More than a third of all deaths among prison leavers in Wales were due to drug poisoning, a report from Cardiff University shows.
The report from the Wales Governance Centre shows 37% of all deaths among prison leavers supervised in the community in Wales last year were due to drug poisoning (with intent undetermined)*. This was substantially higher than the proportion recorded across England and Wales as a whole, where deaths under this same category accounted for just over a fifth (21%) of the total.
Analysis also shows homelessness continues to rise in Wales, with prison leavers supervised by Welsh probation services recorded as rough sleeping on the day of their release rising by 24% in 2025/26. In total, 695 prison leavers managed by Welsh probation services were rough sleeping on the day of their release last year.
The report, the latest in an annual series of Prison Fact-files, draws together information on prisons and sentencing published by the Ministry of Justice, including the second Welsh Justice Data Annual Release, as well as a raft of previously unseen data obtained via the Freedom of Information Act 2000 and in response to written parliamentary questions tabled by Members of Parliament in the House of Commons.
Other findings show:
- More than a third (39%) of all custodial sentences given to women in Wales in 2025 were for 'theft from shops' offences.
- Despite a decline in the Welsh female prison population, the number of women handed immediate custodial sentences in Wales increased by 27% in 2025, reaching its highest level since the Covid-19 outbreak.
- Wales has now recorded a higher 'in-country' imprisonment rate than England in every year since 2019, while its 'home address' imprisonment rate has exceeded that of England in each year since 2013.
- People from Black ethnic groups in Wales remained the most over-represented ethnic group in the prison population in 2025. There were 58 Black people from Wales in prison for every 10,000 of the population, compared with 15 White people per 10,000 of the population.
- In August, the UK Government announced that prisoners serving Imprisonment for Public Protection (IPP) sentences would be included in measures aimed at reducing prison overcrowding in England and Wales. The latest available data show that, as of June 2026, there were 40 Welsh prisoners serving IPP sentences who may therefore be affected by the plans.
- Despite reaching record levels in 2024 (804), the number of Welsh prisoners on remand increased further in 2025 (809).
- When combined, a third (34%) of the Welsh prison population were either on remand or in prison having been recalled to custody in 2025.
- Having reached their highest ever level in 2024, the number of self-harm incidents recorded in Welsh prisons decreased by 10% in 2025. Of the 13,394 individuals who self-harmed in prison in England and Wales in 2025, 848 had a recorded origin address in Wales.
Report author Dr Robert Jones of the Wales Governance Centre said: "As we approach six months into the tenure of the new Welsh Government, it is hoped that the evidence presented throughout this report can help inform the development of bold, ambitious and evidence-led policies over the coming year and beyond.
"The problems documented in this latest Fact-file once again raise important questions about the current devolution settlement and whether the Welsh Government has the powers and levers necessary to address the underlying causes of many of the challenges facing Wales.
"However, while debates about the future constitutional direction of justice in Wales are both necessary and important, the analysis also underlines that meaningful efforts to deliver change must begin with a clear understanding of the operation of the current system and its outcomes."
Only by confronting the realities highlighted throughout this report can politicians and policymakers hope to overcome the many challenges facing communities across Wales.
Reacting to the findings on drug poisoning deaths, Mike Vigar, Operations Director for Welsh substance use and criminal justice charity Kaleidoscope said: "No one should lose their life to drug use whether inside or outside of prison. We encourage the new Welsh Government to rapidly develop a refreshed, evidence-led substance use strategy, with the ambition to significantly reduce drug-related deaths across Wales. Everyone should be able to access effective support, regardless of their gender, ethnicity, or experience of the prison and criminal justice system.
"Every drug-related death is a preventable tragedy. Wales needs a renewed, coordinated approach, informed by lived experience, that supports prevention, harm reduction, treatment and recovery, while addressing the inequalities that continue to place some people at greater risk of harm."
David Bennett, Head of Service Innovation for Wales's largest homelessness charity The Wallich, said: "This is an important piece of work and the Wales Governance Centre is right to shine a light on the scale of what is essentially inequality and poor opportunity in Wales. Housing, health and justice need a joined-up approach. At The Wallich, we support conversations to devolve justice and policing and will ensure this report inspires effective and integrated policy for people in Wales."
Without co-ordinated, through the gate support which places the person at the centre, the data shows that prison leavers are being set up to fail when they re-enter society.
"Release into homelessness is unacceptable and avoidable. Most drug-related deaths are preventable if we treat drug use as a health, not criminal justice, issue. The war on drugs hasn't worked and it is costing more lives each year."
The report, Prisons, Punishment and Sentencing in Wales, a 2025 Fact-File, is available to view here.
