THE prison service has been accused of extraordinary complacency over failures to address shocking levels of self-harm and suicide at Exeter Prison. 

The reception prison in Devon has the worst rates of self-harm in England and Wales compared with other jails of its type, with 10 suicides recorded in the past four years. 

Inspectors issued an urgent notification within days of visiting the site in November over fears that more men could die if action wasn’t taken. 

A report on that inspection, carried out between October 31 and November 11, is published today. 

Chief Inspector of Prisons Charlie Taylor said: “Exeter is a reception prison. Men arrive here newly sentenced or remanded and those early days are when we know prisoners are at their most vulnerable, particularly those with substance misuse problems or mental health concerns. 

“Yet we found the highest levels of self-harm in the country for this kind of prison, and 10 men had taken their own lives in the prison since 2018. 

“The complacency with which such shocking standards seem to have been viewed by the prison service is extraordinary.”

Inspectors found cases where prisoners had not been given prescribed medication during the first few days, leading to some becoming unwell. 

The prison was also experiencing a shortage in healthcare staff, and had seen three governors and eight deputy governors in just four years, the report said. 

The Howard League for Penal Reform called the report devastating and said multiple warnings had gone unheeded. 

“This is a jail where at least 26 people have lost their lives, in circumstances recorded as ‘self-inflicted,’ over the last decade — and yet conditions are getting worse,” the charity’s Rob Preece said. 
 
The Ministry of Justice was approached for comment.