Church, faith and community groups have come out in support of the human rights group Black Mental Health UK's (BMH UK) condemnation of the rapid rise in the numbers of prison suicides over the last 12 months.
Government statistics indicate that black prisoners are currently in the system at a rate that is five times higher than that of white prisoners, leading to fears that the latest suicide stats will hit the black community hardest.
"Clearly there are concerns about this and we need to have an ethnic breakdown of exactly who has died in prison in the last 12 months in order to establish current trends," said Lord Herman Ouseley, former Chairman of the Commission For Racial Equality.
"One suicide is one to many and we have seen figures on the over representation of ethnic minorities within prison settings but not been given any answers as to why this is not being addressed."
The Ministry of Justice announcement has revealed that 93 people lost their lives last year and comes in tandem with a statement from The HLPR (Howard League for Penal Reform) which shows that 45 per cent of those who died were either being held on remand, unsentenced or awaiting sentence after conviction.
"It is disturbing to see that half of the people who have lost their lives in these institutions were not actually convicted of any crime but rather were on remand or awaiting sentencing," Rev Paul Grey, New Testament Church of God, Nuneatun branch said.
Penal reformers blamed overcrowding for the increase in deaths. The HM Inspectorate of Prisons thematic review of mental health published last October showed staffing levels in prison mental health care were just one-third of what was needed, said BMH UK. The majority of prisoners with mental health problems were shown to be receiving inadequate care and were being released with the same, or worse, problems, it added.
