The number of assaults and self-harm incidents in prisons located in England and Wales has increased by 20 percent to record high levels in the year to June, a fresh bulletin by the UK Justice Ministry showed on Thursday.
MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 25th October, 2018) The number of assaults and self-harm incidents in prisons located in England and Wales has increased by 20 percent to record high levels in the year to June, a fresh bulletin by the UK Justice Ministry showed on Thursday.
"In the 12 months to June 2018, there were 49,565 incidents of self-harm, up 20% from the previous year ... There were 32,559 assault incidents in the 12 months to June 2018, up 20% from the previous year," the bulletin read.
Out of these assaults, 23,448 were prisoner-on-prisoner ones, which is a 19 percent increase year-on-year, and 9,485 assaults on prison staff, which is a 27 percent increase year-on-year, the bulletin specified.
"There were 325 deaths in prison custody in the 12 months to September 2018, up 8% from the previous year. Of these, 5 were homicides, up from 3 incidents in the previous year. There were 87 self-inflicted deaths, up from 78 in the previous year," the ministry added.
The statistics was gathered by Justice Ministry's analytical professionals and production staff in accordance with UK Statistics Authority-approved arrangements.
The prison population in the United Kingdom exceeds 83,000 people, according to the latest bulletin by the UK Justice Ministry, Her Majesty's Prison Service and Her Majesty's Prison and Probation Service.
