DESPITE a decrease from the previous year in prisoner deaths across England and Wales, Winchester Prison saw a rise in its death toll.

Six people in custody at Winchester Prison died in 2022 according to data from the Howard League for Penal Reform.

This contributes to a total of 301 deaths in prisons across England and Wales, including 74 people who lost their lives through suicide.

While Winchester saw an increase of two from 2021, national figures reduced from 371- the highest number in a calendar year since current recording practices began.

A Ministry of Justice spokeswoman was unable to clarify the nature of the deaths at the category B men’s prison in Winchester.

HMP Winchester, located in Romsey Road, has been under scrutiny in recent years. In the latest report by the Inspectorate of Prisons, the facility was criticised for staffing, high levels of violence and poor living conditions with inmates spending up to 23 hours a day locked in their cells.

READ MORE: Winchester Prison has 'unacceptable' living conditions says new report

While the number of incidents involving force increased from the previous inspection, the November report saw a decline in violence and self-harm.

The report by the chief inspector of HM Prisons, Charlie Taylor, read: “Many of the issues faced by the prison continued to be linked directly to the challenge of staff recruitment and retention.”

The Howard League for Penal Reform has announced a mental health crisis in prisons across England and Wales due to the number of suicides, self-harming incidents and assaults.

Nationally, suicides fell by 16 per cent compared to the previous year but cases of self-harm and assaults increased.

A total of 54,761 self-harm incidents were recorded in 12 months to end of September 2022, an increase of one per cent in men’s prisons and 18 per cent in women’s prisons.

Meanwhile, assaults for the same time period rose by 11 per cent to 20,872.

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Chief executive of the Howard League for Penal Reform, Andrea Coomber, said: “These grim figures lay bare the scale of the mental health crisis in prisons across England and Wales. The alarming rate of self-harm incidents – one every nine-and-a-half minutes – should alert everyone to the intolerable conditions faced by people living and working behind bars. 
 
“While the worst of the Covid-19 pandemic appears to be behind us, six people die in prison each week. Although restrictions in the community were eased long ago, thousands of men and women in prison remain locked in their cells for more than 20 hours each day. The number of people held on remand is at its highest level for more than half a century. The damage caused by all this is widespread, and yet still not fully understood.  
 
“As the government presses ahead with its wrong-headed plans, building more prisons with no thought for the consequences, these tragedies lie forgotten in the background. The Howard League will keep bringing them to the fore.”