WE ARE A MAGAZINE ABOUT LAW AND JUSTICE | AND THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THE TWO
November 12 2024
WE ARE A MAGAZINE ABOUT LAW AND JUSTICE | AND THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THE TWO
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Two prison officers found ‘celebrating’ 21 year-old inmate’s suicide dismissed

Two prison officers found ‘celebrating’ 21 year-old inmate’s suicide dismissed

Prisoners return from their jobs to their wings for lunch at Wandsworth prison..HMP Wandsworth in South West London was built in 1851 and is one of the largest prisons in Western Europe.

Two Prison officers at HMP Wandsworth have been dismissed after ‘celebrating the death’ of a 21-year-old inmate’s suicide on a WhatsApp group of 27 other members of staff, as revealed by the Times.

Correspondence in the group consisted of referring to the inmate as ‘the fuckwit’ and one officer commented ‘another one bites the dust’. The mother of the inmate shared her gratitude for one police officer who spoke out but expressed that ‘there were so many who didn’t do anything’.

The Guardian reported that HMP Wandsworth has been called the worst prison in England and Wales, described as having ‘inhumane conditions.’ Andy Slaughter, Labour MP also echoed the inhumane conditions of prisons. He has urged Members of Parliament to visit a prison as their conditions are both ‘inhumane and intolerable.’

In 2023, provisional statistics show that there were 93 suicides in prison custody in England and Wales. This represented a rate of 10.8 suicides per 10,000 prison population, a rise on the 2022 figure of 9.4.

Prisons in England and Wales are ‘stuffed to the gunwales’ says Andrea Albutt, the president of the Prison Governors Association. Prisons in England and Wales in September 2024 totalled 88,521. The Justice Gap has previously reported that a quarter of prisoners in England and Wales are sharing cells designed just for one person.

The prisons watchdog’s annual report found that the increase in suicide rates resulted from the fact that the quality of early learning reviews following death or serious self-harm was often poor. On occasion no systematic review or investigation was carried out to ensure lessons could be learned.

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