The Guardian has reported that the number of prison leavers dying within two weeks of release reached a record high last year.
In 2025, 77 people died within 14 days of being released from prison in England and Wales – a 28% increase from the previous year’s total of 60 deaths, and the highest number since records began in 2021. A major cause of the increase appeared to be a rise in prisoners being released into homelessness due to a lack of available housing.
The newspaper analysed reports from the Prisons and Probation Ombudsman which suggested that one in four people who died within a fortnight of leaving prison had been released homeless. Separate Ministry of Justice data showed that almost 13,000 people left prison homeless in the year to April 2025, a 39% rise from the previous year.
Enver Solomon, Chief Executive of the social justice charity Nacro, described the deaths as a ‘hidden tragedy’.
‘People come out of prison – they die and it goes unnoticed. These deaths are avoidable. We shouldn’t see it as something which is an inevitable consequence of people that have got a whole range of issues and challenges in their life. We see every day the difference having somewhere safe and secure to live, and the difference the right support can make – how it can be a matter of life or death, tragically.’
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