1,668 women die in custody in ten years

By Ian Dunt

A leading penal reform group has published new figures showing a staggering number of female deaths in custody since 1998.
 
The Howard League for Penal Reform revealed 1,668 women and girls have died in prison, immigration, approved premises and detention under the Mental Health Act in the last decade.
 
The figure includes 72 women officially recorded as self-inflicted deaths in prison.
 
Another three women have died in prison and been categorised as self-inflicted deaths this year. One woman’s death was categorised as ‘natural causes’.
 
Frances Crook, director of the Howard League, said: “The number of women dying in state custody over the last 10 years is a shaming indictment of our penal system.
 
“Judges and magistrates must not send women into our already bulging jails when effective community sentences are readily available. With the present level of overcrowding in prisons, people can be condemned to an early death, despite the best efforts of over-stretched prison staff.”
 
She added: “Each one of these deaths should sit uncomfortably on the consciences of the authorities and the nation.”
 
In total, 27 of the deaths in prison custody were from natural causes.
 
A staggering number of women have died of natural causes while detained under the Mental Health Act, with the figure standing at 1,262.
 
Just under 300 women committed suicide while detained under the Act.
 
The Howard League said that the high number of deaths raised serious questions that it will be pursuing with ministers.
 
There were two female deaths in probation-run premises over the 10 year period (one categorised as suicide, one as an overdose) and one female death in an immigration centre. A gender breakdown of deaths in police custody is not currently available.
 
Self injury rates among women in prison rose by 48 per cent between 2003 and 2007.
 
Despite women constituting only 5 per cent of the overall prison population, they commit over 50 per cent of all self-harm incidents in prison.
 
The Howard League has launched a campaign to put a stop to the increasing number of women and girls being sent to prison in England and Wales.
 
The Lost Daughters campaign recommends that prison for women is unnecessary. The very few really dangerous women should be held in small secure units that can deal with their needs and prepare them for a safe return to the community.