Prison Homicides
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Prison fatal and near-fatal violence from the perspective of convicted perpetrators currently held in secure hospital
IRAS ID
348667
Contact name
Kate Gooch
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
University of Bath
Duration of Study in the UK
0 years, 10 months, 28 days
Research summary
Prison homicide is an increasing problem but little researched. This ground-breaking project answers an urgent need to understand fatal and near-fatal prison violence at a time where the number of homicides and serious assaults in English and Welsh prisons is rising (Ministry of Justice, 2025). To date, there have been no qualitative studies of prison homicide, with the effect that comparatively little is known about the causes, character, texture and dynamics of prison homicide, or indeed the perspectives of individual assailants and the meanings they attach to the victims, the assaults and the consequences. This qualitative study seeks to address that gap. The first phase of the research - involving interviews with perpetrators held in prison custody - has been successfully completed; this second phase seeks to include perpetrators of prison homicide and serious assaults who have since been transferred to secure hospital. In so doing, it seeks to address key questions about the role of mental health in serious prison violence and the custodial trajectories of perpetrators in the aftermath of a serious/fatal assaults when perpetrators move between prison and secure health settings. In addition, it also seeks to deepen the understanding and analysis of the individual, social, penological and environmental causes of prison homicide.
REC name
London - Camberwell St Giles Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
25/LO/0882
Date of REC Opinion
17 Dec 2025
REC opinion
Favourable Opinion