Safety in custody statistics 2008/09
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.

Safety in custody statistics 
2008/2009 
 
Ministry of Justice 
Statistics bulletin  
 
 
 
Published 11 February 2010 
 
1 

 
Introduction 
This publication contains statistics relating to deaths, self-harm and assaults 
in prison custody in England and Wales. It has been produced by the 
National Offender Management Service (NOMS). NOMS monitors deaths, 
self-harm and assaults in prisons and has a range of related measures to 
help monitor overall safety.  
 
Although this publication concerns statistics, the incidents described in this 
report are, by their nature, tragic and distressing to the prisoners, their 
families and the staff who look after them.  The National Offender 
Management Service remains committed to reducing deaths, managing 
self-harm and reducing violence in prison custody. 
 
When considering particular statistics readers should note the following:  
 
 In order to evaluate trends over time of deaths, self-harm and assault 
incidents, 3-year rolling average annual rates are used.  Units of 100,000 
are used for comparability with population death rates but units of 1,000 
are also provided as the total prison population is less than 100,000. 
 
 Incidence of death, self-harm or assault is unevenly distributed around 
the prison estate. This bulletin presents the figures broken down by key 
factors including age, gender and time in custody. These, and random 
variation, explain many of the differences between prisons and particular 
risk groups.  
 
 In prisons, as in the community, self-harm is often covert and assaults 
may go unreported. In prison custody, however, such incidents are more 
likely to be detected and counted. Recording of self-harm and assault 
incidents in prison custody has improved over the years but it remains 
the case that they cannot be counted with absolute accuracy. 
 
This is the first publication of this type and there will be room for 
improvement.  We welcome your comments (see Contact points for further 
information on page 18 of this publication). 
2 

 
Summary 
 
This publication comments on trends relating to deaths in prison custody up 
to the end of 2009 and on self-harm and assaults up to the end of 2008. The 
underlying trends for each are assessed on changes to 3-year rolling 
average annual rates. 
 
 In 2009, there were 168 deaths in custody of which 60 were self-inflicted. 
The equivalent figures for 2008 were 165 deaths of which 60 were self- 
inflicted. 
  
 The 3-year rolling average annual death rate for the 3 years ending 2009 
was 2.11 deaths per 1,000 prisoners. This rate is slightly higher than the 
2008 figure (2.09 per 1,000 for the 3 years ending 2008), following year 
on year decreases since 2004 (when the rate was 2.54 per 1,000 for the 
3 years ending 2004 – the highest rate during the period 2000 to 2009). 
 
o The 3-year rolling average annual self-inflicted death rate fell to 0.86 
deaths per 1,000 prisoners. This rate represents a gradual decrease 
from 1.31 per 1,000 prisoners for the 3 years ending 2004 (the 
highest rate during the period 2000 to 2009).  
 
o There were no homicides committed in prison custody during 2009. 
 
 The 3-year rolling average annual individual self-harm rate increased 
slightly from 74 to 76 per 1,000 prisoners for the 3-year periods ending 
2006 to 2008. 
 
 The 3-year rolling average assault rate shows a steady increase during 
the period 2000 to 2008. In 2008, the rate was 191 compared to 157 
assault incidents per 1,000 prisoners for the 3 years ending 2002. 
3 

 
  
Table 1: Summary statistics 
 
4 

 
Deaths in prison custody 
A self-inflicted death is defined as any death of a person who has 
apparently taken his or her own life irrespective of intent. Death by natural 
causes is defined as any death of a person as a result of naturally occurring 
disease process. A homicide is defined as any death of a person at the 
hands of another, including murder and manslaughter. Other deaths are 
classified as non-natural when they cannot easily be classified as natural 
causes, self-inflicted or homicide. These include accidents arising from 
external causes, accidental overdose/ poisoning and deaths where taking a 
drug contributed to a death but not in fatal amounts. This category may also 
include a small number of otherwise difficult to classify deaths. 
 
In 2009 there were 60 self-inflicted deaths. There were 57 deaths of male 
prisoners and 3 deaths of female prisoners. 
 
The rolling average annual rate for the 3 years ending 2009 was 0.86 self-
inflicted deaths per 1,000 prisoners, continuing the overall decreasing trend 
from 1.31 per 1,000 in the three years ending 2004. Figures for male and 
female prisoners showed similar decreases – down from 1.21 to 0.86 for 
males, and down from 2.73 to 0.91 for females over the same period. 
 
Table 2: Self-inflicted deaths in prison custody by gender 
England and Wales
2000
2001
2002
2003
2004
2005
2006
2007
2008
2009
Prison Population
1
64,602 66,301 70,778 73,038 74,657 75,979 78,127 80,216 82,572 83,461
Male
61,252
62,561
66,479
68,613
70,209
71,512
73,680
75,842
78,158
79,060
Female
3,350
3,740
4,299
4,425
4,448
4,467
4,447
4,374
4,414
4,401
Self-inflicted deaths2
81
73
95
95
95
78
67
92
60
60
Male
73
67
86
81
82
74
64
84
59
57
Female
8
6
9
14
13
4
3
8
1
3
3-year rolling average annual rates per 1,000 prisoners
Self-inflicted deaths
-
-
1.23
1.25
1.31
1.20
1.05
1.01
0.91
0.86
Male
-
-
1.19
1.18
1.21
1.13
1.02
1.00
0.91
0.86
Female
-
-
2.03
2.29
2.73
2.33
1.50
1.13
0.91
0.91
3-year rolling average annual rates per 100,000 prisoners
Self-inflicted deaths
-
-
123
125
131
120
105
101
91
86
Male
-
-
119
118
121
113
102
100
91
86
Female
-
-
203
229
273
233
150
113
91
91
(2) Deaths in prison custody figures include deaths of prisoners while released on temporary license (ROTL) for medical 
reasons but exclude other types of ROTL (see Data Sources and Quality).  Approximately one third of the deaths in 
prison custody shown here actually occur in hospitals or hospices.
(1) Population statistics are derived from the Ministry of Justice- Offender Management Caseload Statistics.  The prison 
population figure shown for 2009 is provisional.
 
 
5 

 
Table 3 shows the numbers of self-inflicted deaths by time in prison custody 
and time in current prison. In 2009, 18 out of 60 self-inflicted deaths 
occurred within one month of arriving in prison custody and 25 out of 60 
deaths occurred within one month of arriving in the current prison.  
 
Table 3: Self-inflicted deaths in prison custody by time in custody and 
current prison 
 
 
6 

 
Self-harm 
Self-harm in prison custody is defined as, “any act where a prisoner 
deliberately harms themselves irrespective of the method, intent or severity 
of any injury.” In the community, self-harm is common but often covert. In 
prisons, such incidents are more likely to be detected and counted. The 
system for recording these incidents was implemented in December 2002 
and relatively complete data is available from 2004 onwards.  
 
Key self-harm statistics are summarised in Table 4. Although the number of 
self-harm incidents is provided, this particular measure, in isolation, is not a 
good indicator of underlying trend as a small number of individuals account 
for a large proportion of self-harm incidents.  
 
 In 2008, a total of 6,361 individual prisoners were recorded as having 
self-harmed.  
 
 The 3-year rolling average annual rate shows a small increase from 74 
to 76 individuals self-harming per 1,000 prisoners for the 3-year period 
years ending 2006 to 2008. 
 
 The 3-year rolling average annual rate of female prisoners who self-
harm per 1,000 prisoners was consistently 5 times the rate of male 
prisoners for the 3-year periods ending 2006 to 2008. In the 3 years 
ending 2008, the female rate was 326 and the male rate was 62 per 
1,000 prisoners. 
 
 Female prisoners who self-harm do so more frequently than male 
prisoners. In 2008, an average of 9 incidents for each female prisoner 
self-harming compared to 2 incidents for each male self-harming. 
 
7 

 
Table 4: Self-harm summary statistics 
England and Wales
2004
2005
2006
2007
2008
Prison Population
74,657
75,979
78,127
80,216
82,572
Male
70,209
71,512
73,680
75,842
78,158
Female
4,448
4,467
4,447
4,374
4,414
Self-harm incidents1,2
19,550
23,776
23,395
22,875
24,686
Male
9,880
10,603
12,019
11,507
11,748
Female
9,670
13,173
11,376
11,368
12,938
Individuals self-harming
1,3
5,365
5,758
5,904
6,059
6,361
Male
4,026
4,287
4,507
4,643
4,859
Female
1,339
1,471
1,397
1,416
1,502
Individuals self-harming
-
-
74.41
75.63
76.05
Male
-
-
59.49
60.78
61.52
Female
-
-
314.83
322.39
326.05
Individuals self-harming
-
-
7,441
7,563
7,605
Male
-
-
5,949
6,078
6,152
Female
-
-
31,483
32,239
32,605
(3) The numbers of different individuals are based on prison number and main age bands. An individual 
who was in prison custody on two occasions during a year but with two different numbers or age bands 
would be counted twice if he/she had self harmed at least once on each occasion.
(1) A new system for monitoring self harm was introduced in December 2002 and as a result recording of 
self harm improved throughout 2003. Numbers before 2004 have therefore not been included as they are 
not directly comparable with later figures. 
(2) In prisons, as in the community, it is not possible to count self harm incidents with absolute accuracy. 
In prison custody, however, such incidents are more likely to be detected and counted. Care needs to be 
taken when comparing figures shown here with other sources where data may be less complete. 
3-year rolling average annual rate for individuals self-harming per 1,000 prisoners
3-year rolling average annual rate for individuals self-harming per 100,000 prisoners
 
8 

 
 
In 2008, there were 1,628 individuals who self-harmed aged 20 or under. 
This represents 26% of all individuals who self-harmed during that year (see 
table 5). Analysis of the data by gender shows a similar distribution with 
those aged 20 or under accounting for 26% of all males self-harming and 
25% of all females self-harming. 
 
 
Table 5: Individuals self-harming by age group 
2004
2005
2006
2007
2008
Total individuals
5,365
5,758
5,904
6,059
6,361
15 - 17 years
318
437
385
350
432
18 - 20 years
975
1,058
1,133
1,143
1,196
21 - 24 years
1,076
1,093
1,123
1,206
1,214
25 - 29 years
1,068
1,058
1,118
1,153
1,197
30 - 39 years
1,398
1,484
1,434
1,508
1,507
40 - 49 years
419
517
582
572
685
50 - 59 years
92
94
111
93
108
60 years and over
19
17
18
34
22
Males
4,026
4,287
4,507
4,643
4,859
15 - 17 years
240
345
312
277
337
18 - 20 years
736
755
843
881
920
21 - 24 years
770
808
845
920
896
25 - 29 years
781
775
840
868
929
30 - 39 years
1,090
1,150
1,122
1,174
1,136
40 - 49 years
315
365
432
429
544
50 - 59 years
77
75
97
64
79
60 years and over
17
14
16
30
18
Females
1,339
1,471
1,397
1,416
1,502
15 - 17 years
78
92
73
73
95
18 - 20 years
239
303
290
262
276
21 - 24 years
306
285
278
286
318
25 - 29 years
287
283
278
285
268
30 - 39 years
308
334
312
334
371
40 - 49 years
104
152
150
143
141
50 - 59 years
15
19
14
29
29
60 years and over
2
3
2
4
4
England and Wales
(1) In prisons, as in the community, it is not possible to identify every self-harmer with absolute accuracy. 
In prison custody, however, such indivduals are more likely to be detected and counted. Care needs to 
be taken when comparing figures shown here with other sources where data may be less complete. 
(2) The numbers of different individuals are based on prison number and main age bands. An individual 
who was in prison custody on two occasions during a year but with two different numbers or age bands 
would be counted twice if he/she had self harmed at least once on each occasion.
 
9 

 
Table 6 shows the numbers of self-harm incidents by time in current prison.  
In 2008, 6,793 or 28% of self-harm incidents occurred within the first month 
of arriving in a prison. 
 
 
Table 6: Self-harm incidents by time in current prison 
2004
2005
2006
2007
2008
Time in current prison
On day of arrival
426
407
606
587
542
1 to 2 days
696
731
742
758
755
3 days to 1 week
1402
1572
1444
1433
1418
1 week to 1 month
3687
4110
4401
3750
4078
1 month to 3 months
4748
5802
5932
5463
5949
3 months to 6 months
2979
3700
3690
3774
4392
6 months to 1 year
1778
2864
2739
2521
2710
Over 1 year
1798
2681
2422
3000
3625
Missing details
2036
1909
1419
1589
1217
Total self-harm incidents
19550
23776
23395
22875
24686
Time in current prison:  males
On day of arrival
337
300
453
451
425
1 to 2 days
459
452
453
455
433
3 days to 1 week
813
852
814
747
727
1 week to 1 month
1756
1766
2189
1881
1908
1 month to 3 months
2145
2154
2742
2456
2576
3 months to 6 months
1306
1367
1607
1538
1809
6 months to 1 year
861
1176
1236
1287
1327
Over 1 year
930
1190
1318
1550
1629
Missing details
1273
1346
1207
1142
914
Total male self-harm incidents
9880
10603
12019
11507
11748
Time in current prison:  females
On day of arrival
89
107
153
136
117
1 to 2 days
237
279
289
303
322
3 days to 1 week
589
720
630
686
691
1 week to 1 month
1931
2344
2212
1869
2170
1 month to 3 months
2603
3648
3190
3007
3373
3 months to 6 months
1673
2333
2083
2236
2583
6 months to 1 year
917
xx-xxxx-xxxx
1503
1234
1383
Over 1 year
868
1491
1104
1450
1996
Missing details
763
563
212
447
303
Total female self-harm incidents
9670
13173
11376
11368
12938
England and Wales
 
 
 
10 

 
Assaults 
 
The 3-year rolling average annual assault incident rate has steadily 
increased from 157 to 191 per 1,000 prisoners over the 3-year periods 
ending 2002 to 2008. Both male and female assault incident rates have 
increased during this period – males from 156 to 189 incidents per 1,000 
prisoners and females from 170 to 232 incidents per 1,000 prisoners. 
 
In 2008, 1,481 or 9% of 15,847 total assault incidents were serious. 1,438 or 
10% of these incidents occurred in male establishments. 43 or 5% of these 
incidents occurred in female establishments. 
 
In 2008, 3,198 (20%) of total assaults were on staff. 2,846 (19%) of total 
male assaults were on staff of which 264 (9%) were serious. 352 (39%) of 
total female assaults were on staff of which 19 (5%) were serious. 
 
11 

 
 
Table 7: Assault summary statistics 
England and Wales
2000
2001
2002
2003
2004
2005
2006
2007
2008
Prison Population
64,602 66,301 70,778 73,038 74,657 75,979 78,127 80,216
82,572
Males
61,252
62,561
66,479
68,613
70,209
71,512
73,680
75,842
78,158
Females
3,350
3,740
4,299
4,425
4,448
4,467
4,447
4,374
4,414
Assault incidents1,2
9,423 10,695 11,515 11,835 12,558 14,406 15,054 15,231
15,847
Male establishments
8,865
10,061
10,773
11,032
11,702
13,317
13,893
14,227
14,942
Female establishments
558
634
742
803
856
1,089
1,161
1,004
905
3-year rolling average annual assault incidents per 1,000 prisoners
Assault incidents
-
- 156.62 162.01 xx-xxxx-xxxx 173.28 183.50 190.72
191.49
Male establishments
-
-
155.87
161.22
163.17
171.23
180.48
187.46
189.11
Female establishments
-
-
xx-xxxx-xxxx
174.53
182.17
205.90
232.44
244.80
231.88
3-year rolling average annual assault incidents per 100,000 prisoners
Assault incidents
-
- 15,662 16,201 16,431 17,328 18,350 19,072
19,149
Male establishments
-
-
15,587
16,122
16,317
17,123
18,048
18,746
18,911
Female establishments
-
-
16,956
17,453
18,217
20,590
23,244
24,480
23,188
Serious Assaults
792
795
953
1,156
1,217
1,371
1,403
1,484
1,481
Male establishments
745
755
914
1,091
1,134
1,305
1,344
1,434
1,438
Female establishments
47
40
39
65
83
66
59
50
43
Assaults on staff
2,189
2,694
2,843
2,884
3,194
3,500
3,529
3,267
3,198
Male establishments
1,941
2,406
2,545
2,585
2,887
3,065
3,006
2,857
2,846
Female establishments
248
288
298
299
307
435
523
410
352
Serious assaults on staff
172
181
196
266
272
300
280
284
283
Male establishments
160
169
188
246
246
278
255
265
264
Female establishments
12
12
8
20
26
22
25
19
19
(2) In prisons, as in the community, it is not possible to count assault incidents with absolute accuracy. In prison 
custody, however, such incidents are more likely to be detected and counted. Care needs to be taken when 
comparing figures shown here with other sources where data may be less complete. 
(1) Reported incidents before 2000 are not directly comparable with later figures and have therefore been 
excluded. Although figures for 2000 to 2002 have been included they are under-reported by modern standards.  It 
is now expected that all assaults, including fights, should be reported whether or not there was an injury.  As this 
was not the case in the past care needs to be taken when interpreting changes over the years.
 
 
12 

 
 
Table 8 divides the data into prisoner assailants, fighters and victims. The 
prisoner assailants and prisoner victims categories arise from Actual Bodily 
Harm (ABH) and Grievous Bodily Harm (GBH) assault incidents where there 
is a clear victim. The prisoner fighter category arises from assault incidents 
where there is no clear victim. The roles are determined by local 
investigation of the incident. 
 
Younger prisoners have consistently higher incident rates for assault than 
older prisoners. Analysing the data by prisoner role, in 2008 those aged 15 
to 20 years old accounted for 51% of total prisoner assailants, 68% of total 
prisoner fighters, and 43% of total prisoner victims. These percentages 
decrease with each successive 10-year age bracket. 
 
Table 8: Assault incidents by role and age 
2000
2001
2002
2003
2004
2005
2006
2007
2008
Prisoner assailants
4,913
5,270
5,140
5,061
5,236
6,548
6,964
6,655
7,123
15-17
986
1,198
1,089
820
901
1,444
1,644
1,510
1,869
18-20
1,584
1,533
1,400
1,320
1,286
1,602
1,797
1,668
1,755
21-25
919
999
1,059
1,193
1,216
1,371
1,311
1,325
1,359
26-29
535
567
523
577
689
692
738
784
780
30-39
707
785
845
903
883
1,061
1,025
902
907
40-49
157
135
182
194
208
310
327
372
359
50-59
19
42
30
37
32
44
89
69
7
60 and over
4
9
10
14
16
22
26
23
21
Unknown
2
2
2
3
5
2
7
2
1
Prisoner fighters
6,100
6,973
7,539
7,706
7,653
9,554 10,450 11,387 11,563
15-17
1,882
2,458
2,317
2,212
2,048
3,264
3,654
4,046
4,248
18-20
2,332
2,418
2,833
2,628
2,454
3,065
3,184
3,564
3,616
21-25
848
905
1,062
1,298
1,395
1,389
1,524
1,590
1,585
26-29
408
455
500
550
645
691
778
831
776
30-39
518
615
685
815
885
924
997
989
979
40-49
94
104
119
179
207
190
270
317
302
50-59
11
16
21
17
15
24
35
40
3
60 and over
7
2
2
7
4
7
8
10
21
Prisoner victims
3,937
3,915
4,281
4,151
4,261
5,301
5,633
5,783
6,380
15-17
709
762
704
518
518
926
967
999
1,242
18-20
1,208
1,082
1,042
957
936
1,199
1,235
1,248
1,475
21-25
706
796
900
942
964
1,056
1,168
1,226
1,257
26-29
461
412
546
567
596
693
715
739
785
30-39
626
659
826
878
902
1,038
1,070
1,084
1,067
40-49
165
156
189
217
252
316
364
392
450
50-59
53
34
55
55
75
55
85
73
7
60 and over
9
14
19
17
18
18
29
22
2
(1)  Reported incidents before 2000 and prisoner involvements arising from them are not directly comparable with 
later figures and have therefore been excluded. Although figures for 2000 to 2002 have been included they are under-
reported by modern standards.  It is now expected that all assaults, including fights, should be reported whether or 
not there was an injury.  Fights were less frequently reported in the past and therefore care needs to be taken when 
interpreting changes over the years.
England and Wales
2
6
8
6
 
 
13 

 
Data Sources and Quality  
 
Deaths in prison custody information 
The data presented in this publication is drawn from the NOMS Deaths in 
Prison Custody database and administrative IT systems. Although care is 
taken when processing and analysing the returns, the detail collected is 
subject to the inaccuracies inherent in any large-scale recording system. 
While the figures shown have been checked as far as practicable, they 
should be regarded as approximate and not necessarily accurate to the last 
whole number. 
 
Deaths in prison custody should more correctly be described as deaths 
arising from incidents during custody or, on rare occasions, immediately 
prior to custody as actual deaths may occur some time after the initial 
incident. The longest known elapsed period is that of a prisoner who died 
157 days after attempting suicide.  
 
Data includes deaths of prisoners while Released On Temporary License 
(ROTL) for medical reasons but excludes deaths of any prisoners released 
on other types of temporary license for the following reasons: 
 
 The incident leading to a death does not occur within the direct control of 
the state (for example, an overdose or fatal road traffic accident) 
 
 ROTL deaths cannot be counted accurately as they are not always 
reported to NOMS.  
 
The Prison and Probation Ombudsman has the discretion to investigate 
such deaths.  
 
The actual cause of death whether suicide, murder or self-inflicted as 
determined at inquest, may be unknown for several years. This means that 
published numbers of deaths by apparent cause can change over time. In a 
small proportion of cases the cause may never be known. 
 
Information on deaths in prison custody comes from a range of sources: 
 
 Historical archives 
 Prisoner records 
 Incident Operations Unit  
 NOMS strategic IT systems including IRS, IIS and NOMIS  
 Prisons 
 Prison and Probation Ombudsman investigations 
 Coroners 
14 

 
The NOMS central database stores data on deaths in prison custody from 
1978. Not every piece of information is available from 1978 as information 
such as ethnicity, nationality, date prisoner arrived in prison etc. has been 
added to the database at different times.  
 
The NOMS system of classifying deaths has evolved specifically to help 
place reliable numbers of deaths in prison custody in the public domain 
without undue delay.  
 
Comparison of NOMS classification of deaths with other systems: 
 
 NHS: International Classification of Diseases ICD versions 9/10  
 
 Prison and Probation Ombudsman: Self-inflicted, Natural causes, 
Substance abuse, Homicide, Accidental 
 
 Police: Inquest verdicts (for example, Suicide, Open verdict, Non-
dependent drug abuse, Natural causes, Sudden deaths, Inquest 
pending , Inquest not held) 
 
Similar variations occur with other prison systems. As a result, when 
comparing published deaths in prison custody for England and Wales, it is 
important to consider whether or not the definitions used are comparable.  
 
A number of other organisations use a category, “drug-related death.” While 
NOMS monitors drug related deaths, it does not use this category because 
there are relatively few drug-related deaths in prison custody.  
 
 
Comparison of NOMS Classification of Deaths system with ICD Codes 
 
The main international system for death classification is part of the 
International Classification of Diseases (ICD) currently on version 10. The 
NOMS classifications can be matched to these. Researchers wishing to 
compare deaths in prison custody for England and Wales with those from 
other sources should be aware of the following: 
15 

 
 
ICD9 comparison 
 
 The apparent self-inflicted deaths category is a close match to E950-
959, E980-E989 excluding E988.8 
 
 Apparent homicide is a close match to: E960-E969, E979, E999. 
 
 Apparent other non-natural is a close match E800-E869, E880-E929 
and, if any occurred, legal intervention (E970-E978) and operations 
of war (E990-E998). This category also includes some otherwise 
difficult to classify deaths.  
 
ICD 10 comparison 
 
 The apparent self-inflicted deaths category is a close match and 
ICD10: Intentional Self-harm(X60-X84) and ICD10: Event of 
Undetermined Intent (Y10-Y34). 
 
 Apparent homicide is a close match to ICD10:Assault (X85-Y09) 
 
 Apparent other non-natural is a close match to ICD10 Accident (V01-
X59.) This category also includes some otherwise difficult to classify 
deaths. 
 
 
Self-harm information 
Detailed information on each self-harm incident in prison custody comes 
from the NOMS incident reporting system (IRS) and more recently NOMIS 
(the new prison IT system). Such information began to be collected in the 
early 1990s. The focus then was on reporting serious incidents but the 
range of data has expanded to include all self-harm incidents whether or not 
an injury was sustained.  
 
The current self-harm monitoring system started in December 2002 but 
because recording of self-harm improved throughout 2003 the data used in 
this report is 2004 to 2008. 
 
In prisons, as in the community, it is not possible to count self-harm 
incidents with absolute accuracy. In prison custody, however, such incidents 
are more likely to be detected and counted. Care needs to be taken when 
comparing NOMS self-harm statistics with other sources where data may be 
less complete.  
 
 
16 

 
 
Assaults information 
An assault is classified as serious if: 

 it is a sexual assault 
 it results in detention in outside hospital as an in-patient 
 it requires medical treatment for concussion or internal injuries 
 the injury is a fracture, scald or burn, stabbing, crushing, extensive or 
multiple bruising, black eye, broken nose, lost or broken tooth, cuts 
requiring suturing, bites or temporary or permanent blindness. 
 
When an assault results in one of these types of injury it is classified as 
serious even if the actual damage was superficial. 
 
Information on assaults comes from the NOMS incident reporting system, 
IIS and NOMIS. Detailed recording of information on each assault incident 
began in the mid 1990s. The early focus was on serious incidents. Fights 
between prisoners (assault incidents where there was no clear assailant 
and victim), were reported less often.  
 
All assault incidents, including fights, are now reported irrespective of 
whether an injury was sustained. Due to changes in categorisation of data, 
information prior to 2000 is not directly comparable with that collected later. 
 
17 

 
18 
Contact points for further information 
The current edition of this publication and more detailed spreadsheets are 
available for download at www.justice.gov.uk/publications/safer-custody.htm 
 
The previous news release on deaths 1996 – 2009 dated 1 January 2010 
can be found at www.justice.gov.uk/news/newsrelease010110a.htm   
 
Future reports will be published on an annual basis.   
 
 
Press enquiries should be directed to the Ministry of Justice press office: 
 
Tel: xx-xxxx-xxxx 
 
Other enquiries about these statistics should be directed to: 
Performance Management Group  
Ministry of Justice 
3rd Floor Abell House 
John Islip Street 
London  
SW1P 4LH 
 
Tel: xx-xxxx-xxxx 
 
General enquiries about the statistical work of the Ministry of Justice can be 
emailed to: xxx@xxx.xx 
 
General information about the official statistics system of the UK is available 
from www.statistics.gov.uk 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
© Crown copyright 
Produced by the Ministry of Justice 
Alternative formats are available on request from 
xxx@xxx.xx