From 2012 there has been a decline in prison safety. The
Justice Committee has described a rapid and ongoing
deterioration. Chief Inspectors of Prisons, the Prison and
Probation Ombudsman and interested organisations have expressed
concern. The Government has acknowledged the decline and
committed to additional funding to recruit more staff. A white
paper, Prison Safety and Reform, was published in November 2016
and included measures to address the use of new psychoactive
substances, mobile phones and drones.
The decline in prison safety
From 2012 there has been a decline in prison safety. In March
2015 the Justice Committee noted that all available indicators
were pointing to a rapid deterioration in standards of safety
in the preceding year or so. In May 2016 the Committee
described an “ongoing and rapid deterioration”. In April 2017
the Committee predicted that prison safety would continue to be
one of the key issues facing the Ministry of Justice.
Ministry of Justice statistics published in April 2017 show
deaths in custody, self-inflicted deaths, number of self-harm
incidents and assaults have all increased in the most recent
year available.
Concerns raised
Chief Inspectors of Prisons, the Prison and Probation Ombudsman
and interested organisations have, for some time, expressed
concern.
Various explanations have been offered for this decline in
safety. These include factors such as reductions in
staffing and difficulties retaining staff, high levels of drug
use and particularly new psychoactive substances, overcrowding
and long term shifts in the nature of the prison population.
Government policy
The Government has acknowledged the decline in safety and
responded to these concerns.
A white paper, Prison Safety and Reform, published in November
2016 said that the Government’s analysis showed “a statistical
correlation between the numbers of staff and the level of
violent incidents” and concluded that more frontline staff were
needed. The Government has committed to additional funding to
recruit more staff. The white paper included measures to
address the use of NPS, mobile phones and drones. The Prisons
and Courts Bill 2016-2017 included legislative measures
proposed in the white paper, including on testing for
psychoactive substances. However the bill was lost at the
dissolution of Parliament before the 2017 general election.
There was no prisons legislation announced in the 2017 Queen’s
Speech. The newly appointed Justice Secretary, , said in an open letter
that work on prison reform will continue.
