New data from the Ministry of Justice shows that the number of assaults on prison staff has risen again over the last year.
There were 10,281 assaults on staff in the 12 months to June 2024, a 30% increase from the previous 12 months, and a new peak. In the latest quarter the number of assaults on staff increased by 2% to 2,655 incidents. The rate of serious assaults on staff increased by 24% to 11 per 1,000 prisoners (974 incidents) in the 12 months to June 2024.
Gavin Miller, Community’s National Officer for the Justice Sector, said:
“These shocking figures speak for themselves: the epidemic of violence against justice sector workers is not just ongoing but worsening, with a substantial rise in the number of assaults on staff compared to just a year ago. What these statistics do not show is that behind every single assault is an individual justice worker who will have been physically and mentally impacted by what they have been through. No one should have to put up with being attacked just for doing their job.
“Earlier this year when we launched our Beyond Bars report we warned that the situation in our prisons would continue to deteriorate without meaningful action from government, and that remains the case. We need tougher responses to assaults on justice workers and urgent action to tackle chronic prison overcrowding and the recruitment and retention crisis in the justice and custodial workforce. Without wholesale changes, our prisons will remain unsafe.”
Liron Woodcock-Velleman, Community’s Head of Politics, said:
“There is no doubt that the increased risk facing justice workers has been exacerbated by wider problems in the prisons system as a direct result of fourteen years of neglect and underfunding by successive Conservative governments.
“With a new government in place, there is now an opportunity to turn the page. We will continue to push ministers for tougher responses to assaults on prison workers, as well as wider action on tackling overcrowding, introducing minimum staffing levels, and ending the recruitment and retention crisis in the sector.”
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