Deaths within two weeks of prison release hit record high in England and Wales

Analysis of Prisons and Probation Ombudsman reports published to date found that one in four people who died were released homeless. Illustration: Guardian Design / Anaïs Mims/Getty View image in fullscreen Analysis of Prisons and Probation Ombudsman reports published to date found that one in four people who died were released homeless. Illustration: Guardian Design / Anaïs Mims/Getty Deaths within two weeks of prison release hit record high in England and Wales Exclusive: Experts say homelessness is primary driver of crisis that led to 77 ‘avoidable’ deaths in 2025 Falling through the cracks: ex-prisoners who died within two weeks of release The number of people who die within two weeks of being released from prison in England and Wales has reached a record high, a Guardian investigation has found. Seventy-seven people died within 14 days of being released from prison in 2025, 28% higher than the 60 deaths recorded the previous year and the highest since records began in 2021. Experts said a primary driver of the crisis was a rise in prisoners being released into homelessness, with too many falling through “trap doors to crisis” owing to a lack of available housing. Analysis of Prisons and Probation Ombudsman (PPO) reports published to date found that one in four people who died were released homeless. Separate Ministry of Justice data showed that almost 13,000 people left prison homeless or as rough sleepers in the year to April 2025, a 39% rise from the previous year. The reports detail cases including that of Robert Barraclough, who died the day after being released from HMP Nottingham in October 2022, aged 47. He had told staff he was afraid of having to sleep in a tent in the cold on his release, and began to self-harm in prison. Darren Docherty, 48, had a history of mental ill health and self-harm, and killed himself six days after being released from HMP Stoke Heath in August 2023. He had told his GP that stress of having nowhere to live was affecting his mental health, and he had been living in a tent after being turned down for emergency accommodation via the council. Enver Solomon, the chief executive of the social justice charity Nacro, said the deaths were a “hidden tragedy”. “People come out of prison, they die and it goes unnoticed,” he said. “And these deaths are avoidable. We shouldn’t see it as something which is an inevitable consequence of people that have got a whole range of issues and challenges in their life. “We see every day the difference having somewhere safe and secure to live, and the right support, can make to someone and how it can be a matter of life or death, tragically.” Solomon said shortages of social and supported housing, and the inaccessibility of the private rented sector where landlords often require guarantors and deposits, left people with nowhere to go. “We come across people who commit offences so they can go back into custody to get a bit of respite, because they know they will have a roof over thei