For a man currently under investigation by the police, Boris Johnson has quite the interest in law and order. Throughout his premiership, the government has used the rhetoric of being “tough on crime” as a pillar of its populist appeal, epitomised by the home secretary, Priti Patel, turning up to a photo-op last year in a personalised police vest. This would be nauseating at the best of times, but when combined with their attempts to curb protest, it has deeply worrying authoritarian undertones. This stance also means the government has little interest in the nuts and bolts of running a humane prison system – which has led to the borderline neglect of the men, women and children who are currently incarcerated.
This has been painfully brought to the fore by new figures from the Ministry of Justice which show that the number of people dying behind bars in England and Wales has reached its highest level since current recording practices began. Some 371 people died in prison custody in 2021 – the equivalent of more than one a day. Many of these deaths were coronavirus-related. Tragically, 86 took their own lives, up from 67 the previous year. We may no longer have the death penalty in this country, but people in prison are still dying under the state’s watch.
