Safety in custody quarterly bulletin: June 2017
Source: data.gov.uk (2018-05-25)

Safety in Custody. Data on assaults, self-harm and assaults in prisons in England and Wales. Headline figures produced quarterly with more detailed figures produced annually in April.

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Published 26 October 2017 
Safety in Custody Statistics, England and Wales:  
Deaths in Prison Custody to September 2017 
Assaults and Self-Harm to June 2017 
Main Points 
Number of deaths 
continues to fall 
 
 
There were 300 deaths in prison custody in the 12 months to 
September 2017, down from 324 in the previous year. Three of 
these were homicides, down from 5. There were 77 self-inflicted 
deaths, down 33 from 110 in the previous year, 5 of which were in 
the female estate, compared to 9 in the previous 12 months.  
Self-harm incidents 
continue to rise, 
reaching record 
highs 
 
 
 
Self-harm reached a record high of 41,103 incidents in the 12 
months to June 2017, up 12% from the previous year. The number 
of incidents requiring hospital attendance rose by 9% to 2,833. 
After a quarter-on-quarter decrease in the three months to March 
2017, self-harm rose to a record high of 10,850 incidents (up 10%) 
in the latest quarter.  
Assaults and 
serious assaults 
continue to rise, 
reaching record 
highs 
 
 
Assaults have continued to increase, reaching a record high of 
27,193 incidents in the 12 months to June 2017, up 14% from the 
previous year. Of these, 3,687 (14%) were serious assaults, up 
17% from the previous year. In the most recent quarter, assault 
incidents increased by 6% to a new record high of 7,115. 
Prisoner-on-
prisoner assaults 
continue to rise, 
reaching record 
highs 
 
 
There were 19,678 prisoner-on-prisoner assaults, 10% from the 
previous year, and the highest in the time series. Of these, 2,911 
(15%) were serious assaults, up 18% from the previous year. 
Prisoner-on-prisoner assaults saw a 7% increase in the latest 
quarter, reaching a new quarterly record high of 5,155. 
Assaults on staff 
continue to rise, 
reaching record 
highs 
 
 
There were 7,437 assaults on staff, up 25% from the previous 
year. Serious assaults on staff reached 798 in the 12 months to 
June 2017, up 14% on the previous period. Assaults on staff 
increased by 9% in the latest quarter, reaching a new quarterly 
record high of 2,011 incidents. 
 
Safety in custody statistics cover deaths, self-harm and assaults in prison custody in England and 
Wales, with figures in quarterly summary tables presented on a 12-month rolling basis over a 
10-year time series. Supplementary annual tables, providing more in-depth statistics on deaths, 
self-harm and assaults on a calendar year basis, underlying data files with pivot tables providing 
lower level granularity, and a guidance technical document are also available alongside this 
bulletin, and can be found at www.gov.uk/government/collections/safety-in-custody-statistics 

 
 
 
 
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1 Deaths: 12 months ending September 2017 
Number of deaths continues to fall 
 
In the 12 months to September 2017, there were 300 deaths in prison custody, down 24 from the 
previous year. Of these, 77 deaths were self-inflicted, down 33 from the previous year. 
 
Figure 1: Quarterly 12-month rolling rate of deaths per 1,000 prisoners, 12 months ending 
September 2007 to 12 months ending September 2017, with annualised quarterly rates1  
 
 
In the 12 months to September 2017 there were 300 deaths in prison custody, a decrease of 7% 
from 324 in the previous year, at a rate of 3.5 deaths per 1,000 prisoners. The most recent 
quarter saw the lowest number of total deaths since the three months to December 2015. 
Quarterly death figures should be considered with caution due to greater volatility and the 
potential for seasonal effects. Long-term trends and more detail are presented in annual tables. 
There were 77 apparent self-inflicted deaths, down 30% from 110 in the previous year. On a rate 
basis this is 0.9 instances per 1,000 prisoners. Within the female estate, there were 5 self-
inflicted deaths at a rate of 1.3 per 1,000 prisoners, down from 9 incidents in the previous 12 
months. There were 3 apparent homicides, down from 5 in the previous year. Homicides in prison 
custody remain relatively rare, accounting for around 1% of all deaths over the last ten years. 
There were 190 deaths due to natural causes, an increase of 2% from 186 in the previous year. 
Natural-cause deaths were at a rate of 2.2 per 1,000 prisoners. 
There were 30 deaths recorded as ‘other’ in the 12 months to September 2017, 25 of which are 
‘awaiting further information’ prior to being classified. In some cases, the results of the toxicology 
and post-mortem tests are inconclusive, meaning classification cannot be arrived at until inquest 
(which can be a considerable time after the death), while other cases remain awaiting results at 
the time of publication. There has been a particularly high number of deaths awaiting further 
classification in this period. As a result, the number of deaths in the individual categories is not 
directly comparable with earlier years: it is likely that numbers in some categories will be revised 
upwards once classifications have been finalised. 
                                                 
1 The annualised quarterly rate is an estimate of the annual rate calculated from data in one quarter and 
also taking into account the number of days in that quarter. 

 
 
 
 
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2 Self-harm: 12 months to June 2017  
Self-harm incidents continue to rise, reaching record highs 
 
Self-harm has reached a record high of 41,103 incidents, up 12% from the previous year. The 
number of incidents also increased by 10% quarter on quarter, to a record high of 10,850 after a 
period of relative stability over the past four quarters. Incidents requiring hospital attendance rose 
by 9% to a record high of 2,833. 
 
Figure 2: Quarterly 12-month rolling rate of self-harm incidents per 1,000 prisoners, 12 
months ending June 2007 to 12 months ending June 2017, with annualised quarterly rates 
 
  
In the 12 months to June 2017, there were 41,103 reported incidents of self-harm (a rate of 482 
per 1,000 prisoners), up 12% on the previous year. The number of self-harm incidents requiring 
hospital attendance increased by 9% on the previous year to 2,833 while the proportion of 
incidents that required hospital attendance remained broadly similar at 6.9%. The number of self-
harm incidents and those requiring hospital attendance are both the highest in the time series.  
Following a period of relative stability at historic highs over the preceding four quarters, the 
quarterly rate of incidents increased to a record high in the three months to June 2017 with 
10,850 incidents (up 10% on the previous quarter), 765 of which required hospital attendance.  
The number of prisoners who self-harmed in the 12 months to June 2017 was 10,994 (a rate of 
129 prisoners per 1,000), up 4% from the previous year. Those that self-harmed did so, on 
average, 3.7 times, although a small number of prolific self-harmers have a disproportionate 
impact on this figure. The majority of those who self-harm in prison do so only once a year. 
Additional detail on this can be found in the annual self-harm tables.

 
 
 
 
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Figure 3: Quarterly 12-month rolling rate of self-harm incidents per 1,000 prisoners by 
gender of establishment, 12 months ending June 2007 to 12 months ending June 2017  
 
 
 
Self-harm trends differ considerably by gender, with a rate of 413 incidents per 1,000 in male 
establishments (with incidents up 15% on the previous year) compared to a rate of 1,914 per 
1,000 in female establishments (a reduction of 1% in the number of incidents from the previous 
year). In the 12 months to June 2017, the number of self-harm incidents per self-harming male 
increased from 3.1 in the previous year to 3.4. In contrast, self-harm prolificacy among females 
has dropped slightly, from 6.6 to 6.5 incidents per self-harming individual. 
 
Self-harm incidents requiring hospital attendance has increased from the previous year in male 
establishments by 9% to 2,670, and in female establishments by 4% to 163 incidents. While self-
harmers in female establishments were roughly twice as prolific as those in male establishments, 
self-harmers in male establishments had nearly four times the proportion of self-harm incidents 
that required hospitalisation (7.9% in male establishments compared to 2.2% in female 
establishments). 

 
 
 
 
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3 Assaults: 12 months to June 2017 
Assaults and serious assaults continue to rise, reaching record highs 
 
Assaults have continued to rise, reaching a record high of 27,193 incidents in the 12 months to 
June 2017, up 14% from the previous year. Of these, 3,687 were serious assaults, up 17% from the 
previous year, to the highest level in the time series. Quarterly assaults also rose by 6% to a record 
high of 7,115 incidents.  
Figure 4: Quarterly 12-month rolling rate of total assaults by gender of establishment, 12 
months ending June 2007 to 12 months ending June 2017, with annualised quarterly rates  
 
In the 12 months to June 2017, there were 27,193 assault incidents (a rate of 319 incidents per 
1,000 prisoners), an increase of 14% on the previous year, and the highest level in the time 
series. In the latest quarter, there were 7,115 assaults, up 6% from the three months to March 
2017.  

 
 
 
 
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Figure 5: Quarterly 12-month rolling rate of prisoner-on-prisoner assaults and assaults on 
staff, 12 months ending June 2007 to 12 months ending June 2017, with annualised 
quarterly rates  
 
 
 
There were 19,678 prisoner-on-prisoner assaults in the 12 months to June 2017 (a rate of 231 
per 1,000 prisoners), up 10% on the previous year, and a record high. The latest quarter also saw 
a 7% increase in the number of incidents, reaching a record high of 5,155.  
Assaults on staff reached a record high of 7,437 in the 12 months to June 2017 (a rate of 87 per 
1,000 prisoners), and are up 25% on the previous year. In the most recent quarter, assaults on 
staff rose by 9%, reaching a record high of 2,011 incidents.  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

 
 
 
 
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3.1 
Serious assaults 
Serious assaults are those which fall into one or more of the following categories: a sexual 
assault, requires detention in outside hospital as an in-patient; requires medical treatment for 
concussion or internal injuries; or incurs any of the following injuries: a fracture, scald or burn, 
stabbing, crushing, extensive or multiple bruising, black eye, broken nose, lost or broken tooth, 
cuts requiring suturing, bites, temporary or permanent blindness2.     
 
Figure 6: Quarterly 12-month rolling rate of total serious assaults, serious prisoner-on-
prisoner assaults, and serious assaults on staff, 12 months ending June 2007 to 12 
months ending June 2017, with annualised quarterly rates  
 
 
In the 12 months to June 2017, there were 3,687 serious assaults, up 17% on the previous year. 
Of these, 2,911 were serious prisoner-on-prisoner assaults, up 18% on the previous year. Over 
the same period, there were 798 serious assaults on staff, up 14% on the previous year.  
In the latest quarter, there were 963 serious assaults, up 7% on the three months to March 2017, 
and a new record high. Of these, 766 were serious prisoner-on-prisoner assaults (up 8% to a new 
record high), and 204 were serious assaults on staff (up 6%).  
After a prolonged period of stability in the time series, there has been a clear upward trend since 
December 2012 in serious assault incidents of all types. The number of serious assaults and 
serious prisoner-on-prisoner assaults are at least 2.7 times higher than in the 12 months to June 
2012, while serious assaults on staff have trebled. 
                                                 
2 As noted in the Safety in Custody bulletin published on 27 July 2017, the definition of serious assaults will 
not be expanded to include incidents involving the throwing of urine or excrement, and spitting. This is to 
ensure comparability with previously published National Statistics. These incidents will continue to be 
reported as assaults, with a detailed breakdown included in the annual statistics.  

 
 
 
 
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Further Information  
Accompanying files 
As well as this bulletin, the following products are published as part of this release: 
 
A technical guide providing further information on how the data are collected and 
processed, as well as information on the revisions policy and legislation relevant to 
sentencing trends and background on the functioning of the criminal justice system. 
 
A set of summary tables for the latest quarter, and annual tables up to the latest calendar 
year. 
 
Underlying data files with pivot tables, giving lower level granularity. 
 
National Statistics status 
National Statistics status means that official statistics meet the highest standards of 
trustworthiness, quality and public value. 
All official statistics should comply with all aspects of the Code of Practice for Official Statistics. 
They are awarded National Statistics status following an assessment by the UK Statistics 
Authority’s (UKSA) regulatory arm. The UKSA considers whether the statistics meet the highest 
standards of Code compliance, including the value they add to public decisions and debate. 
It is the Ministry of Justice’s responsibility to maintain compliance with the standards expected for 
National Statistics. If we become concerned about whether these statistics are still meeting the 
appropriate standards, we will discuss any concerns with the UKSA promptly. National Statistics 
status can be removed at any point when the highest standards are not maintained, and 
reinstated when standards are restored. 
 
Contact 
Press enquiries should be directed to the Ministry of Justice press office:  
Tel: xx-xxxx-xxxx  
Email: xxx@xxx.xx  
 
Other enquiries about these statistics should be directed to:  
Saleyah Miah 
Prison and Probation Analytical Services  
Ministry of Justice 
102 Petty France  
London  
SW1H 9AJ 
Email: xxx@xxx.xx 
 
Next update: 25 January 2018 
URL: www.gov.uk/government/collections/safety-in-custody-statistics  
 
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Produced by the Ministry of Justice. 
Alternative formats are available on request from xxx@xxx.xx