Source · Deaths in custody
PPO Fatal Incident Reports
6,395 incidents
5,660 published
1,165 recommendations
1,632 self-inflicted
3,362 natural causes
Deaths in custody investigated by the Prisons and Probation Ombudsman. 26% of deaths are self-inflicted. Source: PPO.
Top recommendation themes
Learning & thematic publications
| Title | Type | Date | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| PPO response to JSC Inquiry into Children and Young Adults in the Secure Estate | Consultation response | Jun 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 | |
| Fatal Incident Investigations Learning Lessons Bulletin Issue 20: Epilepsy | Learning Lessons Bulletin | Nov 2025 | |
| Annual Report 2024 to 2025 | Annual report | Jul 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 | |
| Complaints Investigations Learning Lessons Bulletin Issue 11: Property complaints | Learning Lessons Bulletin | Mar 2025 | |
| PPO response to JSC Tackling Drugs in Prison Inquiry | Consultation response | Feb 2025 | |
| PPO response to JHAC Inquiry into Prison Culture | Consultation response | Feb 2025 | |
| PPO response to JSC inquiry into Rehabilitation and Resettlement | Consultation response | Feb 2025 | |
| Policy into Practice: Emergency Response | Policy into Practice | Jan 2025 | |
| PPO response to the Independent Sentencing Review 2024/25 call for evidence | Consultation response | Jan 2025 | |
| Fatal Incident Investigations Learning Lessons Bulletin Issue 19: Post-release death investigations 2 | Learning Lessons Bulletin | Jul 2024 | |
| Annual Report 2023-24 | Annual report | Jul 2024 | |
| Annual report 2022-23 | Annual report | Jul 2024 | |
| Policy into practice: Use of force | Policy into Practice | Feb 2024 | |
| PPO response to the inquiry into prison population and capacity | Consultation response | Nov 2023 | |
| Fatal Incident Investigations Learning Lessons Bulletin Issue 18: Self-inflicted deaths of IPP prisoners | Learning Lessons Bulletin | Sep 2023 | |
| Investigating deaths after release from prison – a pilot evaluation | Learning Lessons Bulletin | Jan 2023 | |
| Fatal Incident Investigations Learning Lessons Bulletin Issue 17: Post-release death investigations | Learning Lessons Bulletin | Jan 2023 | |
| PPO response to the inquiry into the Prison Operational Workforce | Consultation response | Jan 2023 | |
| Annual Report 2021-22 | Annual report | Oct 2022 | |
| Policy into Practice: Use of restraints on escort | Policy into Practice | Sep 2022 | |
| PPO Response to the Inquiry into IPP sentences | Consultation response | Jan 2022 | |
| Fatal Incident Investigations Learning Lessons Bulletin Issue 16: Second wave COVID-19 related deaths | Learning Lessons Bulletin | Dec 2021 | |
| Annual Report 2020-21 | Annual report | Sep 2021 | |
| PPO responses to the Inquiry into Women in Prison | Consultation response | Aug 2021 | |
| Fatal Incident Investigations Learning Lessons Bulletin Issue 15: COVID-19 PPO fatal incident investigations | Learning Lessons Bulletin | Feb 2021 | |
| Complaints Investigations Learning Lessons Bulletin Issue 10: COVID-19 PPO Complaints | Learning Lessons Bulletin | Dec 2020 |
Incidents
| Name | Establishment | Cause | Status | Date of death | Recs |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Christopher Beddall | HMP Dovegate | Self-inflicted | Published | 26 Feb 2023 | 1 |
| Yeomans, Alan | Ranby Post-release | Self-inflicted | Published | 26 Feb 2023 | — |
| Sean Davies | HMP Swaleside | Self-inflicted | Published | 25 Feb 2023 | 1 |
| Christopher Corkill | Isle of Man | Self-inflicted | Published | 24 Feb 2023 | 15 |
| Reece Godward | HMP Leeds | Self-inflicted | Published | 23 Feb 2023 | 2 |
| Orme, Peter | HMP Bullingdon | Natural | Published | 22 Feb 2023 | — |
| Karl Reavy | HMP Liverpool | Other | Published | 15 Feb 2023 | 1 |
| Austin, Eric | HMP Bullingdon | Natural | Published | 15 Feb 2023 | — |
| John Hartshorne | HMP Stafford | Natural | Published | 14 Feb 2023 | 1 |
| Duncan, Ian | HMP Woodhill | Natural | Published | 13 Feb 2023 | — |
| Joseph Davies | HMP Northumberland | Self-inflicted | Published | 12 Feb 2023 | 1 |
| Anthony Kennedy | HMP Altcourse | Other | Published | 12 Feb 2023 | — |
| Fallon Adams | HMP Peterborough | Other | Published | 9 Feb 2023 | 1 |
| Cavendish-Coulson, Keith | HMP Bullingdon | Natural | Published | 5 Feb 2023 | — |
| Hodge, Lawrence | HMP Holme House | Natural | Published | 4 Feb 2023 | — |
| Neville, John | HMP Wymott | Natural | Published | 4 Feb 2023 | — |
| Stephen Hodgson | HMP Full Sutton | Self-inflicted | Published | 3 Feb 2023 | — |
| Andrew Hadwin | HMP Durham | Natural | Published | 2 Feb 2023 | 4 |
| Morgan, Kevin | HMP Liverpool | Natural | Published | 31 Jan 2023 | — |
| Anthony Mitchell | HMP Dartmoor | Natural | Published | 30 Jan 2023 | 2 |
| Mohammed Eumda | HMP Chelmsford | Self-inflicted | Published | 30 Jan 2023 | 2 |
| Roy King | HMP Littlehey | Self-inflicted | Published | 30 Jan 2023 | 5 |
| Fell, Simon | HMP Wymott | Natural | Published | 29 Jan 2023 | — |
| Colin Ryan | HMP Bristol | Self-inflicted | Published | 29 Jan 2023 | 1 |
| Milad Fathy | HMP Leeds | Self-inflicted | Published | 29 Jan 2023 | 1 |
| Coleman, Mark | HMP Peterborough | Natural | Published | 25 Jan 2023 | — |
| Ian Deavall | HMP Forest Bank | Natural | Published | 24 Jan 2023 | 3 |
| Smith, David | Ranby Post-release | Other | Published | 22 Jan 2023 | — |
| Ian Wadsworth | Elm Bank Approved Premises | Other | Published | 21 Jan 2023 | 2 |
| Skinner, Stephen | Forest Bank Post-release | Other | Published | 20 Jan 2023 | — |
| Ross Appleby | HMP/YOI Parc | Other | Published | 18 Jan 2023 | 1 |
| Cox, John | HMP Littlehey | Natural | Published | 17 Jan 2023 | — |
| Paul Paget | HMP Swaleside | Natural | Published | 17 Jan 2023 | 3 |
| John Collyer | HMP Peterborough | Natural | Published | 14 Jan 2023 | — |
| Smith, Graham | HMP Rye Hill | Natural | Published | 14 Jan 2023 | — |
| Barton, Ben | HMP Doncaster | Self-inflicted | Published | 13 Jan 2023 | — |
| Botham, John | HMP Nottingham | Natural | Published | 13 Jan 2023 | — |
| Johnson, Geoffrey | HMP Wandsworth | Natural | Published | 12 Jan 2023 | — |
| Haworth, Colin | HMP Stafford | Natural | Published | 10 Jan 2023 | — |
| Ryan Harding | HMP/YOI Parc | Other | Published | 8 Jan 2023 | 3 |
| McCall, Peter | HMP Wakefield | Natural | Published | 8 Jan 2023 | — |
| Murphy, John | HMP Altcourse | Natural | Published | 6 Jan 2023 | — |
| Weighman, Daniel | HMP Chelmsford | Self-inflicted | Published | 6 Jan 2023 | — |
| Lawrence Dugbazah | HMP Littlehey | Natural | Published | 6 Jan 2023 | 3 |
| Dean Leach | HMP Forest Bank | Natural | Published | 4 Jan 2023 | — |
| Henly, Stephen | HMP The Verne | Natural | Published | 3 Jan 2023 | — |
| Sawyer, John | HMP Hull | Natural | Published | 3 Jan 2023 | — |
| Oliver Davies | HMP Hewell | Self-inflicted | Published | 31 Dec 2022 | 3 |
| Akash Akeel | HMP Leeds | Self-inflicted | Published | 31 Dec 2022 | 2 |
| Burnip, John | Durham Post-release | Other | Published | 29 Dec 2022 | — |