Prison cuts
/Rates of self harm in jails soar
So the present figures indicate a rise to a shockingly high figure for self-harm in prisons (Howard League) or that they have, in fact, always been shockingly high (Ministry of Justice).
Either way, it's a fucking disgrace.
Rates of self-harm in jail have rocketed in the last four years...The Howard League for Penal Reform said the number of prisoners deliberately injuring themselves had risen at four times the rate of the jail population increase. In 2003 there were 16,393 incidents of self harm in prisons in England and Wales, but last year the number had risen to 22,459 incidents. It amounted to a 37 per cent increase - almost four times the rise in the prison population for the same period, the Howard League added. The Ministry of Justice said the rise was due to new systems being put in place, which meant incidents were more accurately recorded.
A Ministry of Justice spokesman said: "The significant increase in the number of prisoner self-harm incidents can be attributed to the introduction of a much more thorough and robust reporting system. "This led establishments to become more effective at reporting, leading to a marked increase in self-harm incidents between then and the present.
So the present figures indicate a rise to a shockingly high figure for self-harm in prisons (Howard League) or that they have, in fact, always been shockingly high (Ministry of Justice).
Either way, it's a fucking disgrace.
