released yesterday.

- Rajeev Syal

Ministry of Justice statistics show there were 10,568 assaults on staff in jails between 24 April 2024 and 25 March - up 7% on the previous year.

The number of people dying in prison rose by nearly a third after 401 deaths in the 12 months to the end of June 2025. They included 86 prisoners who died in circumstances recorded as "self-inflicted". An unprecedented seven homicides were recorded over the same period.

There is deepening concern about the crisis across the Prison Service caused by prison overcrowding, inexperienced staff, gang activity and escalating violence.

In April, three prison officers were attacked by Hashem Abedi, one of the men responsible for the Manchester Arena bombing, and in May an officer was allegedly attacked by the Southport triple murderer Axel Rudakubana.