Crisis-torn jails see record 6,000 guards assaulted and number of suicides double in just four years 

  • Number of self-inflicted deaths in jails soared to 119 in the year to September
  • There were 6,430 assaults on staff – a rate of about one every 90 minutes
  • Justice Secretary Liz Truss, who has blamed her predecessors for failing to get to grips with the problems, said she has taken action to stabilise prisons

By Ian Drury for the Daily Mail

Published: 19:58 EST, 26 January 2017 | Updated: 20:17 EST, 26 January 2017

The scale of the prisons crisis was laid bare yesterday as suicides, self-harm and assaults on guards all surged to record levels.

The number of self-inflicted deaths in jails soared to 119 in the year to September – meaning the rate has doubled in four years.

The previous high was 96 in 2004. The suicide rate behind bars has doubled in four years.

The number of self-inflicted deaths in jails soared to 119 in the year to September – meaning the rate has doubled in four years 

The torrent of violence that has plagued prisons was also apparent in the Ministry of Justice’s (MoJ) new ‘safety in custody’ statistics.

There were 6,430 assaults on staff – a rate of about one every 90 minutes – which is an increase of 40 per cent from 4,597 on the previous year.

Serious attacks against wardens, which often involve the victim being taken to hospital, were up 26 per cent in the past 12 months to 761.

Prison officers are routinely stabbed, bottled, slashed or beaten up as offenders become increasingly violent.

There were five major disturbances in jails in November and December, with armed inmates seizing control of prison wings.

The total number of attacks on staff and inmates rose 31 per cent to a record 25,049, while deaths in prison increased 38 per cent to 354.

Self-harm incidents rose by a quarter to 37,784.

Lib Dem MP Alistair Carmichael said: ‘This shows the prisons crisis is spiralling out of control. 

There were 6,430 assaults on prison staff, which is an increase of 40 per cent from 4,597 on the previous year

Chronic underfunding and lack of staff are turning our prisons into hotbeds of violence when they should be a place of rehabilitation.’

Prison-reform campaigners seized on the figures as fresh evidence the crisis was ‘spiralling out of control’.

The MoJ has admitted the problem has been fuelled by a surge in the availability of so-called legal highs such as spice and mamba, an increase in gang culture and cuts in the numbers of wardens, which has led to violence and intimidation.

The number of frontline prison officers has plunged from 25,000 in March 2010 to 18,000 in September last year as part of deep cuts to jail budgets. The prison population stands at 84,000.

Justice Secretary Liz Truss, who has blamed her predecessors for failing to get to grips with the problems, said she has taken action to stabilise prisons – but the issues will not be fixed for years.

Last November, Miss Truss unveiled a White Paper detailing a £1.3billion investment in new prisons over five years, with plans for 2,500 officers, drug tests, autonomy for governors and to tackle overcrowding.

She has repeatedly condemned the ‘unacceptable’ levels of violence behind bars while attempting to push through the biggest shake-up of jails in a generation.

Peter Dawson, of the Prison Reform Trust, said reducing the jail population was the ‘only realistic way to make our prisons safe’.

He said: ‘Another record low in standards of safety should leave no one in any doubt of the need to relieve the pressure on our failing prison system.’

Justice Secretary Liz Truss (pictured) said she has taken action to stabilise prisons – but the issues will not be fixed for years

Professor Pamela Taylor, who is chairman of the Royal College of Psychiatrists’ forensic faculty, said the prison service was ‘in crisis’ and mental health teams were struggling to help prisoners.

Frances Crook, of the Howard League for Penal Reform, said: ‘Cutting staff and prison budgets while allowing the number of people behind bars to grow unchecked has created a toxic mix of violence, death and human misery.

‘By taking bold but sensible action to reduce the number of people in prison, [ministers] can save lives and prevent more people being swept away into deeper currents of crime and despair.’

 

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