Official Statistics

Deaths of offenders in the community, annual update to March 2025

Published 30 October 2025

Applies to England and Wales

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1. Main points

The headline points on deaths of offenders supervised in the community by the Probation Service in England and Wales from April 2024 to March 2025 are:

From April 2024 to March 2025, there were 1,413 deaths of offenders in the community This has remained broadly the same, increasing by less than 1% compared to 1,412 deaths in the financial year ending 2024
752 deaths (53% of total) in the community were offenders serving court orders in the financial year ending 2025 This represents a decrease of 1% from 760 deaths (54% of total) in the financial year ending 2024
620 deaths (44% of total) from April 2024 to March 2025 were offenders on post-release supervision This represents an increase of 1% from 612 deaths (43% of total) in the previous year
Natural causes were the most common cause of death, accounting for 622 deaths Natural causes accounted for 44% of all deaths in the community between April 2024 and March 2025
There were 488 self-inflicted deaths between April 2024 and March 2025 Self-inflicted deaths accounted for 35% of all deaths in the community
There were 16 deaths awaiting further information required for a classification between April 2024 and March 2025 Deaths awaiting further information accounted for 1% of all deaths in the community

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2. Statistician’s comment

The total number of deaths of offenders supervised in the community in England and Wales has remained largely unchanged, increasing by less than 1% in the financial year ending 2025, to 1,413 deaths, compared to the previous year. There were 1,233 male and 180 female deaths, representing a decrease of less than 1% and an increase of 2%, respectively, over the same period. There had been a broad upward trend in the number of deaths in the community since the introduction of the Offender Rehabilitation Act (ORA) in 2014, which increased the number of offenders supervised by probation services. However, this number has now remained fairly stable since the financial year ending 2021.

The number of offenders who died while serving court orders in the community decreased by 1% to 752 in the financial year ending 2025 (53% of total deaths) compared to that ending 2024, whilst those which occurred under post-release supervision increased by 1% to 620 (44% of total deaths) over the same period.

Although lower than the series peak in 2022 to 2023, the total number of deaths in 2024 to 2025 remains above levels reported in all years prior to the financial year 2020 to 2021. The decrease in the total number of deaths of offenders supervised in the community between the financial years ending 2023 and 2024 is mainly driven by decreases in the deaths of those under court order supervision, which also saw an overall reduction in caseload supervision over the same period.

Deaths by natural causes represented the largest proportion of all deaths in the community between April 2024 and March 2025, accounting for 622 deaths, or 44% of all deaths in the community.

The second largest cause of death, with 488 recorded in the same period, was self-inflicted, which represented 35% of all deaths in the community.

There were 16 deaths awaiting further information required for a classification between April 2024 and March 2025, accounting for 1% of all deaths in the community.

In June 2022, a new framework for reporting and reviewing deaths under probation supervision in the community was implemented. The framework for reporting deaths improved guidance for probation staff to provide more detailed information about the deaths of people under probation supervision and increase the accuracy and quality of this information.

As part of this, the framework introduced a new set of classifications to report the apparent cause of death effective from 1 April 2022. The new categories provide a more accurate definition of self-inflicted deaths by distinguishing between intentional and unintentional drug poisonings and falls from height. It is important to note, therefore, that the figures from April 2022 presented in this report are based on the new classification, making direct comparisons with previous years not possible.

Additionally, in June 2025, a data sharing agreement was established with the General Register Office (GRO) to provide access to official cause of death data following the registration of a death. This information is then used to update the provisional categorisation of deaths on the probation case management system.

Official causes of death from the GRO are only available for deaths occurring from 1 April 2023 onwards. Also, as the registration of a death can be delayed when a case is referred to the coroner, the official cause of death from the GRO is not available for deaths that occurred in the most recent period covered in this publication. Comparisons across cause of death categories over time should, therefore, not be made, as periods prior to 1 April 2023 and the most recent reporting period are based on provisional classifications, which are not directly comparable to GRO-verified data.

3. Introduction

The Deaths of offenders supervised in the community statistics bulletin covers the deaths of offenders in England and Wales that occurred while they were under probation supervision because they were: 

  • serving their court order sentences in the community (including community orders and suspended sentence orders), or 

  • on post-release supervision after completing a custodial sentence.

These figures refer to deaths of offenders occurring outside custody, with the exception of the small number occurring for those residing in Approved Premises, which are also included in this publication. 

Offenders under supervision in the community (other than, to an extent, those in Approved Premises) are not in the care of HM Prison and Probation Service (HMPPS) in the way they are when in custody. The main responsibilities of offender managers in the community are to assess, supervise and rehabilitate offenders. While they can encourage offenders to address issues affecting their health and wellbeing, their ability to manage these issues is limited. As a result, the level of responsibility and accountability of the Probation Service for the health and well-being of offenders is substantially different from that of the Prison Service in relation to deaths in custody. 

Statistics on deaths occurring in custody are published separately in the Safety in custody statistics. These two sets of figures cannot be compared meaningfully. 

Presented alongside this bulletin are summary tables and a data tool on a financial year basis. The tables, along with previous editions of the publication series, can be found at Deaths of offenders in the community.

Furthermore, in October 2023, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) published Drug-related deaths and suicide in offenders in the community, England and Wales: 2011 to 2021, which provides a more detailed analysis of the risk of suicide and drug-related deaths among offenders in the community, based on confidential matching of data from HMPPS and ONS mortality records.

4. Offender Rehabilitation Act 2014

The introduction of the Offender Rehabilitation Act (ORA) in 2014 increased the number of offenders supervised by probation services as all offenders given custodial sentences became subject to a minimum of 12 months supervision in the community upon release from prison. This consists of a period spent on licence, and, depending on the length of custodial sentence, a period on post-sentence supervision. Previously, only adults sentenced to over 12 months in custody, and all young offenders were subject to statutory supervision.

In June 2014, as part of the wider Transforming Rehabilitation reforms under which ORA was introduced, the National Probation Service (NPS) was also established to manage the most high-risk offenders across 7 divisions whilst 21 Community Rehabilitation Companies (CRCs) managed medium and low-risk offenders.[footnote 1] Both the NPS and CRCs generally dealt with those aged 18 years and over (those under 18 were mostly dealt with by Youth Offending Teams, answering to the Youth Justice Board). Their responsibilities included supervising offenders who were given community sentences and suspended sentence orders by the courts, as well as offenders given custodial sentences, both pre- and post- their release.

However, probation has since been reformed under the Probation Reform Programme. As part of these plans, the Probation Service (formerly the NPS) is now responsible for managing all offenders on a community order or licence following their release from prison in England and Wales, with enhanced monitoring of terrorists, serious organised criminals and very high-risk offenders carried out by the National Security Division (NSD).

In addition, from April 2020, the process of shifting the NPS from its previous formation of 7 divisions to 12 Probation Service regions began; this process was completed by the end of 2020. Contracts for CRCs ended in June 2021 and management of offenders who were previously managed by CRCs transferred to one of the new Probation Service regions on 26 June 2021.[footnote 2]

Given this gradual transition in relation to data recording, this bulletin no longer includes commentary on separate figures for CRCs and the NPS. Furthermore, the main tables accompanying this bulletin no longer present a breakdown of figures by CRC and the NPS. Statistics broken down by probation region and, pre-June 2021, by CRC/NPS division are presented in the accompanying data tool, as well as previous releases of this bulletin; caution should be taken where interpreting these figures however, as like-for-like comparisons by area are limited.

Between financial years ending 2015 and 2023, there was a general upward trend in the number of total deaths of offenders in the community in England and Wales since ORA was introduced in 2014.

Starting at 557 in the financial year ending 2015, the number of total deaths of offenders in the community in England and Wales steadily increased each year, reaching 1,094 by the financial year ending 2019. A slight decrease occurred in the financial year ending 2020, dropping to 999, but this was followed by a sharp rise to 1,433 in the financial year ending 2021 and the number remained relatively stable until the financial year ending 2023, peaking at 1,558.

However, the trend slightly reversed in the last two years, with a decrease in the number of total deaths of offenders to 1,412 in the financial year ending 2024 and a marginal increase to 1,413 in the financial year ending 2025.

Since April 2014 to March 2015, the separate figures for male and female deaths also follow this same trend. In April 2024 to March 2025, there were 1,233 male and 180 female deaths, representing a decrease of less than 1% and an increase of 2%, respectively, compared to the previous year. Furthermore, over this period, male deaths accounted for 87% of all deaths whilst female deaths made up 13% of total deaths. The proportion of all deaths based on sex has remained stable over time.

6. Apparent cause of death [footnote 3]

In June 2022, a new framework for reporting and reviewing deaths under probation supervision in the community was implemented. As part of this, a new set of classifications to report the apparent cause of death was introduced on 1 April 2022, and, as such, comparing figures by cause of death for periods after April 2022 to March 2023 against previous years will not be possible.[footnote 4]

Additionally, in June 2025, a data sharing agreement was established with the GRO to provide access to accurate cause of death data following the registration of a death. HM Prison and Probation Service (HMPPS) utilises the Life Event Verification system to confirm the registration of a death and provides the GRO with a list of new cases each month, receiving the official cause of death in return. The official cause of death is used to update the categorisation of deaths on the probation case management system in cases where it is not accurately captured by the category that was provisionally assigned.

Official causes of death from the GRO are only available for deaths occurring from 1 April 2023 onwards, as GRO data were not requested for earlier periods. Also, the registration of a death can be delayed when a case is referred to the coroner, who will determine if a post-mortem or inquest is required. As these processes can take considerable time to complete, the official cause of death from the GRO is not available for deaths that occurred in the most recent period covered in this publication.

Comparisons across cause of death categories over time should, therefore, not be made, as periods prior to 1 April 2023 and the most recent reporting period are based on provisional classifications recorded by probation staff, which are not directly comparable to GRO-verified data.

In April 2024 to March 2025, the most common cause of death for offenders supervised in the community was natural causes (622 deaths), accounting for 44% of all deaths. This was followed by 488 self-inflicted deaths [footnote 5] (35% of the total). There were 249 other: non-natural deaths (18% of total deaths) and the least common cause was homicide, with 38 deaths in April 2024 to March 2025, equivalent to 3% of total deaths.

There were a further 16 deaths (1%) awaiting further information and, therefore, could not be assigned a known cause of death with current information. This is likely due to the time taken for probation practitioners to receive relevant information and this figure may reduce when revised in future publications.

Figure 1: Deaths of offenders in the community, England and Wales, from the financial year ending 2015 to the financial year ending 2025 (Source: Table 1) [footnote 6]

Description of Figure 1

Figure 1 is a vertical bar chart showing the total number of deaths of offenders in the community in England and Wales from the financial year ending 2015 to 2025. The chart shows a general upward trend over the period, with a peak in the year ending 2023 (1,558 deaths), followed by a decrease to 1,413 deaths in the year ending 2025.

Figure 2: Deaths of offenders in the community, by apparent cause under the new classification system, England and Wales, from April 2024 to March 2025 (Source: Table 1)

Description of Figure 2

Figure 2 is a horizontal bar chart showing causes of death between April 2024 and March 2025 among offenders supervised in the community in England and Wales. The most common cause of death was natural causes (622 deaths), followed by self-inflicted (488), other: non-natural (249), and homicide (38). 16 deaths were awaiting further information for classification.

By sex

In April 2024 to March 2025, male deaths by natural causes made up a larger proportion of deaths in comparison with females; 46% of all male deaths were due to natural causes, equivalent to 563 out of 1,233 deaths, compared to 33% of all female deaths, equivalent to 59 out of 180 deaths.

In contrast, the proportions of self-inflicted deaths and other: non-natural deaths were higher for females than males, 43% and 21%, respectively, for females compared to 33% and 17%, respectively, for males. Of the 38 homicide deaths in April 2024 to March 2025, 2 were female (1% of female deaths) and the remaining 36 were male (3% of male deaths).

By duration from release

For deaths of offenders under post-release supervision in April 2024 to March 2025:

  • 62 deaths occurred within 14 days of release from custody. Of these, 32 were self-inflicted (52%) and 14 were from natural causes (23%)

  • a higher proportion of all deaths were self-inflicted when the death was closer to the date of release from custody

  • 212 deaths occurred when the duration was over 365 days. Of these, 27 were self-inflicted (13%) and 167 were from natural causes (79%)

  • a higher proportion of all deaths were from natural causes when the death was further away from the date of release from custody

General Register Office verified data

In this publication, GRO data have been used to update the provisional causes of death figures previously published for the financial year ending 2024. This has resulted in a substantial change in the distribution of deaths by cause. Compared to the provisional figures published in October 2024, the revised figures in this publication show a marked decrease in self-inflicted deaths and, to a lesser extent, in deaths by natural causes, accompanied by a corresponding increase in other: non-natural deaths.

Further analysis of these figures indicate that the substantial drop in self-inflicted deaths and corresponding increase in other: non-natural deaths is primarily due to the reclassification of some deaths initially reported as self-inflicted - drug poisoning (intent undetermined) in the provisional data, which have now been revised to other: non-natural - drug poisoning (unintentional) in the updated figures for the financial year ending 2024.

Comparisons across cause of death categories over time should, therefore, not be made, as periods prior to 1 April 2023 and for the most recent reporting period have not been validated against GRO records.

7. Type of supervision

The number of offenders who died while serving court orders in the community decreased by 1%, from 760 in the financial year ending 2024 (54% of total deaths) to 752 in the financial year ending 2025 (53% of total deaths) (Figure 3). This had followed a broad upward trend in more recent years.

The number of deaths of offenders under post-release supervision in the community increased by 1% from 612 in the financial year ending 2024 (43% of total deaths) to 620 in the financial year ending 2025 (44% of total deaths) (Figure 3). Despite the recent increase, the overall trend has been volatile, with the number of deaths generally increasing since the financial year ending March 2015 (when there were 171 deaths, accounting for 31% of all deaths), which corresponds with the introduction of increased supervision under ORA.[footnote 7] In the last 5 years, the number of deaths of offenders under post-release supervision has fluctuated between 612 and 788.

In the previous 6 financial years, deaths under court order supervision have followed a trend similar to that of total deaths, increasing steadily from 541 deaths in the financial year ending 2020, to 645, 756, and 862 deaths in the years ending 2021, 2022, and 2023, respectively, before decreasing to 760 in the financial year ending 2024, and 752 deaths in the financial year ending 2025.

The proportion of deaths under each type of supervision has remained relatively constant, on average, since the financial year ending 2016. Deaths under court order supervision fluctuated between 45% and 57% of total deaths, whereas deaths under post-release supervision were slightly more volatile, fluctuating between 39% and 55% of all deaths.

Figure 3: Total deaths of offenders in the community, by type of supervision, England and Wales, from the financial year ending 2015 to the financial year ending 2025 (Source: Tables 2a and 3) [footnote 6]

Description of Figure 3

Figure 3 is a line chart showing the number of deaths of offenders in the community in England and Wales from the financial year ending 2015 to 2025, with separate lines for those who died while under court order supervision, and for those who died while under post-release supervision. Both lines show an overall upward trend over the period, with deaths under court orders exceeding those under post-release supervision in all years except financial years ending 2017 and 2021.

Post-release supervision deaths by duration from release

Among deaths under post-release supervision from April 2024 to March 2025, at 34% (212 deaths), most offenders died more than 365 days from the date of release and 32% (199 offenders) died between 101 and 365 days from the date of release.

Between the financial year ending 2018 and the financial year ending 2025, the proportion of deaths occurring over 365 days has increased from 19% to 34%, meanwhile the proportion of deaths occurring between 101 and 365 days has decreased from 40% to 32% over the same time period.

10% of deaths occurred up to 14 days from their release and a further 4% of deaths occurred between 15 and 28 days from their release, both similar proportions to those in the financial year ending 2024.

Figure 4: Deaths of offenders in the community under post-release supervision, by duration from date of release to date of death, England and Wales, from the financial year ending 2015 to the financial year ending 2025 (Source: Table 2b)  [footnote 6]

Description of Figure 4

Figure 4 is a line chart showing the number of deaths of offenders under post-release supervision in England and Wales from the financial year ending 2015 to 2025, broken down by duration from date of release to date of death: 0 to14 days, 15 to 28 days, 29 to 100 days, 101 to 365 days, and over 365 days. Over this period, deaths occurring between 101 to 365 days and over 365 days show a broad upward trend and, in the financial year ending 2025, most deaths occurred in these two groups, while the fewest occurred between 15 to 28 days.

8. Age at death 

In terms of age at death, in April 2024 to March 2025:

  • the highest proportion of deaths were offenders in the 36 to 49 age group, comprising 37% of all males and 52% of all females

  • the second highest proportion of deaths were offenders in the 50 to 65 age group, comprising 29% of all males and 22% of all females

  • males were more likely to be in the oldest age group (over 65), representing 12% of males compared to 2% of females

The proportions of deaths among males in the 50 to 65 and over 65 age categories have increased between the financial years ending 2018 and 2025, rising from 20% to 29% and from 8% to 12%, respectively. This suggests a shift in the average age at death for males toward older age groups. Conversely, the proportions of males in the 18 to 24 and 25 to 35 age categories have declined over the same period, from 8% to 4% and from 24% to 15%, respectively.

During the same period, the trend across age categories has been more volatile for females. This is likely due to the lower overall number of deaths among female offenders in the community, which can cause greater fluctuation in percentage changes year-on-year.

Figure 5: Deaths of offenders in the community, by age at death, England and Wales, from the financial year ending 2015 to the financial year ending 2025 (Source: Table 5) [footnote 6]

Description of Figure 5

Figure 5 is a line chart showing the number of deaths of offenders in the community in England and Wales from the financial year ending 2015 to 2025. The chart shows separate trend lines for each age category: 18 to 24, 25 to 35, 36 to 49, 50 to 65, and over 65. The 36 to 49 age group consistently shows the highest number of deaths across all years. The 18 to 24 and over 65 age groups show the lowest numbers, with the over 65 age group gradually increasing over time. The 25 to 35 and 50 to 65 age groups have the second highest numbers, with the 25 to 35 age group showing more deaths in earlier years and the 50 to 65 age group showing more in recent years.

9. Approved Premises

Approved Premises, formerly known as probation/bail hostels, provide accommodation for offenders on post-release supervision (released from prison on licence) and those directed by the courts to live there as a condition of their court order. Staff provide supervision, support, and ensure that residents comply with conditions of their licence or court order. Some of the deaths, while resident in Approved Premises, occurred away from the premises. Offenders in Approved Premises can either be on post-release supervision or on a court order.

There were 12 deaths of offenders with residence in Approved Premises in the financial year ending 2025; this figure remains unchanged since the financial year ending 2024. Deaths in Approved Premises accounted for less than 1% of all deaths of offenders in the community from April 2024 to March 2025. Most deaths of offenders residing in Approved Premises across the time series were male, including all but 1 Approved Premises deaths from April 2022 to March 2025. However, greater volatility in the time series due to low numbers means that comparisons over time would not be meaningful.

Court order supervision

Following a decrease in the number of offenders on court order supervision between the financial year ending 2022 and the financial year ending 2024, there was a slight increase of less than 1% from 106,961 as at 31 March 2024 to 107,642 as at 31 March 2025 (Figure 6). In contrast, the number of offenders who died while serving court orders in the community decreased, by 1%, from 760 in the financial year ending 2024 to 752 in the financial year ending 2025.

Post-release supervision

The number of offenders on post-release supervision increased by 4% from 60,140 as at 31 March 2024 to 62,508 as at 31 March 2025. The number of deaths of offenders under post-release supervision in the community also increased, by 1%, from 612 in the financial year ending 2024 to 620 in the financial year ending 2025.

Court order and post-release supervision caseload figures broadly decreased in the few years that followed the peaks of 124,823 as at 31 March 2017 for court orders and 74,043 as at 31 March 2018 for post-release supervision,[footnote 9] unlike deaths of offenders in the community, which had been on an upward trend over the same period. Since March 2022, the court order and post-release supervision caseloads have remained fairly stable, which aligns with the number of deaths of offenders in the community also remaining broadly consistent since the financial year 2020 to 2021. Up to 31 March 2017, the court order and post-release supervision caseload figures and the number of deaths also followed a similar trend. [footnote 10]

Rate of death

Between April 2024 and March 2025, there were 1,413 deaths of offenders supervised in the community. This is equivalent to an annual rate of 8.5 per 1,000 offenders supervised in the community.[footnote 11] Since the financial year ending 2021, this rate has fluctuated between 8.5 and 9.1 deaths per 1,000 offenders supervised in the community.

In the financial year ending 2025, at 3.7 per 1,000 offenders supervised in the community, natural causes had the highest rate of death, followed by self-inflicted deaths at 2.9 per 1,000.

Figure 6: Number of offenders supervised in the community by the Probation Service as at 31 March, by sentence type, England and Wales, 2015 to 2025 [footnote 6][footnote 8]

Description of Figure 6

Figure 6 is a line chart showing the number of offenders supervised in the community by the Probation Service in England and Wales as at 31 March each year from 2015 to 2025, broken down by sentence type: court orders and post-release supervision. Over this period, the chart shows the number of offenders under court order supervision is consistently higher than those under post-release supervision. Court order supervision peaked in 2017 and has generally declined thereafter, while post-release supervision has increased overall following the implementation of the Offender Rehabilitation Act in 2015.

11. Release schedule

This bulletin was published on 30 October 2025 and includes statistics covering financial year periods from the financial year ending 2011 to the financial year ending 2025. The earliest period for which data are held is the financial year ending 2011. As such, the data presented in this publication represent the complete available time series.

Financial year figures are collected during August and September of each year and collated for the planned annual publication date in October. The next release of Deaths of offenders supervised in the community statistics, to include figures from April 2025 to March 2026, is scheduled for October 2026.

12. Official statistics

Our statistical practice is regulated by the Office for Statistics Regulation (OSR). 

OSR sets the standards of trustworthiness, quality, and value in the Code of Practice for Statistics that all producers of official statistics should adhere to.  

You are welcome to contact us directly with any comments about how we meet these standards.  

Alternatively, you can contact OSR by emailing regulation@statistics.gov.uk or via the OSR website.

13. Contact

Press enquiries should be directed to the Ministry of Justice press office: https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/ministry-of-justice/about/media-enquiries

Other enquiries and feedback on these statistics should be directed to probation-statistics-enquiries@justice.gov.uk 

General information about the official statistics system of the UK is available from the Statistics Authority.

The Ministry of Justice publishes data relating to offender management in England and Wales. Equivalent statistics can be found for Scotland and Northern Ireland.

  1. These arrangements ended in June 2021. ↩

  2. NPS Wales became responsible for Wales CRC on the 1st December 2019. ↩

  3. Apparent cause of death refers to a provisional classification for administrative and statistical purposes. The official cause of death is held by the GRO, including those determined by a coroner, medical practitioners, or based on medical information. ↩

  4. Further information on the new classification of cause of death can be found in the accompanying Guide to deaths of offenders in the community ↩

  5. The category of ‘self-inflicted death’ in these statistics is not used in the same way as in the ‘Safety in Custody’ statistics and is much broader than that of ‘suicide’ in the general population statistics produced by the Office for National Statistics (ONS). In particular, it includes self-inflicted deaths where intent is undetermined (see ‘Categorisation of deaths’ section in the accompanying technical note for full details). This means that caution is advised when attempting any comparisons with these other data sets. ↩

  6. The introduction of the Offender Rehabilitation Act (ORA) on 1 February 2015 caused an increase in the number of offenders on post-release supervision. Caution should be used when comparing periods prior to and after the introduction of ORA. ↩ ↩2 ↩3 ↩4 ↩5

  7. Refer to the Offender Rehabilitation Act (ORA) section of this bulletin for further details. ↩

  8. Probation caseload statistics are published in the Offender Management Statistics quarterly publication. ↩ ↩2

  9. To note, the number of offenders on the probation caseload in June 2020 was substantially reduced as a result of the operational restrictions that were put in place in March 2020 in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. The impact of these operational restrictions continued into subsequent periods; however, figures in more recent periods have recovered to pre-pandemic levels. ↩

  10. Some caution should be used when considering caseload figures in conjunction with deaths. Offenders may appear within both the caseload figures of court orders (including community orders and suspended sentence orders) and post-release supervision at the same time or in caseload figures across multiple different years, resulting in potential double counting. Accordingly, comparisons of trends in caseload to trends in deaths of offenders in the community should be seen as indicative. ↩

  11. Annual rates are calculated as the number of deaths of offenders supervised in the community that occurred within a twelve-month period, divided by the average probation supervision in the community caseload at the end of each quarter within the same period. The result is then multiplied by 1,000 to produce a rate per 1,000 individuals. ↩

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