The deteriorating crisis engulfing the British jails is further exposed by new figures revealing a staggering surge in suicide rate among prisoners.
According to official data, four women and 121 men, aged between 18 and 74, killed themselves in the prisons between January 2013 and late August 2014, while another nine male inmates, aged between 21 and 46, have committed suicide between then and October 2, 2014.
Stories behind statistics show that young men and mentally-ill inmates are those at high risk of self-inflicted deaths.
Suicide, as statistics show, has reached its highest rate in British prisons over the past nine years.
Figures also showed that 26 percent of those who died in prisons were in custody pending trial despite high risks of committing suicides over mental health problems.
Meanwhile, reports indicate that several families of those who died in prisons are suing the Ministry of Justice, accusing it of breaching its obligations under Article II of the UK’s Human Rights Act, which is aimed at safeguarding lives.
The worsening situation in the British prisons is not limited to rising suicide rates.
Earlier this month, a riot broke out at Swaleside prison on the Isle of Sheppey with an officer being stabbed in the head before the situation was brought under control.
The worsening situation in the British prisons comes as there is no sign that the scale of the tragedy is being checked by relevant authorities.
