IAPDC responds to the Prisons and Probation Ombudsman’s annual report 2022/23

The Prisons and Probation Ombudsman’s (PPO) annual report 2022/23 shows a worrying increase in prison and self-inflicted deaths, underscoring key challenges within the prison service including workforce pressures - including training, skill mix, and experience - and the growing capacity crisis. The report highlights concerns, among others, relating to prisoners’ self-neglect, the use of segregation, meaningful contact, and the provision of key work. Added to this is the growing phenomenon of ‘clusters’ of self-inflicted deaths across the prison estate.

Concerted and collaborative leadership and effort, involving multidisciplinary teams, is needed to ensure people in detention are given appropriate and timely care and support. The IAPDC’s latest report – which was informed by people with lived experience and experts across the detention landscape – looks at how suicide can be prevented in detention. It puts forward a series of recommendations to government departments, service leaders, and detention staff to reduce the alarmingly high rate of suicide among people under their care.

We urge the government and all those involved in the care of people in detention to heed these calls and take action. Deaths in detention are preventable not inevitable. While alternatives to detention and custodial sentences should always be prioritised where appropriate, urgent action is needed to end the tragedy of avoidable deaths in detention.