News

Moving prisoners around the secure estate contributes to self-harm and suicides in custody, Anne Owers warned this week.

The chief inspector of prisons said the lack of spare capacity in prisons meant offenders, and particularly those aged 18 to 20, were often moved between establishments, making it more difficult to identify their vulnerabilities.

Giving evidence to the joint committee on human rights' inquiry into deaths in custody, Owers said prisons were often loathe to move offenders who had engaged with offending behaviour programmes or education, so vulnerable or "difficult prisoners" ended up being transferred instead.

Those prisoners with untreatable personality disorders were often on a "merry-go-round", Owers added, moving between hospitals and prisons.