New statistics by the Ministry of Justice reveal a welcome reduction in the overall, recent number of deaths and self-harm in prison, but a concerning rise in homicides and serious violence.
352 people in prison died in the 12 months to the end of March 2026 – including 67 who died in circumstances recorded as “self-inflicted”. Prisons also recorded 72,753 incidents of self-harm in the 12 months to the end of December 2025, at a rate of one every seven minutes. Overall, rates of self-harm fell by 8% in men’s prisons and fell by 5% in women’s prisons.
Over the same period, however, prisons recorded 31,345 assaults – a 2.7% rise on the rate of assaults for the previous 12 months. Serious assaults also increased and the rate of serious assaults was up 2.8% on the previous year.
There were nine homicides in the 12 months to March 2026, an increase from six homicides in the previous 12 months and the highest figure since recording began. In the six years prior to the 12 months to March 2025, there were one to three total homicides per year.
Chief Executive of The Howard League for Penal Reform, Andrea Coomber KC (Hon.) commented:
“The highest ever number of homicides in prison and increases in serious assaults reveals how violent and dangerous our prisons remain. People in the care of the state should be granted safety as a bare minimum, but these figures show that even this low bar is still not being met.
“Nine homicides in a year is shocking and would be a national scandal in any other public institution. The government must act urgently to improve conditions and safety for people in our prisons, before more lives are lost.”
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