Since 2015, 3601 people have died in prison in England and Wales. Of those deaths, 965 were self-inflicted.
From 2015 - 2025, the table refers to deaths reported annually by the Ministry of Justice. For deaths that have occurred since 1 January 2026, the data is taken from INQUEST's casework and monitoring.
Deaths in prison are often preventable and premature. So-called ‘natural cause’ deaths, as categorised by the Ministry of Justice, comprise the greatest proportion of all deaths in prison. However, INQUEST’s casework has shown that deaths categorised as ‘natural causes’ often reflect failures in healthcare and the prison system.
| Deaths in prison England and Wales 2015 - 2026 | ||||||
| Year | Self-inflicted | Homicide | Other non-natural | Natural causes | Awaiting classification | Total |
| 2026 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 22 | 11 | 38 |
| 2025 | 79 | 7 | 30 | 224 | 54 | 394 |
| 2024 | 90 | 6 | 30 | 207 | 9 | 342 |
| 2023 | 97 | 2 | 19 | 188 | 5 | 311 |
| 2022 | 77 | 1 | 19 | 202 | 2 | 301 |
| 2021 | 89 | 1 | 19 | 261 | 1 | 371 |
| 2020 | 67 | 2 | 26 | 223 | 0 | 318 |
| 2019 | 86 | 3 | 35 | 176 | 0 | 300 |
| 2018 | 93 | 4 | 60 | 168 | 0 | 325 |
| 2017 | 72 | 3 | 26 | 193 | 0 | 294 |
| 2016 | 124 | 3 | 20 | 207 | 0 | 354 |
| 2015 | 89 | 8 | 12 | 147 | 0 | 256 |
| Totals | 967 | 41 | 296 | 2218 | 82 | 3601 |
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