Jail deaths figures shock mum

A grieving mother from the Shropshire border campaigning against conditions in women's prisons has called the latest figures on inmate deaths as "shocking".

Former college lecturer Pauline Campbell, 59, from Malpas, has staged 26 protests since her daughter Sarah died of an overdose at Styal Prison, Cheshire, in 2003.

The Ministry of Justice has released the latest figures. They show the number of inmates who killed themselves in prisons in England and Wales increased dramatically in 2007.

There were a total of 92 "self-inflicted deaths" last year.

The number of prisoners taking their own lives had previously appeared to be falling, with 67 in 2006, down from 78 in 2005 and 95 in 2004. There were 94 in 2003 and 95 in 2002.

Suicide

Self-inflicted deaths include all those where a prisoner appears to have acted specifically to take his or her own life. About 20 per cent of these deaths will not receive a suicide or open verdict at inquest.

The ministry said more than 100 prisoners were resuscitated after "serious self-harm incidents" and "many hundreds more have been helped by the care and interventions of staff".

Mrs Campbell has been campaigning against prison conditions since the death of her daughter in 2003. The inquest into Sarah's death found a "failure in the duty of care" had contributed to her death. The cause of her death was an overdose of Dothiepin pills.

She said: "The figures are shocking. It doesn't need another review, ministers know what the problems are - too many people are sent to jail, many are mentally ill, and this has got to stop."

Maria Eagle, prisons minister, said: "The Government remains determined to prevent deaths in custody."

The implementation of Suicide Prevention and Self-Harm Management, which was published in October 2007, is due to be completed in every prison by the end of April 2008.