Due to the mixed roll of some prisons and changes in those roles over time the numbers for each category used in this question can be answered in several ways. It would also, as worded, exclude four self-inflicted deaths in custody for the period which occurred while on escort. In order to avoid any ambiguity arising from types of prisons we would prefer to answer gender and age related questions on self-inflicted deaths in the following way and trust that this will suffice.
Age range Gender 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 20081 21 and above Female 9 12 3 3 8 1 Male 74 77 63 62 77 51 Under 21 Female 5 1 1 0 0 0 Male 6 5 11 2 7 4 Total 94 95 78 67 92 56 1 As at 11 December 2008
The Ministry of Justice and the Prison Service are committed to reducing the number of such tragic incidents. Good care and support from staff save many lives, but such instances go largely unreported. Prisons successfully keep safe in any given month approximately 1,500 prisoners assessed to be at particular risk.