Prison officers must be equipped with government-issued protective gear to ensure their safety when working in close proximity with inmates and other members of staff. This equipment is rightfully being issued to frontline NHS workers and this courtesy should now be extended to prison staff also.
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Prison officers are first responders, often having to give CPR and other forms of contact assistance to someone having a medical emergency.
Prison officers are firefighters, often rescuing people from smoke-filled cells and communal areas, putting their own safety at risk in the process.
Prison officers perform a service that never stops. Even in a global pandemic, prisons cannot close and prison officers are continuing to go to work and fulfil this vital front-line service.