§ Mr. CryerTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to his answer of 9 February,Official Report, column 263, why it is considered that publication of internal prison investigations into suicides might undermine the effectiveness of the reports; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. Peter LloydResponsibility for this matter has been delegated to the Director General of the Prison Service, who has been asked to arrange for a reply to be given.
Letter from D. Lewis to Mr. Bob Cryer, dated 22 February 1994]:
The Home Secretary has asked me to reply to your recent Question about publication of reports of internal investigations into prison suicides.
May I begin by putting this in the wider context of how we respond to deaths in custody.
The Prison Service is committed to dealing openly with the often painful aftermath of deaths by prisoners in our care. The responsibility for conducting a public inquest into the death lies with the Coroner. The Service seeks to give the Coroner every possible assistance with his enquiries. Prison governors are instructed to provide any factual information which may be relevant. The Coroner is able to ask for further information and to call witnesses. Close relatives are entitled to attend the inquest and may themselves ask questions of witnesses. The inquest is therefore a full and public investigation into the circumstances of a death. All inquests into prison deaths are conducted before a jury.
We have recently reviewed our policy on the disclosure of information to the deceased prisoner's family. It has been decided 149W that documents made available to the Coroner may, subject to certain conditions, be given to the next of kin on request in advance of the inquest. This may include, for example, the medical records and other documents which contain evidence relevant to the purpose of the inquest. I enclose a copy of an extract from the Report of the Feltham Working Group, published last December, which explains our policy in more detail, including other steps we have taken to ensure families are treated with care and understanding in these circumstances.
It is not our practice, however, to publish the reports of internal investigations into incidents in prison, including suicides or other deaths in custody. Now would such reports be available to the Coroner. The internal investigation is a separate review of the facts which the Prison Service carries out for its own management purposes. As a matter of policy we reserve the right to do so in confidence for two reasons.
First, given the closed and potentially volatile nature of the prison environment publishing reports into prison incidents could cause problems for the day to day management of a prison. Knowledge within the prison of their contents and conclusions could, for example, lead to reprisals or disruption in the working relationships between staff. Second, the prospect of publication could discourage witnesses from co-operating with the inquiry and from being totally candid in the information they give to it. If they knew their identities were to be revealed, they might be at risk of being treated as informers. This could make it more difficult for the Prison Service to discover the truth, learn the appropriate lessons and take prompt and effective follow-up action, including the possibility of disciplinary action against members of staff.
I should stress again that it is our policy to make all relevant factual information available both to the Coroner and to next of kin for the purpose of the public inquest, which will run parallel to the Prison Service's own investigation.
As you know Christine Madden has written separately to Mr. Pearson, the Prison Service Director with operational responsibility for Leeds Prison, about the death of her brother. Mr. Pearson has replied enclosing a copy of Anthony Madden's medical records and offering to meet with her to go through some specific questions she has raised about his death, and to discuss any other concerns she may have. You would of course be welcome to attend the meeting if Miss Madden wishes. A member of the Senior Management Team at Leeds Prison would also be present.
§ Mr. BerminghamTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) how many(a) suicides, (b) attempted suicides and (c) instances of self-injury there have been at Hindley prison in each year since 1989; what were the ages of those who committed suicide; and what were the offences or alleged offences of those who committed suicide;
(2) how many (a) suicides, (b) attempted suicides and (c) instances of self-injury there were at Cardiff prison in 1992 and 1993;
(3) how many (a) suicides, (b) attempted suicides and (c) instances of self-injury there have been at Moorland prison in each year since it opened; what were the ages of those who committed suicide; and what were the offences or alleged offences of those who committed suicide.
§ Mr. Peter LloydResponsibility for these matters has been delegated to the Director General of the Prison Service, who has been asked to arrange for a reply to be given.
Letter from D. Lewis to Mr. Gerald Bermingham, dated 22 February 1994:
The Home Secretary has asked me, in the absence of the Director General from the office, to reply to your recent Parliamentary Questions on suicides, attempted suicides and self-injury at Cardiff, Hindley and Moorland Prisons.
Information about suicides includes all apparent self-inflicted deaths, not only those which resulted in verdicts of suicide at the Coroner's inquest.
150WNational monitoring of self-injury commenced in 1991, and no information is available for earlier years. The figures collected nationally include all incidents of deliberate self-injury by prisoners, and do not distinguish between apparent attempted suicides and other acts of self-injury. Determining the level of suicidal intent is too subjective to produce reliable data about attempted suicide.
HM Prison Cardiff
Self-inflicted deaths 1992 Nil 1993 Nil
Incident of self-harm 1991 29 1992 18 1993 10 HM Prison Moorland
Self-inflicted deaths 1992 Nil 1993 Nil 1994 2 Self-inflicted death: details
- Karl Tout, 19, a remand prisoner charged with assault and theft.
- Brendan Tremble, 18, a remand prisoner, charged with aggravated taking and driving away a motor vehicle.
Incident of self-harm 1992 246 1993 334 HM Prison Hindley
Self-inflicted deaths 1989 1 1990 3 1991 Nil 1992 1 1993 1 1994 Nil
Self-inflicted deaths: details 1989: John McGowan, 19, a remand prisoner charged with rape. 1990: Jonathan Curry, 18, a remand prisoner charged with motoring offences. Ian McKinlay, 18, a remand prisoner charged with rape. Anthony Hook, 18, a remand prisoner charged with assault. 1992: Lee Davies, 18, sentenced to 18 months' imprisonment for burglary and taking and driving away a motor vehicle. 1993: Darren Taylor, 19, sentenced to 4 months' imprisonment for theft.
Incidents of self-harm 1991 70 1992 76 1993 28