Making prisons safe

With the publication of a highly critical HM Inspectorate of Prisons report on HMP Hewell today (18 November), following several deeply disturbing reports from Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Prisons, there is now mounting evidence of an unfolding crisis in our prison system. Commenting, Juliet Lyon, Director of the Prison Reform Trust, said:

“Drastic staff and budget cuts combined with rushed policy decisions have left many prisons struggling to deliver even basic standards of safety, decency and rehabilitation. A rising tide of violence, self-harm and self-inflicted deaths reflect growing frustration and despair among prisoners. Parliament must act urgently to hold Ministers to account for the degradation of an essential public service.

“One of the most frightening things revealed about HMP Hewell was its failure to take seriously and investigate properly several allegations of assault, including sexual assault, by prison staff on prisoners.”

The report on Hewell follows stories over the weekend of a promise by Ministers to crackdown on violence against prison staff. Juliet Lyon said: “Of course victims of violence in prison should have proper protection but, as well as sanctions and discipline, to make prisons safer you need adequate staffing levels, professionally trained officers and consistent, constructive regimes. Cuts have led to the loss of 12,500 staff in three years and mounting tension as prison numbers continue to climb.”

The Prison Reform Trust’s Head of Research, Dr Kimmett Edgar, presented a paper to prison governors earlier this year on managing violence reduction within prisons. It makes clear that most assaults and fights arise from conflicts between prisoners in which there is mutual victimisation. It also shows how vital staff numbers are in pre-empting violence by the prevention of threats, verbal abuse, intimidation, harassment, theft and exploitation.

You can download Making Prisons Safe by clicking here.