Self-harm incidents in Parc prison have more than doubled

According to the latest figures from the Ministry of Justice, cases of self-harm at Parc Prison in Bridgend have more than doubled in the last year.

In the year to March there were a record 2,330 incidents, compared to 1,088 in 2022-23.

Berwyn and Cardiff prisons also saw an increase in self-harm incidents, but Swansea saw a decrease.

A spokesman for HMP Parc said that cases of self-harm had “decreased significantly” month-on-month since April and that the prison was “committed to supporting the prisoner population with complex problems”.

Overall, the number of self-harm cases in men’s prisons in England and Wales has increased by 25%, prompting one charity to describe it as a “crisis of human misery behind bars”.

In 2023–24, there were 852 cases of self-harm per 1,000 prisoners in men’s prisons in England and Wales.

Yet the self-harm rate in the Parc was 1,334 cases per 1,000 prisoners – although the expected rate would not exceed 600 per 1,000.

HMP Parc has announced that the death of 29-year-old Justin Lewis is being investigated by the Prison Ombudsman.

Of the more than 4,300 cases of self-harm across Wales, just over 100 required hospital treatment, including 63 cases from Parc.

Bridgend Prison also recorded its highest prisoner population since it opened in 1997 – an average of 1,768 prisoners in 2023-24.

However, older Welsh prisons were more overcrowded – 81% of prisoners in Usk were overcrowded, the second highest rate in England and Wales after Durham.

The figures showed that 79% of prisoners in Swansea and 63% of prisoners in Cardiff Prison lived in overcrowded accommodation.

According to the latest official figures, there have been 12 deaths in Parc since the beginning of 2024 to the end of June – already the highest number in a year at the privately run prison.

In June, two men in their 70s died of natural causes, in addition to the ten deaths reported since February.

And Parc, Berwyn and Cardiff all receive a rating of ‘1’ – ‘serious concern’ – in the latest self-harm performance tests.

It turned out that in a Welsh prison there was an incident of self-harm every two hours.

Nevertheless, Parc, Cardiff and Swansea all achieved a grade of ‘3’ or ‘good’ in the overall assessment of a wide range of prison performance and management criteria.

Berwyn in Wrexham has been given a ‘2’ rating – of concern – for the second year in a row since it opened in 2017.

The Howard League for Penal Reform has calculated that an incident of self-harm occurs every seven minutes in the prisons of England and Wales.

Andrea Coomber, chief executive, said: “These shocking statistics show us why the new government was absolutely right to take steps to reduce pressure on the prison population and why further action is needed to change prisons for the better.”

Cwm Taf Morgannwg Health Board is responsible for mental health services at Parc Prison.

“All healthcare-related incidents reported through the NHS Welsh Health Service incident reporting system are investigated and findings are shared within the prison health department to ensure lessons are learned,” a spokesman said.

“We are aware of some of the challenges we face and we have an improvement program in place that we are working through.”

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