News
DEATHS IN PRISON HIT RECORD LEVELS
LAST YEAR SAW A RECORD 354 DEATHS IN PRISON CUSTODY , according to figures from the Ministry of Justice – an increase of nearly 100 from the previous year . Almost 120 were self-inflicted deaths , including 12 women , while three were homicides .
The rate of prison suicides has now doubled since 2012 , says the document , while self-harm incidents also increased by nearly 7,000 to a record high of 37,784 . Assault incidents were also up by more than 30 per cent , to another record high of 25,049 – almost 3,400 of which were classed as serious . Assaults on staff increased by 40 per cent , to almost 6,500 , while prisoner-on-prisoner violence was up by 28 per cent to more than 18,500 incidents . Serious assaults on staff have trebled since 2012 .
Responding to the statistics , justice secretary Liz Truss said that the government had taken action to ‘ stabilise the estate by tackling the drugs , drones and phones that undermine security . These are long-standing issues that will not be resolved in weeks or months , but our wholescale reforms will lay the groundwork to transform our prisons , reduce reoffending and make our communities safer .’
‘ It is official – more people died in prisons in 2016 than in any other year on record , and more prisoners died by suicide than ever before ,’ said chief executive of the Howard League for Penal Reform , Frances Crook . ‘ No one should be so desperate while in the care of the state that they take their own life , and yet every three days a family is told that a loved one has died behind bars . Cutting staff and prison budgets while allowing the number of people behind bars to grow unchecked has created a toxic mix of violence , death and human misery .’
Safety in custody statistics bulletin , England and Wales , deaths in prison custody to December 2016 , assaults and self-harm to September 2016 at www . gov . uk
See feature , page 19
Deaths per 1,000 prisoners by apparent cause , 12 months ending December 2000 to 12 months ending September 2016 , England and Wales
HARD TIME
A COMPREHENSIVE 26-COUNTRY STUDY of drug trafficking laws has been published by EMCDDA . Drug trafficking penalties across the European Union looks at the national laws regarding the trafficking of cannabis , amphetamine , cocaine and heroin , along with expected sentences and the time likely to be spent in prison . Document at www . emcdda . europa . eu
FINAL COMMUTE
BARACK OBAMA marked the end of his presidency by commuting the sentences of 330 prisoners , bringing the total number of commutations granted to more than 1,700 . ‘ The vast majority of these men and women are serving unduly long sentences for drug crimes ,’ said a White House statement .
SCANDALOUS STATISTICS
THE NUMBER OF PEOPLE SLEEPING ROUGH in England has increased by 16 per cent in a year , according to government figures – the sixth annual increase in a row . The autumn 2016 figure was 4,134 rough sleepers , says DCLG , compared to 3,569 in autumn 2015 , based on a ‘ single night snapshot ’ of street counts and ‘ intelligence-driven estimates ’ from local agencies . The statistics are seen by many as an underestimate , however , with the most recent figures from the Combined Homelessness and Information Network ( CHAIN ) putting the total number of people seen sleeping rough by outreach workers in London alone during 2015-16 at more than 8,000 . St Mungo ’ s chief executive Howard Sinclair said the figures were ‘ nothing short of a scandal ’, while Crisis chief executive Jon Sparkes said numbers were rising at an ‘ appalling ’ rate .
CRIMINAL SITUATION
THE MORTALITY RATE FOR PRISONERS is 50 per cent higher than for the general population , according to a report from the Revolving Doors charity in partnership with PHE , NHS England and the Home Office . The criminal justice system is ‘ uniquely placed ’ to tackle substance misuse and break the cycle of reoffending , it says , but adds that those in contact with the system may be the bearers of ‘ multiple stig - matising labels ’ that act as a barrier to accessing or engaging with healthcare . PHE has also published guidance on delivering programmes to reduce TB in ‘ under-served ’ populations such as people with substance misuse problems . Rebalancing act at www . revolvingdoors . org . uk ; Tackling tuberculosis in underserved populations at www . gov . uk
‘ Young people do not develop substance problems in isolation .’
Rosanna o ’ ConnoR
BEHIND THE HEADLINES
AROUND SIX PER CENT OF YOUNG PEOPLE SEEKING ALCOHOL OR DRUG TREATMENT REPORT HAVING BEEN THE VICTIMS OF SEXUAL EXPLOITATION , according to a PHE-commissioned review of young people ’ s treatment services by the Children ’ s Society . The figure is far higher among girls , at 14 per cent , than boys , at 1 per cent . A quarter of females starting treatment in 2015-16 reported having mental health problems , along with 15 per cent of males , while 33 per cent of females and 9 per cent of males reported having selfharmed .
Meanwhile , annual NDTMS figures show that the number of young people seeking help for substance issues has fallen to 17,000 from its peak of 24,000 just under a decade ago . While the drop in numbers was encouraging , it was important to ‘ look behind the headline ’ and remember that young people did not develop substance problems in isolation , said PHE ’ s director of alcohol , drugs and tobacco , Rosanna O ’ Connor .
Specialist substance misuse services for young people and Young people ’ s statistics from the National Drug Treatment Monitoring System ( NDTMS ) at www . gov . uk
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