There has been a "rapid deterioration" in prison safety in England and Wales, the prisons inspector has warned.
Nick Hardwick said staff shortages, population pressures and prison policy all contributed to problems, with a 69% rise in self-inflicted deaths.
The Ministry of Justice said there was no evidence linking the rise in suicides to government policy.
Presenting his annual report, Mr Hardwick also pointed to problems involving so-called legal highs.
He highlighted the growing availability of the drugs as a cause of debt, bullying and health problems, warning their use had grown sharply.
Reduced staffingAccording to the HM Inspectorate of Prisons annual report, cannabis substitutes Spice and Black Mamba were particular "causes for concern" in more than a third of the jails inspected.
It says current mandatory random drug testing does not detect legal highs and reduced staffing had made some "suspicion" testing programmes "virtually inoperable".
Mr Hardwick said profits for prisoners selling legal highs outstripped other drugs because they sold for 10 times as much as they would outside jail.
But warning cracks in the system had "widened", Mr Hardwick's report said: "Of most concern, the number of self-inflicted deaths rose by 69% from 52 in 2012-13 to 88 in 2013-14, the highest figure in 10 years."
Bullying was a factor in "many cases", the report said, warning that adult male prisons were becoming "more violence every year".
Andrew Selous, the Conservative prisons minister, said it had been a "challenging year" for prisons staff dealing with "major organisational change".
But he added: "During this time we have always had enough staff to deliver decent and safe prison regimes, and this will continue to be our top priority.
"We remain committed to reducing violence and understanding the reasons for the recent rise in self-inflicted deaths.
"But this is a complex issue and the chief inspector has failed to provide any evidence to support his assertion that this is linked to the reforms made under this government."
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