Lord Actonasked Her Majesty's Government:
How many:
(a) men; and
(b) women
committed suicide while in prison in England and Wales in (i) each of the last five years; and (ii) the current year to date. [HL2640]
§ The Minister of State, Home Office (Lord Falconer of Thoroton):The table covers the 422 apparently self-inflicted deaths between 1 January 1998 and 31 December 2002.
Male Female Total 1998 80 3 83 1999 86 5 91 2000 73 8 81 2001 67 6 73 2002 85 9 94 Total 391 31 422 There have been 38 self-inflicted deaths in 2003 (to 1 May 2003) of which 30 were male and eight were female.