Source · Deaths in custody
PPO Fatal Incident Reports
6,563 incidents
5,801 published
1,698 recommendations
1,676 self-inflicted
3,427 natural causes
Deaths in custody investigated by the Prisons and Probation Ombudsman. Among the incidents indexed here, 26% are recorded as self-inflicted. Source: PPO.
Incidents
Nathaniel Humphreys
Kayleigh Melhuish
Michael Fox
Hughes, Lee
Graham Taylor
William Roalfe
Daniel Ayers
Daniel Beckford
Shahrooz Ghassemian
George Petrou
Peter Tauroza
Brandon Johnson
Daniel Short
Jonathan McCarthy
Aaron Nunes
Top recommendation themes
Learning & thematic publications
| Title | Type | Date | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| The number of complaints received by the PPO from 1 January 2023 onwards by people held in immigration removal centres and in short-term holding facilities | FOI response | Jul 2026 | |
| Annual Report 2025 to 2026 | Annual report | Jul 2026 | |
| To provide information on prisons in the United Kingdom with forty or more self-inflicted deaths in the last ten years, alongside their total | FOI response | Jul 2026 | |
| The three English prisons with the highest number of self-inflicted deaths between 2016 to 2026 (excluding HMP Leeds), with annual breakdowns | FOI response | Jul 2026 | |
| The total number of prison deaths that occurred while the individual was located in a segregation unit per calendar from 2021 to 2025 | FOI response | Jul 2026 | |
| The number of drug-related deaths in prisons in England and Wales from 2010 to 2025 | FOI response | Jul 2026 | |
| A breakdown of the epilepsy deaths in Welsh prisons from the PPO’s Learning Lessons Bulletin on epilepsy deaths | FOI response | Jul 2026 | |
| The number of people held in prison, either serving a sentence or on remand, who have died by suicide between 2016 to 2026, broken down by each prison in Yorkshire | FOI response | Jul 2026 | |
| PPO response to JSC Inquiry into Children and Young Adults in the Secure Estate | Consultation response | Jun 2026 | |
| The number of upheld complaints made to the Prisons and Probation Ombudsman (PPO) about accommodation from 2024 to 2025. | FOI response | Apr 2026 | |
| Fatal Incident Investigations Learning Lessons Bulletin Issue 21: Segregation | Learning Lessons Bulletin | Mar 2026 | |
| Fatal Incident Investigations Learning Lessons Bulletin Issue 22: Self-inflicted deaths in reception prisons | Learning Lessons Bulletin | Mar 2026 | |
| HMP Elmley prisoner deaths by year from 2010 to 2025 | FOI response | Feb 2026 | |
| Complaints to the PPO about inadequate access to sanitary products since 2020 | FOI response | Feb 2026 | |
| The number of health-related deaths in prison | FOI response | Feb 2026 | |
| How many complaints did IPCI receive from prisoners during 2024? | FOI response | Feb 2026 | |
| How many complaints has the PPO received regarding lost property by HMP Peterborough | FOI response | Feb 2026 | |
| Fatal Incident Investigations Learning Lessons Bulletin Issue 20: Epilepsy | Learning Lessons Bulletin | Nov 2025 | |
| Annual Report 2024 to 2025 | Annual report | Jul 2025 | |
| The number of deaths linked to drug taking in prisons in England and Wales between 2020 to 2024 | FOI response | Jun 2025 | |
| How many prisoner deaths has the PPO been notified of each year, or started investigating, where there is a suspicion the death was drug-related? | FOI response | Jun 2025 | |
| The number of prisoners who died where no care plan was in place as found in PPO fatal incident investigations (1 February 2023 to 16 September 2023) | FOI response | Jun 2025 | |
| Provide a list of deaths by suicide in English prisons since 2022 | FOI response | Jun 2025 | |
| The PPO response time for all cases in last three and current financial year | FOI response | Jun 2025 | |
| The number of self-inflicted deaths recorded in prisons from 2019 to 2024 | FOI response | Jun 2025 | |
| The number of individuals in prisons, young offender institutions and approved premises in England and Wales and/or within 14 days of being released from prison were at the time of their deaths subject to an IPP | FOI response | Jun 2025 | |
| To confirm when the Prisons and Probation Ombudsman’s (PPO) Yarl’s Wood special investigation report was completed | FOI response | Jun 2025 | |
| To provide the total number of Prevention of Future Deaths (PFDs or Regulation 28 letters) | FOI response | Jun 2025 | |
| Policy into Practice: Handling of prisoners’ property | Policy into Practice | Mar 2025 | |
| Policy into Practice: Handling of property complaints | Policy into Practice | Mar 2025 |