§ Mr. CoxTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many(a) men and (b) women committed suicide in prisons in England and Wales in each of the last three years. [43664]
§ Ms QuinThe term used by Prison Service to refer to an apparent suicide is "self-inflicted death". This is a broader definition and includes all those deaths where it is clear that the person has acted specifically to take his or her own life. It is not restricted to the official verdict from the Coroner's inquest, where verdicts of "suicide", "open" or "misadventure" may be recorded in cases where there was doubt about a person's intent to end their life.
The information requested is shown in the table.
Self-inflicted deaths in prisons in England and Wales 1995–97 Year Women Men Total 1995 2 57 59 1996 2 62 64 1997 3 67 70