NINE inmates have committed suicide at Hewell Prison in the last three years – putting it on a par with a prison like Wormwood Scrubs in London and only one less than Wandsworth jail.
The shock figures were revealed by campaigning group the Howard League for Penal Reform and comes just two weeks after members of the Prison Officers Association held a protest across the UK, including at HMP Hewell.
There officers told how it was getting more and more difficult to protect inmates due to low staffing levels, poor cell maintenance and the constant influx of synthetic drugs and mobile phones flown in by drones.
This has led to inmates who are being bullied having their family on the outside being threatened.
Conditions are so tough for prison officers across the country that they’re leaving the profession faster than they can be recruited, despite Government incentives for them to stay.
The Howard League said that more than 100 people have lost their lives through suicide in prisons in England and Wales so far this year, an all-time record.
