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.
The inspectorate also used a new “urgent notification” system for the first time to demand the Government take action at HMP Nottingham.