{"id":113865,"date":"2025-05-19T08:25:12","date_gmt":"2025-05-19T08:25:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/113865\/"},"modified":"2025-05-19T08:25:12","modified_gmt":"2025-05-19T08:25:12","slug":"the-escalating-crisis-behind-closed-doors-in-our-prisons","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/113865\/","title":{"rendered":"The ‘escalating crisis behind closed doors’ in our prisons"},"content":{"rendered":"

‘Shocking’ rise in prison deaths with tragedies at Strangeways and Forest Bank<\/p>\n

06:34, 19 May 2025Updated 06:47, 19 May 2025<\/p>\n

Strangeways(Image: Sean Hansford | Manchester Evening News)<\/p>\n

The number of deaths at Greater Manchester’s two main prisons can be revealed as a charity boss spoke of an ‘escalating crisis behind closed doors’.<\/p>\n

The number of deaths in state detention reported to coroners in England and Wales for investigation increased significantly last year, new figures show.<\/p>\n

Some 546 deaths in state detention were reported to coroners in 2024 \u2013 an 11 per cent increase on 492 the previous year, according to Ministry of Justice (MoJ) data. The MoJ said this was driven by a 16 per cent rise in deaths in prison custody.<\/p>\n

A total of 359 deaths in prison custody were reported to coroners last year \u2013 up from 309 the year before. There were also 16 deaths in police custody, four deaths in immigration removal centres and 151 deaths of people subject to detention under the Mental Health Act.<\/p>\n

Separate figures published by the MoJ at the end of April captured the picture at HMP Manchester – the city centre prison known as Strangeways – and Forest Bank in Salford<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Prison deaths(Image: MoJ)<\/p>\n

Deaths at Strangeways increased from three to six in 2024, but there were five in 2022, the data shows. There were seven deaths at Forest Bank in 2024, up from four the previous year.<\/p>\n

It comes amid planned changes to the prison recall system to combat chronic overcrowding. Under emergency measures announced by the Justice Secretary, some criminals serving sentences between one and four years will be returned to custody only for a fixed 28-day period. Offenders are recalled to prison if they commit another offence or breach licence conditions, such as by missing probation appointments, when they are released early but remain on licence.<\/p>\n

The Government has announced plans to build more prisons, with proposals to add an extra 14,000 places by 2031.<\/p>\n

HMP Manchester(Image: MEN Media)<\/p>\n

All deaths in England and Wales must be registered with the Registrar of Births and Deaths, and can also be reported to coroners who must investigate if there is reason to believe the cause of death is unknown or the death was violent, unnatural, or occurred in custody or other state detention.<\/p>\n

Nearly a third (31 per cent) of all deaths registered across the two countries were reported to coroners in 2024.<\/p>\n

Ministry of Justice (MoJ) figures show a total of 174,878 deaths were reported to coroners for investigation in 2024 \u2013 a 10 per cent decrease on the previous year, and the lowest figure since records began in 1995.<\/p>\n

Join our Court and Crime WhatsApp group HERE<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

Deaths in state detention are systematically investigated, including by other bodies such as the police and ombudsmen, before being subject to a coroner’s inquest.<\/p>\n

Deborah Coles, director of the charity Inquest, said the rise in prison deaths is \u201cshocking\u201d, and called for more focus on coroners\u2019 reports on preventable deaths in detention.<\/p>\n

She said: “These statistics are a reminder of an ongoing and escalating crisis behind the closed doors of our prisons and mental health hospitals.”<\/p>\n

Forest Bank(Image: MEN MEDIA)<\/p>\n

The MoJ said the introduction of a new examination system, meaning every death is subject either to a medical examiner\u2019s scrutiny or to a coroner\u2019s investigation, may have affected the number of deaths reported to coroners. The new system was rolled out to ensure only those deaths which require investigation are referred to coroners, in order to reduce inquest backlogs and delays.<\/p>\n

Ms Coles warned the increase in prison deaths \u201cgoes hand in hand\u201d with the rise in the number of Prevention of Future Deaths (PFD) reports issued by coroners in 2024, which are issued when there is a concern action should be taken to reduce or prevent the risk of other deaths occurring in the future.<\/p>\n

The MoJ figures show 713 PFD reports were issued in England and Wales in 2024 \u2013 a 25 per cent jump from 569 the previous year and up from 404 in 2022.<\/p>\n

Ms Coles added: \u201cWithout a national oversight mechanism to ensure these reports are acted on, preventable deaths will persist. We urgently need a system that tracks these recommendations, ensures accountability, and protects lives.”<\/p>\n

An MoJ spokesperson person said: \u201cAll deaths in custody are investigated by the Prisons and Probation Ombudsman and are subject to a coroner\u2019s inquest. We will always consider these independent investigations carefully and taken action any concerns.”<\/p>\n

For the latest stories and breaking news visit manchestereveningnews.co.uk<\/a>. Get the latest headlines, features and analysis that matter to you by signing up to our various Manchester Evening News newsletters here.<\/a><\/p>\n

You can also get all your favourite content from the Manchester Evening News on WhatsApp. Click here<\/a> to stay up to date with the latest.Follow us on X @mennewsdesk<\/a> for all the latest stories and updates on breaking incidents from across the region and beyond, as well as on our Facebook page here<\/a>.If you prefer reading our stories on your phone, consider downloading the Manchester Evening News app here,<\/a> and our newsdesk will make sure every time an essential story breaks, you’ll be the first to hear about it.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"‘Shocking’ rise in prison deaths with tragedies at Strangeways and Forest Bank 06:34, 19 May 2025Updated 06:47, 19…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":113866,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8813],"tags":[748,393,23474,4884,2465,8086,1290,8859,16,15],"class_list":{"0":"post-113865","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-manchester","8":"tag-britain","9":"tag-england","10":"tag-forest-bank-prison","11":"tag-great-britain","12":"tag-manchester","13":"tag-manchester-city-centre","14":"tag-salford","15":"tag-strangeways","16":"tag-uk","17":"tag-united-kingdom"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/114533546403023786","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/113865","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=113865"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/113865\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/113866"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=113865"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=113865"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=113865"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}