Prison staff fake checks on suicidal inmates as deaths soar, watchdog warns

CCTV proved checks on a prisoner who died had not been carried out, a Prisons and Probation Ombudsman report warned - (Getty/iStock)

A prisons watchdog has warned of the “widespread falsification” of records claiming checks on suicidal inmates have been carried out.

A report from the Prisons and Probation Ombudsman (PPO) Adrian Usher found evidence that prison staff had lied over mandatory welfare checks for prisoners at risk of self-harm.