Inmate suicide figures expose human toll of prison crisis

Data obtained by Guardian reveals more than six prison suicides a month • Stories behind statistics show young men and mentally ill at high risk • Officials blame budget cuts for inadequate staff numbers and lack of training The human toll of the crisis gripping prisons in England and Wales is exposed with new figures obtained by the Guardian revealing that 125 prisoners have killed themselves in 20 months – an average of more than six a month. For the first time the Guardian has identified the individuals behind the statistics that show suicide is at its highest rate in prisons for nine years, and there is no sign that the scale of the tragedy is being checked.