Prisons: Crimes of Violence

(asked on 14th September 2020) - View Source

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many cases of violence against prison officers have been recorded in each of the last 10 years.


Answered by
Lucy Frazer Portrait
Lucy Frazer
Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport
This question was answered on 22nd September 2020

The number of recorded cases of violence against prison staff is published as part of the Safety in Custody statistics, the figures for each of the last ten years are provided below:

2010 - 2,848

2011 - 3,132

2012 - 2,987

2013 - 3,266

2014 - 3,640

2015 - 4,963

2016 - 6,844

2017 - 8,417

2018 - 10,203

2019 - 10,033

Figures for the first quarter of 2020, up until the end of March, show there were 2,290 incidents of violence against prison staff, a decrease of 4% from the previous quarter.

Violence against our hardworking prison officers is unacceptable, and we work closely with the police and Crown Prosecution Service to bring the perpetrators to justice. Additionally, our new Assaults on Emergency Workers Act means that those who attack them can expect an additional 12 months behind bars.

We are also giving officers PAVA pepper spray and body-worn cameras to make their jobs safer, as well as access to post incident care teams, occupational health support and counselling for those who need it. More widely, we are spending £100 million to bolster prison security, clamping down on the weapons, drugs and mobile phones that fuel violence and crime behind bars. This will fund tough airport-style security, body scanners and phone-blocking technology.

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