Violence in prisons reaches new highs with a staggering three assaults recorded every HOUR
The Ministry of Justice said there were 28,165 assaults in the year to September 2017 – up 12 per cent on the previous 12 months
VIOLENCE in Britain’s drug-riddled prisons has reached a new high with a staggering 3 assaults recorded every HOUR.
The Ministry of Justice said there were 28,165 assaults in the year to September 2017 – up 12 per cent on the previous 12 months.
Of these, 7,828 were lags attacking guards – up by nearly a quarter.
There were 295 deaths – with 70 suicides.
Furious union chiefs have urged the Government to fast-track recruitment of more guards onto the prison estate – and to tackle the explosion in drug use behind bars.
A prisoner slashed the throat of a guard in Norfolk’s HMP Weyland last summer after being radicalised behind bars.
A second guard was scarred for life in a separate attack by an armed robber at Shotts prison in Scotland last June.
The figures come a week after a damning report by the HM Inspectorate of Prisons condemned the “squalid” state of HMP Liverpool, describing conditions as the worst inspectors could remember.
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The inspectorate also used a new “urgent notification” system for the first time to demand the Government take action at HMP Nottingham.
New Prisons Minister Rory Stewart yesterday said he was “looking very closely” at what more could be done to bring violence under control.
In a statement, he said: “We will only transform our prisons into places of rehabilitation if we ensure that we address basic issues such as cleanliness, decency and safety.”