Call to improve prison estate amid ‘toxic’ rise in violence

Assaults on prison officers continue to rise and suicide rates have reached record levels as the UK penal system was compared to a “toxic mix of violence, death and human misery”. Government figures show that 6,430 prison staff were attacked in the year to last September, a 40 per cent rise on 2015. More than 760 of these assaults were classed as serious – triple the number recorded in 2012 – while prisoner-on prisoner violence rose 28 per cent to 18,510. Meanwhile, a record 354 prisoners died over the 12 months and self-inflicted deaths reached an unprecedented 119. Justice Secretary Elizabeth Truss recognised that the violence rate is “too high” and claimed that she is dealing with the problem. Frances Crook, Chief Executive of the Howard League for Penal Reform, said: “No one should be so desperate while in the care of the state that they take their own life, and yet every three days a family is told that a loved one has died while behind bars. “Cutting staff and prison budgets while allowing the number of people to grow unchecked has created a toxic mix of violence, death and human misery. “The problems are clear for all to see. The Howard League is offering solutions. We have shown ministers how, by taking bold but sensible action to reduce the number of people in prison, we can save lives and prevent more people being swept away into deeper currents of crime and despair.” According to the Ministry of Justice (MoJ), the rise in assaults since 2012 has coincided with major changes to prison culture and operating arrangements. Statistics from the Prison Officers’ Association (POA) show that the loss of 7,000 prison staff since 2010 has left the secure estate approximately 800 workers below targets. The MoJ plans to address this issue by investing £100 million in recruitment, boosting the frontline by 2,500. The figures come just months after thousands of prison officers walked out in protest over “chronic staff shortages and impoverished regimes” they claimed were threatening safety. In December, 240 prisoners were removed from HMP Birmingham after what the POA described as “the worst riot since Strangeways” – the 25-day outbreak of violence in 1990 that left one prison officer dead and 147 more injured. Overall deaths in prison rose 38 per cent to a record 354 across the 12-month period, nearly 100 more than in 2015. Suicides increased by nearly a third, having doubled over the last four years. However, the homicide rate dropped from last year’s record of eight to just three. Incidents of self-harm continued to rise – again to levels never seen before – reaching a high of 37,784, although women’s prisons experienced a slight decrease. Almost 15 per cent of these incidents led to inmates needing hospital treatment. The self-harm trends differed significantly by gender – there were almost two self harm incidents for every female prisoner compared to 374 per 1,000 male inmates. Self-harm incidents involving men tended to be more serious, with 8 per cent requiring hospitalisation compared with 1.8 per cent for women. Responding to the figures, Ms Truss said: “Since becoming Justice Secretary I have been clear that the violence, self-harm and deaths in our prisons are too high. “I have taken immediate action to stabilise the estate by tackling the drugs, drones and phones that undermine security. “We are also investing £100 million annually to boost the frontline by 2,500 officers. “These are long-standing issues that will not be resolved in weeks or months but our wholescale reforms will lay the groundwork to transform our prisons, reduce offending and make our communities safer.” The POA was unavailable for comment at the time of publication.