Leeds Prison failing to reduce suicide rate - inspectors

The Victorian jail in Armley is home to just under 1,110 adult prisoners

Leeds Prison has the second highest number of self-inflicted deaths of any jail in England and Wales, according to prison inspectors.

A report by HM Chief Inspector of Prisons said eight inmates had taken their own lives in the past year.

The watchdog said there was a "failure by leaders to make progress in reducing the rate of suicide".

The Prison Service said it was training staff to "identify and support prisoners at risk of self-harm".

Inspectors said since the last inspection in 2022, there had been 28 deaths in total, "including eight self-inflicted deaths, one attributed to drug use and two waiting to be classified".

The report said: "We found unemployment and the long periods spent locked up during the weekend were common factors in many of these deaths."

Concerns were also raised about overcrowding "with almost 80% of prisoners living two to a cell designed for one person".

The report added: "Prison leaders were unable to reduce crowding because of pressure for prisoner spaces nationally."

The report said there had been 28 deaths in the prison since the last inspection in June 2022

Rob Preece, from prisoner welfare charity the Howard League for Penal Reform, said: "If we take an old building like Armley jail and put many, many more people in there than it's designed to hold there are going to be problems.

"I think what's most concerning to me is how the inspectors have manged to draw a causal link between the long, long periods spent inside cells with nothing to do and the very, very worrying suicide rates in Leeds prison."

The Victorian jail in the Armley area of the city houses just under 1,110 adult prisoners.

A Prison Service spokesperson said: "Our hardworking staff are driving real improvement at HMP Leeds - including in education and support on release so prisoners have the tools to turn their backs on crime.

"We are also improving safety, so staff are better equipped to identify and support prisoners at risk of self-harm."

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